The YRHS Gr. 9 girls volleyball team went all the way to the final during their home tournament over the weekend but came up short against a very strong group of girls from Melville.
"I knew that St. Henry's was going to be good," admits Dee Dee Walker, coach of the YRHS team.
Going into the finals, YRHS had done everything right which led to them winning almost every single set they played through the round robin. That included a two-set sweep of Sacred Heart's junior girls team, which finished in second place in the 'B' pool.
The semi finals in the tournament pitted the two Yorkton schools against each other, with the Regional girls finishing them off, 2-0.
The semi final win put Walker's squad up against a powerful Melville squad; a finish that Walker said did not surprise her.
"I was thinking either them (Melville) or Sacred Heart," when asked about possible finals matchups.
YRHS finished on top in pool 'A' while Sacred Heart finished in second in pool 'B'.
Sacred Heart rolled over Estevan in the early going of the tournament, winning 25-7 and 25-11, and did well against the eventual Melville girls champs, taking one of three sets from St. Henry's.
The Regional also pasted Estevan, 25-9 and 25-18 and also beat Stockholm.
YRHS played Stockholm, Kelvington and Esterhazy in pool play.
When YRHS met Melville in the finals, Melville won both sets by identical 25-19 scores.
Walker admitted to being a little taken back by the results.
"Yes, it is," she responded when asked if it was a surprise they couldn't get a win in, before adding that sloppiness and maybe some nerves got the best of the Regional team.
"We hardly got any hits," she observed. "They got nervous in the final."
She added that she was happy with the tournament because it gave her team some playing time and that "they improved".
DISTRICTS
With the YRHS win in the semi finals over Sacred Heart, YRHS has qualified for districts, said Walker.
"We got a lot of experience," she closed.
