Saturday marked another chapter in the long line of intense matches between the Estevan and Oxbow senior boys volleyball programs.
The familiar foes ran up against one another again in the final of the Elecs' home tournament, and ECS hung on for a three-set win.
After winning the first set 25-22 and losing the second 25-18, the Elecs had what could have been a fatal lapse in the third set, allowing Oxbow to take an 18-13 lead at one point before winning it 25-23.
"It was a very exciting game, back and forth and we were lucky to come out on top," said Elecs head coach Nathan Johnson. "It was good we were able to turn it around and right the ship."
ECS has now won their last four meetings against Oxbow, after losing their first two to start the year.
"We served the ball pretty well and that put a lot of pressure on them. That's the way we've found success against them recently."
The win over the Black Knights capped a tournament that saw the Elecs go undefeated in two preliminary rounds before defeating Redvers 25-12, 25-11 in the semifinal.
Oxbow had beaten Montmartre in the other semi.
Johnson said the Elecs' strong serving against Redvers didn't allow them to get into the game.
ECS went 3-0 on Friday, beating Kipling 25-9, 25-14; Redvers 25-20, 25-15; and Midale 25-15, 25-17.
For Saturday's round-robin, the two pools were reorganized. The Elecs again went 3-0, defeating Oxbow 25-18, 22-25, 15-8; Carnduff 25-20, 25-23; and Kipling 25-17, 25-11.
"We definitely started slow in our first match. We didn't serve real tough and we didn't pass the ball real well," said Johnson. "That was our goal, to improve as the weekend went on and we definitely did that."
He added that the team's Grade 12s "stepped up and were the leaders" throughout the tournament.
With Carson Perkins missing due to a baseball tournament in Arizona, the Elecs called up Kyle Hertes and Jordan Fichter from the junior boys team, and Johnson said he was proud of their performance.
Power hitters William Tabbernor and Kale Little led the way offensively, with Keiron Gallipeau setting the ball well, Johnson added.
Johnson said the tournament win was a nice feather in the cap after coming close a few times already this season.
"We've been having such a great start to the year, making the final in three of four tournaments so far. Finally getting the first win under our belts, that's a big step for the boys to show them we are a winning team."
One of those near misses came the previous weekend, as the Elecs lost to Regina Campbell in the final of the University of Regina tournament.
ECS finished second in their pool after losing only one round-robin game, that coming against Winston Knoll.
They then beat Oxbow in the semifinals before facing Campbell in the final. After splitting the first two sets, Regina went on a run of 10 straight points in the third and that sunk the Elecs.
"Otherwise, we were pretty evenly matched teams. I think between Campbell and us, it could've gone either way. It was a little bit frustrating. We did the same thing against Oxbow (on Saturday) but we were able to come back from it," Johnson said.
