The Arcola senior girl's volleyball team held their home tournament on Sept. 14 and 15. The Panthers invited five other schools to the tournament including Carlyle, Stoughton, Manor, Midale, and Weyburn Jr.
The six team round robin saw great action throughout the two-day tournament. The teams all put in a valiant effort to win, but eventually it was the Carlyle Cougars to come out on top.
Throughout the tournament, round robin play saw Midale finish fourth, Arcola third, Weyburn second, and Carlyle was in first. The playoff matches were high intensity games where Carlyle bested Midale and Arcola was able to upset Weyburn.
The first game played was between Carlyle and Arcola, which was fitting as they were the top two teams reaching the finals to finish off the tournament.
The Bronze Medal match took place at 8:30 p.m. Midale and Weyburn battled it out with talented players on each side. Through tough game play Weyburn eventually bested Midale winning both sets.
The final game between Arcola and Carlyle began at 9:30 p.m. There was an excitement in the air, which was felt by both spectators and players. Though tired from a long two days and a late evening both teams performed outstandingly.
The first set of the match started off in Carlyle's favour, but as the points began to add up Arcola gained momentum. The play was tough and each player was determined that nothing would hit the floor as they continually covered the court diving and sprinting if a ball was shanked. The first set eventually went to Carlyle.
The second set of the match watched as Arcola and Carlyle fought point for point in an exciting match. The Panthers mascot continually got the home crowd cheering for their team as the match was played, but despite a close chance to move into a third set Carlyle eventually won. With a score of 25 to 23 in the final set of the game Carlyle clinched its victory. The Arcola team was disappointed, but handled the loss with poise.
With fantastic game-play volleyball fans throughout the southeast were given a great show. The players fought hard in a battle for each point scored. All teams had a strong showing and with the volleyball season just getting into full swing there is no telling what will happen the next time these teams meet.
