Massey boys join girls in quarters

The stage is set for a super Saturday of Viking volleyball.

After the No. 2-ranked Vincent Massey girls earned a bye to the quarterfinals, the boys joined them with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 28-26) sweep of the defending AAAA champion River East Kodiaks at Massey on Thursday afternoon.

Viking boys’ head coach Rylan Metcalf said his team was incredibly prepared and it showed.

“Lots of preparation, lots of guys really taking initiative, doing some scouting as players, which is so special to see,” Metcalf said.

“We just came in with the mindset it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the court, just focusing on our side and really executing the stuff we can control.”

The boys face the No. 2 Steinbach Sabres at 2 p.m., a few hours after the girls play the Kelvin Clippers at 10 a.m.

“It just means a lot to us that we get a chance to have it here, especially because we mostly go to Winnipeg,” said Vikings senior Zoe Redekop.

Massey’s boys entered the tournament as the No. 10 seed, but Metcalf knew this year might feature more parity and upset potential than any in recent memory.

The Vikings fed off an energetic crowd and started strong, not letting the Kodiaks rattle off any long scoring runs while winning the serve-and-pass battle most of the way.

River East settled in after a weaker opening set and put up a fight, even pushing the third to extra points but Massey closed it out to keep its season alive.

Logan Van Santen posted 15 kills and four blocks, with Nikos Tellidis adding eight kills and four blocks.

“It was awesome,” Metcalf said. “The crowd gave us a lot of energy. It was super loud in there. To have the support from the students and the staff, it’s awesome for the guys playing on the court.”

The Vikings know it doesn’t get any easier now with a talented Sabres group awaiting in the quarters.

Steinbach is the only top-10 team Massey hasn’t faced this year, but Metcalf has seen enough to know what to expect.

“They’re a very solid team, solid serving team, solid passing team, they’re not afraid to hit the ball,” Metcalf said.

“Their coach obviously has instilled in them to be aggressive on offence, which can always work or can work against you.”

MASSEY GIRLS LOOK TO DEFEND

A year ago, Massey was the clear-cut top seed with the clear-cut No. 1 player in Manitoba in outside hitter Jersey Hansen-Young, now a Manitoba Bison.

The Vikings powered through a five-set semifinal against the Steinbach Sabres, then beat the Jeanne-Sauve Olympiens 3-1 to capture their first-ever AAAA gold medal.

The lineup also featured U Sports opposite Zoe Price, who plays for Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont.

For Zoe Redekop, who stepped into Hansen-Young’s role, replacing that lineup is “impossible.”

“We just use the whole team as inspiration. I don’t think we could ever replace them,” Redekop said.

“But their presence from last year, their friendship and their determination and hard work showed us how we can get there.

“Looking up to that, I never would have expected us to reach that potential, but here we are. Now it’s a reality.”

Massey still has plenty of firepower with Redekop and Grade 11 outside Hannah McGregor, who started on the championship team as a sophomore.

Middle blocker Ashley Sullivan came back stronger after a summer with the provincial team, while Kaitlyn Couckuyt has been terrific in her first season as the starting setter.

Redekop said the team still strives to attack aggressively, but relies a little more on its defence now, led by libero Reece Cowan.

“Reece especially has really stepped up for our defence and passing. I think with that lack, maybe, of offensive side Jersey brought, it’s really rounded out our team well,” Redekop said.

Added Cowan: “We work hard all the time. Even if we can’t score, we know we’re going to have to step up and do our defensive jobs.”

The Clippers are one of the few teams that beat the Vikings this year, edging them 15-13 in the third set of the final at the Pembina Trails tournament on Nov. 1.

Before that, the Vikings won Selkirk’s Royal Rumble, the Viking Classic and the Westwood Invitational before dropping a five-set semifinal to the Mennonite Brethren Hawks at the St. Vital Invitational.

Kelvin was down 2-1 on Thursday but rallied and knocked off the No. 7-seed Vincent Massey Trojans of Winnipeg.

“They’re really good at coming back. When we played them last time, we were up a lot, but they battled back and pushed us to make less errors,” Cowan said.

“They make not many errors, so that means we have to be good on our side.”

Massey gets one more home match, then will hit the road if it wins. The girls’ final four is at the University of Manitoba on Wednesday evening, followed by the boys’ semifinals on Thursday.

Both championship matches are on Dec. 1.

Whatever happens, it’ll be a bittersweet end to an unforgettable three months.

“Last year, we had a really good group of girls, then the six that came on, the rookies, they’re just as great,” Cowan said.

“We’re all one big family. It’s awesome coming into the gym every day, putting everything behind us and playing with our friends.

“We want to do it for each other.”

• • •

In the other boys’ matches, Winnipeg’s Vincent Massey Trojans swept the Sisler Spartans 3-0 to earn a quarterfinal against No. 4 Gabrielle-Roy.

Mennonite Brethren swept Lord Selkirk 3-0 and will take on the top-ranked St. Paul’s Crusaders.

Miles Macdonell swept Glenlawn and will play No. 3 Dakota on Massey’s side of the draw.

On the girls’ side, St. Mary’s ousted Murdoch MacKay 3-1, reaching the quarterfinal on Massey’s side of the draw against Sturgeon Heights.

Westwood topped Miles Mac 3-1 to earn a matchup with the No. 1 seed Mennonite Brethren.

Garden City upset Steinbach 3-2 in the last match and will play Jeanne-Sauve.

• • •

At AAA JV provincials, the Neelin boys went 1-2 in Pool C, falling in three sets to John Taylor and Neepawa and beating Elmwood 2-0 on Thursday. The Neelin girls lost to both Virden and Dauphin 2-0 in Pool A, and will round out the seeding portion of the tournament today against Linden Christian at 2:15 p.m.

At AAAA JV provincials, the Massey girls beat West Kildonan 2-0 and lost to Dakota 2-1 in Pool C action, with their match against Kelvin ending after deadline.

The Viking boys beat Mennonite Brethtren and Kelvin 2-0 while falling 2-1 to River East.

The elimination rounds begin today.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Instagram: @thomasfriesen5