The JPII (top) and NBCHS (bottom) senior girls volleyball teams both had a weekend to remember at provincials, finishing top-three in their tournaments. (Submitted photos/credited below)

By Martin Martinson

On the podium

Local high schools reflect on strong showing at senior girls provincials

Nov 22, 2021 | 3:54 PM

It was a memorable weekend for local high schools at the senior girls volleyball provincials.

The John Paul II Collegiate (JPII) senior girls took home a silver medal at 4A provincials in Moosomin, while the North Battleford Comprehensive High School (NBCHS) girls won bronze at the 5A level in Swift Current.

JPII 4A Silver

The Crusaders opened their tournament in Moosomin with back-to-back-to-back wins over Meadow Lake, Melfort and Yorkton Sacred Heart in straight-sets, before edging out Moose Jaw Peacock in three-sets as well, to close out round robin play first overall in their pool.

The JPII Crusaders senior girls team pose for a picture with their silver medals at provincials. (Submitted photo/Cherelle Cadrain)

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In the quarterfinals, JPII then topped Lumsden in two-straight, to advance to the semifinals. There, trailing Humboldt 24-20 in the opening set, the Crusaders battled back to win 26-24, before taking the second set as well, 25-11.

“The girls really came back with some strong serving and smart playmaking,” head coach, Cherelle Cadrain said of the team’s rallying effort. “After that the momentum was in our favour and that was really great to see.”

Facing Moose Jaw Peacock again in the final, JPII lost the opening set 25-15, before answering back with a 25-16 win in the second, to set up a winner-take-all third and final set, which Moose Jaw won 15-11.

Despite the tough loss to end the weekend, Cadrain said she and the coaching staff were very proud of the way the team was able to play throughout the tournament, and battle back from adversity time and again.

“The girls did their best, and they really came out with the mentality that we can do this,” she said. “It’s great for the program, and we know the athletics here at JPII are up and coming which is great to see.”

NBCHS 5A Bronze

Competing in Swift Current, NBCHS also battled some adversity to make the podium for their second provincial medal in the last three years.

After losing each of their first three games Friday, to Regina Miller, Weyburn, and Saskatoon St. Joseph, the Vikings girls bounced back Saturday to top Regina LeBoldus in straight-sets, 25-19 and 25-18, to finish the round robin in third place.

The NBCHS Vikings senior girls team pose for a picture with their bronze medals at provincials. (Facebook/North Battleford Comprehensive High School)

The victory punched the Vikings’ ticket to the playoff rounds, where they would play P.A.’s St. Mary, who they were then able to top for the first time this year in three sets, winning the deciding set 15-10.

“I felt that we didn’t really have a lot of pressure on us and they probably had a bit more pressure, so I had told the girls just to play free, and play hard and they got the win to move on,” head coach Jana Friedenstab said.

From there, the team rode their momentum to a three-set victory as well, avenging their round robin loss to Regina Miller with a 15-13 win in the winner-take-all third set for the bronze medal.

Friedenstab said reflecting on the season, she’s proud of what the team was able to accomplish this year.

“5A is really, really hard to compete in, and this season we had some ups and downs, and some COVID issues, so we didn’t play a ton of tournaments compared to previous years,” she said. “I thought that might set us back a bit, but we were able to compete as a team and play together well when we needed to, to win the right games.”

Edam 1A Silver

Also medaling at provincials with a weekend to remember was Edam’s H. Hardcastle School, who took a provincial silver at 1As in Loreburn & Davidson.

“It was a pretty amazing experience for the girls,” head coach Lorne Long said. “We were a pretty young team this year with only three Grade 12 girls, so going in we were just hoping to play our best and the girls had a really good weekend and were able to win some pretty tough games.”

The Edam Royals senior girls team pose for a picture with their silver medals at provincials. (Facebook/H. Hardcastle School)

Edam went 3-1 through their opening four games of round robin play, defeating Loreburn, Annaheim and Wawota, before topping Annaheim again in three sets in the playoff rounds, to earn their spot in the gold medal game against Rose Valley, coming away with the silver medal.

To read more about senior girls provincials across the region, click here.

Senior boys provincials will take place next weekend, Nov. 26-27. The JPII senior boys will play in Moose Jaw, after taking second place at Regionals over the weekend as well.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1