And given how close competition was in the local high school league this season, that should come as no surprise.
The Central Cyclones, Vanier Vikings and Peacock Toilers all reached the playoff round at the regional playdowns at Peacock over the weekend, and as a result will all be vying for the provincial crown when games begin at 12 p.m. Friday.
Making things all the more interesting is how things shook out during regionals.
The Cyclones ended up as the top seed out of the local playdown after they took a 25-18, 25-14 victory over the city champion Vikings in the regional final.
It marked a perfect weekend for Central, who won 25-23, 25-18 over Peacock in their semfinal after downing Lumsden 25-17, 25-18 and taking a 25-14, 25-20 win over Melville in their round robin games.
Vanier, meanwhile, defeated Melville 25-17, 25-20 in their semifinal and also won both their round robin games 25-9, 25-11 over Yorkton Sacred Heart and 25-22, 26-24 over Peacock.
The Toilers finished in third place in regionals, defeating Melville 25-21, 25-17. Peacock also defeated Melville 25-21, 25-17 to close out the round robin.
With Vanier acting as provincial hosts, all four regional playoff teams qualified for provincials, meaning Melville will earn the fourth berth.
The draw for provincials was released Monday, with Central in Pool A with Meadow Lake, Saskatoon E.D. Feehan, Humboldt and Melville. Vanier and Peacock will do battle in Pool B with North Battleford John Paul II, Melfort and Tisdale.
Action kicks off on Friday at 12 p.m., with North Battleford facing Vanier at Vanier and Meadow Lake taking on Saskatoon at Central.
Peacock plays their first game at 1 p.m. at Vanier against Melfort, while Central takes the court in their home gym against Humboldt at the same time.
Round robin action continues until 11 a.m. Saturday, with quarter-finals beginning at 12:30 p.m. The bronze medal game is set for 4:30 p.m. and gold medal game 5:30 p.m., with both contests at Vanier.
After going undefeated in the regular season and finishing second in the city championship, the Cornerstone Christian School Falcons are also off to provincials.
The Falcons finished in second place in the 2A boys regional playdown at Cornerstone over the weekend, falling 25-21, 25-16 to Wilkie in the title game.
Cornerstone went undefeated to that point, defeating Hepburn 25-16, 25-21 and securing first in their pool with a 25-21, 25-18 win over Langham. That sent the Falcons into the semifinal, where they took a 25-16, 25-13 win over Bellevue to book their provincial berth.
Next up are provincials this weekend in Turtleford and St. Walburg, with Cornerstone the third-seed in Pool B. The Falcons will take the court against St. Walburg, Meath Park, Sturgis and Regina Harvest City.
Maidstone, Birch Hills, Wilkie, Bellevue and Langenberg make up Pool A.
The tournament draw is the same as 4A provincials, with the round robin wrapping on Saturday afternoon, bronze game at 4:30 p.m. and gold game at 5:30 p.m.
You can follow along with all the scores and livestreams by visiting www.shsaa.ca.
