After winning every tournament they have competed in this season, the bar has been set high for the Central Cyclones boys volleyball team.
That bar was once again set a little bit higher after they claimed the league final last Thursday. The bar is now set at the provincial level as the Cyclones won the South regional title in Swift Current over the weekend.
“We played very well. We continued from where we were at cities and just kept building,” stated Central’s head coach Shaune Gray. “They made very little mistakes.”
The Cyclones were satisfied with the league final victory, but they had their sights set on getting out of regionals and into provincials.
They played Estevan and Weyburn in the round robin and defeated both of them in straight sets. In the semifinal game, the Cyclones defeated Swift Current 25-10 and 25-19. In the championship game, Central beat Estevan 25-13 and 25-18. Also there was Yorkton, who defeated Swift Current for third place as well as Vanier and Peacock. The Cyclones didn’t lose a set all weekend and that was a positive factor for this experienced team, especially against other top teams in the region.
“It helps give them confidence to keep playing and knowing that they are a good team,” said Gray. “Hopefully we don’t get over-confident, but all the kids are fairly grounded and they know that they have to play well in order to win.”
Central knew each team they saw at regionals and felt they were prepared for any squad they faced. Gray felt the competition was stiff throughout the weekend.
“It was good competition. I’m thinking the South (region) has a lot of the top teams this year,” he said. “It is good to see where we are sitting.”
Three teams — Central, Estevan and Yorkton will head off to North Battleford this weekend to compete at provincials. There will be 10 teams altogether competing for the ultimate title and banner and the Cyclones are confident in their ability and skill, but also realize they need to show up and play their style of game in order to succeed.
“The potential is there, but I think everyone has a chance to win. You have to play well to win. I don’t think we can have an off day and still win, but if we play like we can, we have a very good shot of winning,” Gray explained. “I think we have a good chance and I think we have played everybody but a couple teams out of the Saskatoon area.”
For more on this story, read an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
