After a promising second place finish in their home tournament the Sacred Heart Sr. Girls Volleyball team took part in the SHSAA 4A Conference Playoffs this weekend in Esterhazy. Ranked first going into conferences ge Lady Saints looked to continue their strong play in the first stage of their quest to qualify for 2013 4A Provincials. In their first match against Kamsack the Lady Saints did not disappoint coming out strong and winning two straight 25 - 14 and 25 - 10, making a statement that they were all business heading into the playoffs.
In the second match of the day Sacred Heart faced Melville Comprehensive, in the first set Riana Skikewich used her strong serve to give Sacred an early 10 - 0 lead and the Saints cruised to a victory winning the opening set 25 - 13 over the Cobras. In the second set Melville started strong taking an early six point lead in a reverse of the first set story, but the Saints rallied and tied the score at 10 - 10. With the match tied early in the second set again Melville surged ahead but the Lady Saints never panicked and tied the score at 23 - 23. With the set hanging in the balance and the Lady Saints' chance of winning in straight sets slipping away Kristen Jonassen served an ace to take the lead and the Lady Saints eventually took the match 25 - 23 to win two sets to none.
The Saints win set up the final match of the day in which the undefeated Saints faced the undefeated Esterhazy Warriors. With the two schools both sitting at 2-0 on the day both teams played with emotion delivering huge hits and amazing digs on either side of the net. Set one was a see saw battle but Sacred Heart was able to earn the victory 26 - 24 . Set two was also a close match between the Lady Saints and the Warriors but Sacred Heart pulled away to win 25 - 19 to earn the Conference Champion-ship, keeping their season alive for another week.
Coach Perry Enns says, "I was extremely happy with the way the team played this weekend, especially our Grade 12 players. Morgan Shymanski served very well and earned us a tonne of points, Hanna Hansen delivered some huge blocks, Kristen Jonassen was a machine at the net leading the team in spike kills and Riana Skikewich our setter did an amazing job running our offense." The Lady Saints will advance to the SHSAA Regional playoffs next weekend, if they can qualify out of Regionals they will play in 4A Provincials the following weekend.
