Meadow Lake’s Carpenter High School continues to impress when it comes to success on the volleyball court. This past weekend, the CHS Senior ‘A’ boys volleyball team competed in and won a tournament hosted by Holy Rosary High School in Lloydminster.
“We started Friday (Oct. 30) against John Paul II Collegiate from North Battleford, beating them in two straight sets,” explained CHS boys volleyball coach Cheyne Dallyn. “In our next game, we met a team from Strathcona Christian Academy out of Edmonton. We beat them in three sets before going on to face the team from Monsignor McCoy High School from Medicine Hat.” The Spartans beat McCoy three straight before returning to the court Saturday (Oct. 31) to take on Bethlehem Catholic High School out of Saskatoon. “We beat them two straight to finish first in our pool,” Dallyn noted. “From there, we met Bethlehem again in the quarterfinal where we again beat them, putting us up against a really strong team out of Barrhead, AB.”
CHS was again victorious in two sets, moving on to the final against the host team from Holy Rosary. “We beat Holy Rosary in three sets, the third set being a 17-15 final,” Dallyn said. “It was a really tight match, but we ended up winning the tournament.” Dallyn also said it was not only great to win, but to also see how well the Spartans stacked up against some teams they don’t normally come across in a given season. “The bigger thing is, because of a number of injuries to our roster, a lot of guys have been stepping up and finding ways to win games,” he said. “That’s what happened this weekend. Guys were put in new roles. Cohen Follett really stepped up in a big way for us to play whatever position we needed him in… Just having guys who are able to do that means a lot to us going forward… No matter who we threw on the court this weekend they were ready to go and willing to win some games.”
Next up, the Spartans will compete in their final regular season tournament at St. Mary High School in Prince Albert before heading into regionals. Meanwhile, the CHS Senior ‘A’ girls volleyball team was also in action this past weekend when they took part in a tournament held in Macklin. “We played Nipawin in round-robin play and then met them in the final,” explained CHS girls volleyball coach Jim Snodgrass. “They are a 4A school just like us. We beat them both times. It was a competitive tournament, which is great for team development.” Snodgrass also said the team was able to try a few different looks in its rotation. “We only lost one set at the tournament,” he added. “Next weekend we are in Melfort and the following weekend we host a fiveteam regional tournament. The top three teams from that tournament go to Yorkton for provincials.”