Massey girls return to final four

Hannah McGregor and the Vincent Massey Vikings are headed back to the final four.

The star outside hitter racked up 19 kills to lead the Vikings past the Kelvin Clippers 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-17) in the AAAA varsity girls volleyball provincial quarterfinals at Massey on Saturday morning.

“The girls really stepped up and played well (Saturday),” said Cougars head coach Kelly DeRoo. “Offensively, we were really strong, we passed the ball well and that was part of our success.

“The crowd fuelled them a little bit. They were excited to play at home and have that opportunity this year. They enjoy playing in our gym, and we rarely get to have tough matches at Massey, so it was nice to have a tight match and play well.”

The Vikings earned a bye to the quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed. They got to scout the Clippers on Thursday as they upset the Vincent Massey Trojans in a hard-fought five-setter.

While the Kelvin was one of the few teams to beat Massey, its most recent loss at the Pembina Trails tournament less than a month ago, it wasn’t going to let that happen again.

Zoe Redekop added 12 kills while Reece Cowan anchored the Vikings’ defence with 16 digs.

They’re off to the final four on Wednesday at the University of Manitoba, taking on the third-seed Sturgeon Heights Huskies, who downed the St. Mary’s Flames in four sets on Saturday.

The other semifinal features the top-ranked Mennonite Brethren Hawks and No. 4 Jeanne-Sauve Olympiens.

The big challenge for a lot of teams that reach this stage isn’t necessarily the large crowd, but the massive facility compared to high school gymnasiums. Depth perception is hard to adjust to for passers and even setters with the high ceiling.

But DeRoo feels her team has been through it before and will handle it just fine.

“The girls are excited for the semis and because we have a lot of returning players from last year that played a lot in those final matches,” DeRoo said.

“They feel comfortable playing at U of M and that’s not going to be an issue.”

The Winnipeg Free Press top 10 coaches poll will come out before the matches, almost definitely featuring at least one Viking.

They have four graduating all-stars in Redekop, Cowan, setter Kaitlyn Couckuyt, middle blocker Ashley Sullivan, but DeRoo is quick to mention the contributions beyond the big names.

She said opposite Hayden Wharf has quietly been great down the stretch.

“She picks up a lot on defence she sets a really good block that we can dig around,” DeRoo said. “She’s clutch in the tight sets to just get the ball in play. She doesn’t get set that much, but she’s always been really consistent for us.”

The championship match is on Monday, Dec. 1 at the U of M.

The Massey boys battled back from a deficit but lost 3-2 to the No. 2 seed Steinbach Sabres in their quarterfinal on Saturday.

Elsewhere:

• In the JV A/AA girls provincial final in Birtle, the Gabrielle-Roy Les Roys defeated the Killarney Raiders 2-0 (25-12, 25-9).

• In the JV A/AA boys provincial final in Hamiota, the Major Pratt Trojans swept the Elton Sabres 2-0 (25-14, 25-22).

• In the JV AAA girls provincial final in Swan River, the Virden Golden Bears beat the Linden Christian Wings 2-1 (25-11, 25-27, 17-15).

• In the JV AAA boys provincial final in Neepawa, the Springfield Sabres topped the Steinbach Christian Flames 2-1 (25-17, 25-15, 15-12).

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