With Southern Regionals on the horizon the YRHS Sr. Boys Volleyball team hosted the best 4/5A volleyball teams in the province in the final tune up before the all important provincial tournament qualifiers take place this weekend.
With top talent and big games on the schedule the Raiders stepped up to the challenge going on a tear Friday night and Saturday morning, beating top ranked Moose Jaw Central in straight sets as well as Prince Albert Carlton and Weyburn in locking up the round robin crown in their pool. In the quarterfinals the Raiders drew Oxbow, who they made quick work of in a two set victory, setting up a semifinal matchup with Estevan, a team they beat in Estevan on their way to gold just two weeks prior.
Estevan got revenge in the semifinal as the Raiders were shocked by an Estevan team that rode a wave of momentum after winning the second set and solid hitting from their middle and power positions to a three set victory, preventing a gold medal rematch beating Central and the YRHS with Central beating Prince Albert St. Mary's in the semifinal.
All in all it was a strong showing for the Regional boys who are looking to qualify for the provincial finals and looked like they have a chance to contend after beating the top team in the province in the round robin. Head coach Dion Pfeifer was content with the teams strong showing, especially the bounce back win over Central who beat the Regional in Moose Jaw the previous weekend.
Pfeifer pointed out the key to the Raiders win was confidence and blocking well at the net saying, "We knew we could play with this team even though they beat us pretty handily the weekend before and we kind of took it to them a little bit." Pfeifer also keyed on his senior players on the weekend and was pleased on how they stepped up and led the Raiders to a winning weekend
Heading into Regionals in Swift Current this weekend Pfeifer expects his Raiders to be ranked second or third going into the tournament with Moose Jaw Central being ranked number one and fully expects to finish the weekend in the top three and advance to the provincial tournament in North Battleford the following weekend.
As for the provincial tournament Pfeifer mentioned there is a lot of parity in the 5A level saying, "Prince Albert St. Mary's has been the favorite in the past years and Moose Jaw beat them this weekend and there are probably seven out of the ten teams that will make provincials this year that could make a run at winning so I definitely think we have a good chance to medal at provincials if we make it out of regionals.
The Raiders will head to Swift Current this weekend for the biggest weekend of the season as they try to advance to the big show that is the provincial tournament, after beating Central and finishing third this weekend, it looks as if the Raiders are peaking at the right time for a finishing run.
