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The John Paul II Collegiate senior girls volleyball team, pictured here with their provincial silver medals. (Facebook/John Paul II Collegiate)
Crusaders on top

JPII senior girls take provincial silver, senior boys win regionals

Nov 21, 2023 | 1:30 PM

The John Paul II Collegiate senior volleyball teams are coming off a standout weekend across the province, that saw the Crusaders’ senior girls take home a silver medal at provincials in Nipawin, while the senior boys topped the podium at regionals in Lloydminster.

Senior girls – provincial silver

The senior girls won all but one of their games over the weekend en route to the silver medal, opening their tournament with straight sets victories over Regina Luther (25-15; 25-13), Meadow Lake (25-18; 25-15), and Moose Jaw Central (27-25; 25-20) opening day. They wrapped round robin play with a fourth straight win, this time over Melville (25-18; 25-11), to advance to the semi-finals.

There, JPII then topped Moose Jaw Vanier in three sets (25-18; 22-25; 15-7) to advance to the finals against Nipawin, who took the final in another tight three-sets decision, (25-17; 13-25; 18-16).

Marking the senior girls’ third straight 4A silver medal win on the provincial stage, first-year coach Quinn Baynham said she’s proud of all the team was able to accomplish this year.

“It has been a blessing working with this group of girls for my first time coaching and I learned so much from them,” Baynham said. “Huge thank you to the other coaches, Bryce and Tracie, who were an immense help and made this season possible, and shout out to all of JPII Staff for supporting the girls and myself every step of the way.”

Senior boys – regionals gold

The Crusaders’ senior boys also opened their tournament in dominant fashion with straight-sets wins over the hosts from Sakaskohc (25-2; 25-6), Saskatoon E.D. Feehan (25-22; 25-11), and Martensville (25-4; 25-9), before capping their tournament with a final straight-sets win over Meadow Lake (25-21; 27-25) to close the weekend undefeated.

The John Paul II Collegiate senior boys volleyball team, pictured here after winning regionals. (Facebook/John Paul II Collegiate)

Coach with the senior boys, Shelly Fransoo said the weekend’s success goes to show what the team is capable of, now finally getting healthy after fighting injuries throughout the lineup for much of the year.

“This was one of the first weekends here where we’ve actually had almost everyone back off the injured list, so finally, towards the end of the season we’re getting to that point where we can experience the depth our team has,” Fransoo said. “We’re looking forward to going into provincials this weekend having the depth available, and it’s going to be a battle.”

Much like the senior girls’ program did, the senior boys enter provincials looking to continue their streak of provincial medals, with a gold and two silver medals over the last three years.

The senior boys will open their provincials schedule this weekend in Melfort with their first of three matches opening day, Friday at 1 p.m. against Lumsden.

Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @MartyMartyPxP1