Regina Volleyball Club

The 16UM RVC Panthers played in the Provincial Championships April 25/26 in Saskatoon taking the Prince Albert Smashing Bananas to three sets in a closely fought final match.

They started out defeating the first three teams in their pool quite easily against North Battleford Cobras White, Oxbow Black Knights and Moose Jaw Element to setup a first place show down with their Regina rivals, the Quest Matadors. Quest came out and played extremely well beating the Panthers in the first set 25-21. Not to be out done, the Panthers elevated their level of play considerably and ended up defeating the Matadors in the next two sets 25-15, 15-8 to place first in their pool.

The second day saw them playing the Yorkton Bongos in the quarter final. They continued their strong play from the first day defeating them in two games with everyone seeing playing time. They went on to the semifinal to play Moose Jaw Element again who now had their starting setter back. Moose Jaw came out playing their best match of the year taking the first game 25-19. The Panthers struggled at time but won the second game 25-20 to force a third game. Element continued to play well and took a 12-10 lead. After a time out, Andrew Nelson took control of the game with three kills in 5 points to give the Panthers a 15-13 win.

This put the Panthers in a very much anticipated final versus the Prince Albert Smashing Bananas. There was a large crowd cheering on the players as the play got intense and very loud. The Panthers went on to defeat the Bananas in game 1 25-22 with the help of some huge blocks at the net. Game two saw a continuation of the intensity with the Bananas eventually winning 25-21. The third and deciding game didn’t go well for the Panthers with several errors early on that resulted in no real momentum developing for them. Prince Albert went on to win 15-6 to take gold.

Next action is May 9 in Saskatoon at a mini tournament to prepare for Nationals which will take place May 16 – 19 in Calgary, Alberta.