The Esterhazy Warriors Senior Boys Volleyball Team won the 3A Provincial Volleyball championship this past weekend on Saturday, November 25th. The 3A provincials were held in Unity, Saskatchewan and this provincial title was the first volleyball provincial championship in Esterhazy School history.
Head Coach Jarret Walker provided some highlights of the season leading up to their accomplishment.
The Esterhazy High School (EHS) Senior Boys Volleyball Team won 3 tournaments this year, including at Sacred Heart, Esterhazy and Kipling. They finished 2nd at the Assiniboia and Yorkton Regional tournaments, they were Conference Champions, Regional Champions and 3A Boys Provincial Champions, they finished with an overall record of 53 Wins and 6 Losses, and they went undefeated in playoffs with a 14 – 0 record while losing only one set.
Looking back on the season, Coach Walker said, “We were fortunate to have 9 returning players who experienced Provincials in Assiniboia last year. We are a highly skilled team relying on our passing, setting and outside attack. As the year progressed we were winning, but still had areas to improve especially ‘between the ears’. Our biggest improvement was in our resiliency. We became a confident team that was able to shake off bad points and stick to the game plan. This was evident in the Provincial semi-final versus Victory Christian Academy (Osler). Tied one set a piece, we were losing 7-3 in the 3rd set. With no timeouts left, we kept attacking and clawed our way back to win 15 -12. This earned us a spot in the Provincial Final against Assiniboia. After a surprising first set win 25-11, we got down early and at one point were losing 14-7. The boys remained focused and our aggressive play forced Assiniboia into unforced errors. We eventually came back to win 25-21 becoming the first volleyball Provincial Champions in Esterhazy School history”.
The Esterhazy High School students and staff acknowledged the team after the weekend with a welcoming celebration.