Hapnot Collegiate’s senior varsity volleyball season ended with dual gold for the boys and girls on their home court last weekend.
Flin Flon hosted the year-end tournament for several northern high school teams Dec. 4, hosting teams from The Pas, Moose Lake/Mosakahiken Cree Nation and Cranberry Portage for a full day of play. No northern teams would be taking part in provincial tournaments, which took place in southern communities last weekend, and no official Zone 11 title would be held this year - no northern school division has yet approved allowing teams to travel overnight for school events, making provincials and likely zones impractical to hold.
For these four teams, this tournament was it.
Both Hapnot boys’ and girls’ teams suited up on their home courts - the girls at Ecole McIsaac School, the boys at the Hapnot gym, moving to McIsaac for the final game come evening.
The Kweens cleaned up on their way to the final game, dropping one set en route to a final against The Pas’ Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute (MBCI) Spartans. In that game, the Kweens started strong and despite some opposition rallies, Hapnot kept on pushing, winning the first set 25-23. The final set saw the Kweens take control, winning 25-18 and taking top spot in the tournament.
Following the girls’ final, the boys hit the court, also facing the MBCI Spartans. While the Kings beat the Spartans earlier in the day (along with defeating the other two teams in straight sets) the visitors took advantage of early Hapnot errors, taking the first set 23-25.
The Kings hunkered down and despite more opposition pressure, Hapnot pushed late in the second set, taking a lead and eventually winning the set 25-23 - much to the delight of a home crowd consisting mostly of volunteers, teachers, parents and most of the Kweens’ team, who had stayed to watch their classmates play.
In a third and deciding set, Hapnot eked out small leads but MBCI would not be ignored. In a final set that usually goes until a team hits 15, extra rallies would be needed - a winner needs to win by two points or more, with MBCI pushing Hapnot to a 15-14 lead when they hit the mark.
In a frenetic last rally, the Kings looked like they might have lost a point and allowed the Spartans to tie, until the line judge called the ball out, giving Hapnot a double win with a pulse-pounding 23-25, 25-23, 16-14 thriller.
