SIS hosting PEISAA intermediate AA ch’ships

Semifinals go Friday, medal games on Saturday

The 2018 P.E.I. School Athletic Association (PEISAA) intermediate AA volleyball championships will be decided at Summerside Intermediate School (SIS) this weekend.

The four participating girls’ teams are the Stonepark Tigers, Queen Charlotte Coyotes, Kensington Torchettes and host SIS Owls.

In the boys’ competition, Queen Charlotte, Summerside Intermediate, East Wiltshire Warriors and Birchwood Cobras will compete for the championship banner.

The semifinals are Friday, with the medal games Saturday. Following is a look at the teams:

Girls Stonepark Tigers

The four-time defending champs, coached by Larry Young, finished first in the East Division with an 8-1 record. Stonepark reached the provincials with a 3-0 win over Birchwood.

The Tigers have won a total of eight provincial titles.

Queen Charlotte Coyotes

Queen Charlotte ended up as the second seed in the East Division at 5-4. They then reached the provincial championship with a 3-1 victory over the East Wiltshire Warriors.

The Katie Moore-coached Coyotes have two previous provincial titles to their credit — 1993 and 2009.

Last season, Queen Charlotte captured the silver medal.

Kensington Torchettes

Kensington, under the guidance of coach Brianna Bernard, finished first in the West Division at 8-1. They reached the provincials thanks to a 3-0 win over the M.E. Callaghan Cougars.

The Torchettes have a won a record 10 provincial championships, with their last title coming in 2010.

Summerside Owls

The Summerside Owls finished in second place in the West Division at 6-3.

The Tracy Gillis-coached Owls registered a 3-0 win over Evangeline to advance to provincials. SIS has captured eight PEISAA championships, including the first seven in consecutive years from 1999 to 2005. The Owls’ last was in 2013.

Boys Queen Charlotte

The Jacob Smith-coached Coyotes finished the Island-wide AA boys’ league in first place at 7-1. The first-place finish automatically qualified the Coyotes for provincials.

The Coyotes have won the provincial championship twice previously — 1994 and 1998. Last season, Queen Charlotte went home with the bronze medal.

Summerside Owls

The second-seeded Owls finished league play 7-1. They automatically qualified for provincials. Summerside, which is coached by Mikaela Girard and Logan Vandervelden, has won PEISAA championships on seven previous occasions. They won their first title in 2004, and captured three in a row twice — 2007 to 2009 and 2014 to 2016.

The Owls did not qualify for provincials last year.

East Wiltshire Warriors

The third-seeded Warriors, under head coach Cathy Butler, finished with a 4-4 mark. That qualified the team automatically for the provincial championships. The Warriors have won only one previous provincial championship in 2002.

East Wiltshire has captured the silver medal the last three years.

Birchwood Cobras

The Cobras finished the regular season in fourth place at 2-6. The Scott MacKay-coached squad beat defending-champion M.E. Callaghan 3-0 in a playoff match to qualify for the provincial championships. Birchwood won one previous provincial title in 1991.

Last season, the Cobras finished fourth at provincials.