The Yorkton Regional High School (YRHS) senior Raider boys qualified for the volleyball southern regionals in Estevan where they finished second in their pool after completing the round robin.
Advancing to the playoffs, the Raiders defeated Moose Jaw Central in two games to earn a berth at the provincial championship in Melfort, as the top four finishers qualified for provincials.
YRHS lost two games straight to Number 1 seeded Swift Current in the semi-final, going on to win a bronze medal at regionals by defeating Moose Jaw Vanier two games to nil.
While coach Dion Pfeifer says the entire team contributed to the team's success, a number of players stood out with their performances, including Brent Spilak, Jason Blommaert, Jayden Dozorec and Tyler Boychuk.
Placed in the toughest pool at provincials, the 10th seeded YRHS Senior Raiders struggled to finish fourth overall.
Going into the playoffs as underdogs, YRHS downed Saskatoon Holy Cross in three games, winning 2-1.
The Raiders gave up a close match to Meadow Lake, the second ranked team in the province.
Pfeifer reports the team played well, narrowly losing their second game of the match after being ahead for most of the game. "We forced Meadow Lake to play their best volleyball to win," he states.
Meadow Lake advanced to the tournament final where they were runners up to P.A. St. Mary's who claimed the provincial title.
Spilak, Boychuk and Jon Machnee all had a good weekend.
Pfeifer says that he was proud of the way the team developed over the season. As one of the youngest teams at provincials this year, they did well to place fourth overall.
