It wasn’t an easy task, but R.D. Parker Collegiate’s junior volleyball teams both bounced back from second set losses in the Zone 11 finals to win their tiebreakers and earn spots at the junior volleyball provincials in Winnipeg Nov. 23-25.
A ball sailing out of bounds sealed the deal for the boys’ team, giving them a 17-15 third set win over the Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute (MBCI) Spartans of The Pas in the last game of the tournament. The Spartans had forced the tiebreaker with a 25-21 win in the second set after the Trojans opened the final with a 26-24 win, recording five of the final eight points after having been tied 21-21.
The girls’ team had a little more breathing room, defeating the Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre (HBO) Huskies from Norway House 15-9 in their third set after coming from behind to take the opening set 25-23 before giving up four of the last five points to lose 25-22 in the second set, which had been tied 21-21.
The girls dropped only two of 12 sets in the round robin, one of them to the Huskies, before beating Cross Lake’s Mikisew School Nikiks 25-9, 25-14 in the first round of the playoffs to qualify for the finals.
The Trojan boys lost three of 12 sets in the round robin to finish second. They also faced the Nikiks in the semifinal, prevailing 25-19, 25-14.
