Coyotes and Cougars win JV volleyball titles

The Chinook Coyotes girls and the Catholic Central Cougars boys junior varsity volleyball teams are this year’s Southern Alberta High School Volleyball League champions.

The Coyotes beat the Catholic Central Cougars 2-1 (24-26, 25-15, 1614) in the gold medal game Saturday afternoon in Magrath.

In the boys gold medal game Saturday at Winston Churchill, the Cougars — who were also the regular season champions — topped the Cardston Cougars 2-1 (18-25, 25-17, 15-11).

A total of 11 teams participated in girls JV playoffs.

In the quarter-final, the Coyotes defeated the Winston Churchill Griffins 2-0 (25-8, 25-18), while Cardston took a 2-1 decision over the LCI Clippers (27-25, 20-25, 15-1).

In the other quarter-final games, Catholic Central beat the Taber W.R. Myers Rebels 2-1 (25-9, 23-25, 15-7) and the Magrath Pandas got past the Raymond Comets 2-1 (25-23, 15-25, 15-11).

The Coyotes earned their berth in the final courtesy a 2-0 win over Cardston (25-14, 25-14), while Catholic Central blanked Magrath 2-0 (25-5, 25-15).

In the gold medal game, the Coyotes dropped the first set 26-24 to the Cougars, but bounced back with 25-15 and 16-14 wins to take home the championship.

In the bronze medal game, Magrath beat Cardston 2-1 (20-25, 25-23, 15-12).

At Winston Churchill in the eightteam boys field, Catholic Central beat the LCI Rams 2-0 (27-25, 25-18) in the semifinal. In th other semifinal, Cardston blanked the Coyotes 2-0 (25-16, 25-18).

Cardston won the first set of the gold medal game 25-18, but Catholic Central won the next two sets 25-17 and 15-11 to earn this year’s banner.

The Coyotes beat the Rams in the bronze medal game 2-0 (27-25, 2523).

The SAHSVL varsity girls playoffs begin Tuesday, while the varsity boys, hosted by Catholic Central, starts Thursday.