NBCHS A team played JP II in the finals of the tournament for the 'Battle of the Battlefords' (ID 52212888 © dotshock | Dreamstime.com )

By Austin Mattes

Battle of the Battlefords

NBCHS junior A girls win it all in home volleyball tournament

Sep 24, 2024 | 4:48 PM

The North Battleford Comprehensive High School Junior A girls volleyball team held their home tournament this past weekend and went undefeated, winning the tournament.

“We had lots of community members come out and support our young athletes, which was amazing to see overall. There were lots of people in the stands watching and it was a great weekend of volleyball…and winning it too, was the cherry on top.” said Kelsy Redding, Head Coach of the NBCHS Junior A Girls Volleyball Team.

The tournament consisted of eight teams from across Northern Saskatchewan that included Macklin, Unity, Wilkie, John Paul II, Spiritwood and Medstead.

NBCHS had two teams in the tournament, an A team and B team Redding explains.

“We took smaller teams to try to space out our girls to make sure that we had enough players to create a A-Team and a B team. So that they get enough playing time and there’s enough one-on-one time with coaches that can help them develop… it was just a great way for our athletes to develop.”

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All the teams were split into two pools with round robin matches and depending on the round robin games, teams crossed over to a playoff format.

It all came down to the ‘Battle of the Battlefords’ as the NBCHS A team and Jonh Paul Collegiate II both made it to the final match. Things started off in favour of JP II, as they won the first set. In the second set, NBCHS bounced back and won, forcing a third set. The final set was an exciting tight knit game with neither team being able to pull away and ultimately it was NBCHS A team that took the set 16-14 to win the final 2-1.

As much as it felt good to win the finals, Redding said that it is the school spirit and pride that makes these tournaments important.

“It’s important to create community, super important, and to create school spirit as well. Also, hosting a home tournament allows our girls to show pride in their school.”

Radding also said that This was the first tournament of the year for the team and it’s going to motivate them for the season.

“This really put us in a good place going forward. It’s going to motivate the girls to continue winning and just progressing.”

The next home volleyball tournament for NBCHS will be the Senior Boys Tournament which starts on October 24th.