16U Junior Sundogs make Provincial final
The 16U Junior SunDogs men’s volleyball team concluded a wildly successful club season with a silver medal performance at Provincials in Saskatoon.
On the opening day, the SunDogs were pitted against Annaheim in their first round robin game. Swift Current got off to a bit of a rocky start in the first game, but were able to squeeze out a 28-26 win. The second game saw Swift Current put forth a much better effort as they cruised to a 25-13 win.
The second match for the SunDogs was against a much-improved Moose Jaw team. Both sets were highly competitive, but Swift Current managed narrow victories in both sets (25-19, 27-25).
In the third game of the day, Swift Current faced Waldheim. The two teams have developed a friendly but competitive rivalry over the season as they often faced each other in meaningful games. Waldheim was the better team in this particular matchup, however, as they were able to knock off the tournament’s number one seed in three sets (25-27, 25-21, 8-15).
In Swift Current’s final round robin game they faced Regina Green. In a highly competitive game, Swift Current was able to win in three sets (25-16, 22-25, 15-10) to finish 3-1 in second spot in their pool.
The 16U Junior SunDogs faced Regina Gold in Sunday morning’s quarterfinal. The SunDogs came out firing on all cylinders and Regina Gold, typically a very strong team, wasn’t able to keep up on this particular occasion. Swift Current rolled to a straight sets win (25-15, 25-18) and into a semi-final matchup against Waldheim.
The rematch between Swift Current and Waldheim delivered an incredibly intense semifinal. Waldheim came out of the gate fast and took an early lead in the first set. However, Swift Current put together a tremendous rally as they come back from a late fivepoint deficit and took the first set 25-23.
The second set was tight from the beginning to the end. Swift Current was able to hold on to a late lead and took the set 25-22.
With the narrow victory over Waldheim, Swift Current advanced the provincial final against Prince Albert.
Swift Current was the number one ranked team going into Provincials but they had been unable to defeat Prince Albert in two previous attempts earlier in the season. It was going to take the SunDogs’ best effort in order to finally beat P.A.
Unfortunately for the SunDogs, they weren’t able to carry their momentum from the big quarterfinal and semifinal wins into the final. Prince Albert was the better team on Sunday afternoon as they cruised past Swift Current to a straight sets win (25-15, 25-18) as they earned the provincial gold medal.
“Although the boys were disappointed by their performance in the final, they earned a silver medal in what is the most competitive tournament The 16U Junior SunDogs played in the championship match at every tournament they entered this season and won silver at Provincials in Saskatoon. of the year,” said coach Adam Wilson.
The 16U Junior SunDogs finished the season with tournament titles in Moose Jaw, Swift Current, and Regina.
They won silver in Prince Albert and at Provincials as they played in the championship match in all five tournament appearances.
“It was an extremely successful season, and after the bitterness of losing in the provincial final wore off, the boys understand and appreciate just how good they were this year,” said Wilson.