Volleyball players, fans flocking to P.A. for High School Provincials

“We talked a lot about improving every game and trying to play our best volleyball at Regionals and so we felt that we worked positively toward some of those goals,” said Tori Glynn, coach of the Senior Girls team at Carlton.

“We’re looking forward to provincials, where we get another opportunity to play our highest-level volleyball at the end of the season.”

“The buzz is definitely coming around the school now, so it’s been good,” said Curtis Bender, coach of the Carlton Senior Boys team.

At Regionals, the Carlton Senior Girls finished with a 2-2 record with wins against Warman and Lloydminster.

The St. Mary Senior Girls team won the Regional tournament with a perfect 4-0 record, which included a win over their rivals from Carlton.

As they get set to play in their own gym for provincials, coach Shaun Hunko hopes their experience will lead the way.

“We have a very experienced team, we have seven Grade 12s, many have been on this team for three years now,” he said. “We’ve experienced a lot of highs, a lot of lows in those three years.”

“We’re not only skilled, but we have the size and we have the physicality, which are all traits that you wanna have when you’re making a playoff push.”

The senior Boys’ tournament will have games at the CPAC and the High School gymnasium, while the Senior Girls’ games will be split between St. Mary High School and Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

Although the Carlton girls won’t be playing in their home gymnasium, playing the big tournament in Prince Albert means a lot to the players and families.

“The opportunity for friends and family to come watch and support, I think is a really nice piece, especially for some of those Grade 12s,” said Glynn.

“Being at home, in front of your own crowd where friends and family can watch, that doesn’t happen that often,” added Hunko. “It’s really exciting to showcase our school, showcase our city and get to sleep in our own beds over the weekend.”

For many players, this will be their last time hitting the volleyball court as they will be graduating in the summer.

Rene Quintal, the coach of the St. Mary Senior Boys team said the weekend will be exciting but bittersweet for these students.

“It’s always sad when the season end, where our Grade 12s move on and all the good times we’ve had with them on the team,” he said.

“You come in as Grade 9 or Grade 10 and the time goes by pretty quick,” said Bender. “I just hope they enjoy the moments. I hope they take it all in and really savour it and just enjoy each other’s company and going out there and just kind of soaking it all in.”

The opening ceremony for the 5A Girls Tournament is scheduled for 10:30 Friday morning at St. Mary High School with the Marauders’ first game starting at noon against St. Joseph. The Carlton girls play their first game at 2:15 p.m. Friday against Holy Cross.

The first games for the Boys Provincial tournament are at noon on Friday including Carlton facing Regina LeBoldus. The opening ceremony takes place at 10:45 a.m. at CPAC.

Up-to-date scores and standings can be found on the SHSAA website.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

by Derek Craddock

Volleyball players, fans flocking to P.A. for High School Provincials

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