College Gabrielle-Roy in Île-des-Chênes dominated their volleyball season, with three of their teams qualifying for Provincials.
The Junior Varsity Boys and Varsity Girls were ranked first and second, respectively, in Manitoba before the championships, while the Varsity Boys ranked fourth in the province and were able to climb two spots in the end.
The Junior Varsity Boys, coached by Daniel Lother and Rhéal Chaput, weren’t only Zone 13 champions but also won the JV A/AA Provincial Championship in Flin Flon for the second year in a row, defeating the Rosenort Redhawks in the final. Setter Reece Clarke was named the tournament MVP, and right-side hitter Nicoles Carter was recognized as a tournament all-star, according to the school’s press release.
Alain Hebert and Alex Sabourin coached the Varsity Girls into being recognized as the Zone 13 Champions and Regional Playdown Champions. The team also qualified for Provincials, where they won their last match against McGregor to win bronze. In addition to the team’s win, one of their players, Angéline Ritchot, received two acclamations: tournament all-star and grad all-star. A prestigious acknowledgement, a grad all-star recognizes 24 boys and 24 girls from more than 100 schools at the A, AA, and AAA levels. A banquet and all-star game will be held in their honour on December 8.
Silver medals and a finalist banner were awarded to the Varsity Boys after they were defeated by Grunthal in the final of the Provincial Championship in Carberry at the end of November. Despite not winning the tournament, a few players were recognized for their stellar play: Dany Dupuis and Liam Poirier were honoured as tournament all-stars, as well as grad all-stars, while Colin Leger also walked away with a grad all-star nod.
The top three teams coming out of the AA Varsity Boys championship were Green Valley, Gabrielle-Roy, and Steinbach Christian—all teams from Zone 13.
“Thankfully, the regional playdown format allowed for these three teams to qualify for the Provincial Championship,” says Gabrielle-Roy Vice Principal Joel Mangin. “All three teams know each other well and a great deal of respect is shown towards each other despite frequent meetings on the court.”
Also a member of Zone 13 is Niverville Collegiate Institute, who took home second place in the AAA category despite being a AA-sized school. For those of you doing the math, that would make four Zone 13 AA boys teams picking up medals at the Provincial Championship.
“It’s certainly a testament to the quality of coaching and dedication of players in our zone,” says Mangin.
