It was the Hapnot Kweens junior varsity girls’ turn to win a tournament last weekend, becoming the third of the school’s teams to take top spot so far this season.
The JV Kweens headed to Hamiota Collegiate for the Hamiota JV Volleyball Tournament Oct. 20-21, playing against nine other schools from southern communities. Split up into two five-team pools, the Kweens performed well in their group, dropping only one set en route to a first-place finish. The Kweens beat Hamiota 25-13, 25-13, Neepawa 25-19, 25-23 and Hartney 25-21, 25-20, only dropping one set in an extended split match with Wawanesa that ended 23-25, 27-26.
Qualifying for a playoff round as one of the top four teams from each pool, Hapnot would head into a quarterfinal matchup against the Glenboro Panthers, who didn’t prove to be much of a test for Hapnot - the Kweens beat them 25-21, 25-17. That set up a semifinal with Russell’s Major Pratt Trojans, who finished second in their group earlier in the weekend. Those Trojans took the Kweens to tiebreaker points in their first set, but Hapnot pulled ahead and won both sets, picking up a 28-26, 25-16 win and a spot in the tournament final.
There, the Kweens would play the Gilbert Plains Trojans. The Trojans finished first in their pool earlier in the weekend, but had scrapped by with three-set wins against Killarney and Wawanesa. The Kweens would have their hands full.
Hapnot would take the first set, needing an extra tiebreaker point to do it but finishing up 26-24. Gilbert Plains would keep it close and tie the game up with a 23-25 second set, forcing a third set - first to either hit 15 or win by two would win the tourney.
The Kweens would need more than 15 points to do it, but Hapnot would close it out in the end, getting a 16-14 edge when it counted to win the game and the tournament.
The JV Kweens join both of Hapnot’s senior varsity squads as tournament winners so far this volleyball season. The Kings and Kweens each won their draws at the Doug Oberlin Varsity Volleyball Tournament earlier this month.
The JV Kweens will be back in action this weekend in The Pas, playing in the Margaret Barbour Collegiate (MBCI) JV tournament. The senior Kings will also be playing, this time in Ste. Rose in the Ste. Rose Celtics 10-team tournament.
