The Creighton Kodiaks are headed for regionals following two strong showings at recent tournaments.
The Kodiaks senior girls team won the North East Saskatchewan Schools Athletic Conference (NESSAC) title, taking down a pair of opponents and winning the title for the second consecutive year.
The victory pushed Creighton through into a conference tournament last weekend in Shellbrook. There, the Kodiaks finished second, enough to get the team to advance to a regional tournament this weekend.
The Kodiaks opened the tournament with a 4-25, 8-25 loss to the host Shellbrook Aardvarks, but went on a hot streak after that, getting a win over the Senator Allan Bird Hawks from Montreal Lake and another one over the Chief John Keenatch Wolves from Big River. The Kodiaks beat the Wolves 25-17, 25-11, then earned a 25-12, 25-11 win over Sturgeon Lake.
Shellbrook went undefeated through the tournament, putting them in first place, but the Kodiaks, who went 3-1, finished second and qualified for the next round - regionals.
The Kodiaks will play in regionals Nov. 9 in Carrot River, facing off against the hosts Carrot River, Lanigan, Shellbrook, Watrous and Wynyard. According to schedules on the SHSAA website, the Kodiaks will start with a matchup against Wynyard Nov. 9 at 9 a.m., then play against Lanigan at 11 a.m.
Hapnot
Hapnot's Kweens were crowned once again at Manitoba's largest volleyball tournament last weekend.
Hapnot’s senior Kings and Kweens headed to Brandon for the province’s biggest volleyball tournament - the Neelin High School Big Dig. Dozens of teams from across Manitoba take part in the event each season, including a whopping 48 teams in both the girls’ and boys’ draws.
The Kweens began their weekend in a four-team pool with the Gilbert Plains Trojans, Green Valley Pirates and Morris Mavericks. Hapnot ended that with a 25-7, 25-23 victory over Green Valley and a 25-6, 25-12 win over Morris, but couldn’t get past Gilbert Plains, losing 18-25, 23-25 to one of the province’s top teams.
The loss would be enough to keep Hapnot out of the A bracket of the tournament, but they made the B side, where they would put their foot on the gas. Hapnot beat the Hamiota Huskies 25-27, 25-16 in their first B side game, then took out Neepawa despite losing the first set in a 20-25, 25-13, 15-2 game where the Kweens took over late. That set up a semifinal matchup against the Virden Bears, where the Kweens would need extra points in both sets but still won 27-25, 26-24, reaching the B side final.
It would be Hapnot against the Lorette Scorpions, who had gone 3-3 through their pool but had not dropped a single set through the B side tournament. The two teams that had taken a set off Lorette both reached the A side semifinals. It would be a tough test for Hapnot, but one the Kweens were ready for. Hapnot took the first set 25-17, but Lorette struck back in set two, tying things up. With a third, decisive set and the B side title on the line, Hapnot dug deep at the Big Dig and picked up a 25-17, 20-25, 15-12 victory.
The Kings also took part in the boys’ draw but had none of the same fortune, losing all six sets they played in their pool against the Landmark 96ers, Green Valley and Faith Academy. The Kings would enter the C side tournament and win a set against the St. Maurice Patriots, but would lose 25-22, 18-25, 3-15. In their final game in the loser bracket, Hapnot once again won the first set but couldn’t close out against Gilbert Plains, losing 25-20, 15-25, 8-15.
Hapnot’s junior varsity teams will play their Zone 11 championship tournament Nov. 8-9. The Kweens will play a 10-team tournament at Norway House’s Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre, while the Kings will be in a seven-team tournament in The Pas at Margaret Barbour Collegiate.
