Dave Leaderhouse
Herald Staff
It wasn’t the color of medal they were hoping to be playing for, but Prince Albert’s two largest high schools put on quite a show in the bronze-medal game of the annual Carlton Comprehensive High School senior boy’s invitational volleyball tournament on the weekend.
St. Mary Marauders dropped the first set 20-25 to the host Crusaders before rebounding to win the next two sets 25-23 and 25-17. Moose Jaw Central claimed the top prize with a 25-19, 25-21 decision over Meadow Lake.
St. Mary and Carlton both finished second in their respective pools following preliminary round-robin action with the Marauders posting a 6-3 mark while the Crusaders were 6-2. Carlton got past Waldheim in the first round of the playoffs before taking on Meadow Lake in the semifinals while St. Mary needed three sets to eliminate Kelvington in quarter-final action and earn the right to meet Moose Jaw in the other semifinal tilt.
The tournament, which had 10 teams entered, also featured an exhibition game on Friday between the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Regina Cougars senior men’s teams. The Huskies, who had 6-foot-9 Braden McLean from Birch Hills in their line-up, won all four games in the match.
In senior girl’s action, Carlton attended the TCU Guardian Cup tournament played at St. Joseph’s High School in Saskatoon. The Crusaders finished fourth in the eight-team round-robin portion of the tournament with an 8-6 record and that result pitted them against Bishop James Mahoney from Saskatoon in the semifinals. The road ended there, however, as Carlton was beat in straight sets 25-15, 25-22.
Kaila Gavel from the Crusaders was rewarded for her strong performance as the team’s setter was selected to the tournament all-star team.
Both senior boy’s and senior girl’s teams from Carlton and St. Mary will be in Saskatoon next weekend for the annual Mustang Volley at Mount Royal Collegiate. The tournament schedule is winding down for all clubs as the regional playoffs will be held in early November and provincial champions to be decided by the middle of next month.
