by Stephen Dafoe
One of Canada’s largest high school volleyball tournaments entered and completed its 20th year over the weekend. The Lions Western Canadian Challenge brought 48 teams to Morinville for three days of competition.
After a pep rally and ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the school’s new gymnasium, the Senior Boys and Girls opened the tournament against Ernest Manning High School of Calgary. In the tournament opener, the MCHS Sr. Girls took both sets by a decent margin to earn the win 25-18 / 25-15. The Sr. Boys took on their Ernest Manning counterparts in a close fought battle throughout three sets. The boys won their opening set 25-22, but fell 23-25 in the second. The third and deciding set was won by MCHS 15-10.
The Boys went 6-0 through the weekend, but were halted in the 3rd medal round 25-16 / 25-19 by Barrhead Composite High School.
The Girls upset Mayerthorpe High School in the 3rd round with matching set victories of 25-22, pushing on to the 4th medals round to face St. Peter The Apostle Catholic High School in the semi-finals. The Lady Wolves emerged from that Saturday evening showdown with a win to take on the Peace Wapiti team in the gold-medal game. Despite a strong effort, the Lady Wolves lost 25-21 in the final set to earn bronze in the tournament.
Final scores for the medals rounds were not available through the Western Canadian Challenge website by our press deadline.
