It isn’t often that a Moose Jaw High School Athletic Association senior volleyball game in mid-October has major implications when it comes to the standings, but such was the case on Wednesday night.
A new format for the 2023 season sees teams broken into two tiers after each of the boys and girls leagues had completed a full-round robin. Each pool will now play a three-game round robin with the top three teams battling it out for first place in the regular season and the bottom three for playoff positioning.
With the way things were in the middle of the standings heading into play on Wednesday night, that made for a handful of games with all sorts of importance.
In boys league action, the Cornerstone Christian School Falcons booked their spot in the top pool thanks to a 20-25, 27-25, 25-21, 25-21 victory over the Vanier Vikings. Cornerstone improved to 3-2 with the win, Vanier fell to 2-3.
The other two games had no impact on the standings, as the defending 3A boys provincial champion Assiniboia Rockets remained unbeaten at 5-0 after taking a 25-7, 25-17, 25-18 win over the Peacock Toilers, who fell to 1-4.
The Central Cyclones were also victorious, improving to 4-1 thanks to a 25-15, 25-14, 25-19 victory over the winless Avonlea Eagles.
Assiniboia, Central and Cornerstone will play in the top boys pool, while Vanier, Peacock and Avonlea will see action in the bottom pool.
In senior girls league action, the Vanier Spirits played spoiler to Cornerstone, thanks to a 18-25, 25-15, 25-11, 25-23 victory at Vanier. The Spirits improved to 5-0 while Cornerstone fell to 2-3 and missed the top pool by a single win.
The other girls league game saw Central lock down their top pool spot with a 3-2 victory over the winless Briercrest Christian Academy Clippers.
Vanier, Central (3-2) and Peacock (3-2) will be the top three girls teams, while Notre Dame (2-3), Cornerstone and Briercrest will make up the bottom three.
The final three games will be played over the next two weeks, with the quarter-finals set for Tuesday, Oct. 31, semifinals for Thursday, Nov. 2 and championship final on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
