The Creighton Kodiaks and Hapnot JV Kweens each hosted their own tournaments last weekend - and each won on their home court.
Creighton’s senior girls Kodiaks squad placed first in the four-team conference tournament they hosted Nov. 4, moving on to regionals. Creighton defeated Stanley Mission, Canoe Lake and the Nisto Awasisak Memorial School from Cumberland House over the course of the day to claim the title.
Creighton started with an emphatic 25-13, 25-9 win over Stanley Mission, then picked up another 25-11, 25-9 win over Canoe Lake. The day finished off with a 20-25, 25-18, 15-2 win over Cumberland House to finish the tournament.
The Kodiaks will now move on to regionals next weekend in Shellbrook, where they will face off against five other teams in a one-day tournament Nov. 10. Creighton will start off against Stobart at 9 a.m. local time Nov. 10, followed by a game against Waldheim at 1 p.m. and playoff games later in the day.
JV tournament
Meanwhile across the border, both Hapnot JV Kweens squads impressed in their home gym, with the Kweens A team winning the final and the Kweens B team picking up a pair of big wins.
The six-team tournament featured two teams each from Hapnot and from The Pas’ Margaret Barbour Collegiate (MBCI) Spartans and one team from both R.D Parker Collegiate and OCN’s Oscar Lathlin Collegiate. In pool play, the Hapnot A squad went 2-0, handing MBCI’s top team a 25-14, 27-25 defeat and beating R.D. Parker 25-4, 25-23. The B team lost to the MBCI B team, called the Spartans Gold, by a score of 21-25, 9-25, but beat Oscar Lathlin 25-20, 25-13.
All six teams would qualify for playoffs, but the top team from each pool would get a bye directly into the semis - the other four teams would have to fight to get ahead. The Kweens A team got a bye, but the Kweens B team did not and had to face R.D. Parker to advance. Despite that obstacle, the Kweens B handled the Trojans, upsetting the bigger school’s top team 25-16, 27-25 to move on.
The semis ended up being intersquad games - the two teams from Hapnot would play each other, along with the MBCI squads. The Kweens A won 25-6, 25-16 and earned a spot in the final - the Spartans beat MBCI Gold 25-20, 22-25, 15-3 to advance.
In the final, the Kweens A made light work of the Spartans, beating them 25-9, 25-12, claiming tournament victory on their own court. The JV Kweens and Kings will host their respective provincials later this month.
Hapnot seniors
In the boys’ senior draw, the Kings were drawn up against their rival MBCI Spartans, along with the Landmark 96ers and the MacGregor Mustangs. The Kings won both sets against MBCI, winning 25-21, 26-24. Another win would come against MacGregor, with Hapnot taking two sets 25-19, 25-17, but Landmark would get the better of the Kings, beating them 18-25, 15-25. Hapnot would still finish second in the pool though with a 4-2 record, leading them into the B-side round.
There, Hapnot would face the Warren Wildcats. While Warren would take the Kings to extra points in the first half, the Kings would close it out, beating them 30-28, 25-13. That set up an all-northern clash between the Kings and Thompson’s R.D. Parker Collegiate Trojans - Hapnot had less trouble in that northern grudge match, winning 25-19, 25-20 and moving into the B-side semifinal against Altona’s W.C. Miller Aces.
Sadly for the Kings, their luck would run out there. They pushed the first set into extra points, but the Aces would take both that and the second set, knocking Hapnot out with a 25-27, 20-25 loss.
The Kweens did not see the same kind of pool play success, but pulled out triumph in the end. In their draw, Hapnot lost both sets to the Elton Sabres and the Gilbert Plains Trojans and took split sets with the Deloraine Colts, giving Hapnot a 1-5 record through pool play and moving them into the B side.
Hapnot matched up with the Baldur/Cartwright Co-op team and got a decisive 25-11, 25-23 win, moving on to a match of their own with W.C. Miller. Unlike the Kings, the Kweens were able to overcome their southern foes, beating them 25-10, 15-25, 15-13 in a three-set slugfest. Heading further down the bracket, Hapnot beat Boissevain 25-17, 25-23, reaching the B side final against the John Taylor Pipers from Winnipeg. In that final, the Kweens made quick work of their foes, paying the Pipers with a 25-9, 25-17 victory.
