The St. Mary Marauders girl's volleyball team is off to provincials in Swift Current after sweeping regionals, which they hosted. (Submitted Photo/Shaun Hunko)

By Rob Mahon

Marauders Go Unbeaten

Perfect weekend gives Marauders girls spot in provincials

Nov 16, 2021 | 12:00 PM

From start to finish, the St. Mary Marauders girl’s volleyball team were in control of the play this past weekend as they hosted regionals.

Because of their strong play, they’re off to provincials.

The girls team went 4-0 on the weekend, winning all of their contests in the five-team, round robin style tournament. Their provincials will be in Swift Current this coming weekend.

“The team played really well,” said head coach Shaun Hunko. “They just had control of every match from start to finish. It was really nice to see.”

Knocking off their other four opponents one by one, the girls left no doubt they’d be off to Swift Current. With no playoffs in the tournament format, every game was critical in determining the standings and the team played like it.

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“Basically, every match is like playing a final,” Hunko said. “Once everybody has played everybody, the top two records move forward to provincials.”

Hunko described his team’s mood going into that tournament as positive. While they came in riding a sweep of their tournament and a strong season overall, he said there wasn’t as much pressure on them as there was on some other teams bound for the tournament, two teams from Saskatoon in particular.

“There are a couple of other teams in the province that are getting a lot of the attention,” Hunko said. “I think we’re in a good spot going in… We’ve had a little bit of success against (the Saskatoon teams) this year, so that’s why we’re kind of in a good spot. The expectations are high for those two teams and the limelight is on them.”

Experience is hard to come by for all teams in Saskatchewan in high school athletics, as there hasn’t been a season since 2019. There are two players on the Marauders from that year, and they’ve helped what is otherwise a fairly rookie-heavy roster.

“They’re both Grade 12s, their leadership has been phenomenal this season,” Hunko said. “And then everyone else on the team is a first-year player. We have a mix of Grade 9s, 10s, 11s, and 12s that are first-year players. So there’s a good mix of younger players as well. It’s a special group.”

Hunko added they’ve not yet faced any Regina teams this season and only played one team from the south, so they’ll get their first up-close look at their opponents soon. He also said based on their play against the teams they have faced, there’s reason for confidence heading into Swift Current.

Both St. Mary Marauders boys and girls teams now have the potential to come home provincial 5A champions by the end of the high school volleyball season.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP