Gabrielle-Roy roars into AAAA varsity provincials

There’s a new addition to the region’s AAAA contingent at the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association volleyball provincials.

While both the boys and girls Steinbach Regional Secondary School (SRSS) Sabres teams are looking to add to recent championships, they’ll be joined this year by College Regional Gabrielle-Roy.

The Ile-des-Chenes based French-language school normally competes at a AA level, but after the success their junior varsity boys team had last year claiming a AAAA provincial championship, Les Roys are aiming for continued success at the varsity level.

Gabrielle-Roy are the sixth-ranked team heading into provincials this year. While the semi-finals and finals of the AAAA provincial tournament are hosted at the University of Manitoba, this year’s preliminary games will be hosted at Mennonite Bretheren Collegiate Institute (boys) and Kildonan-East Collegiate (girls). The quarterfinals are taking place in Miles Macdonell Collegiate (girls) and River East Collegiate (boys).

Neither SRSS team could nab a South Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) banner this season, with the Sabres losing in the final to Jeanne-Sauve (girls) and Glenlawn (boys) Nov. 15.

The only team to earn a first-round bye is the SRSS Sabres girls varsity team, which are fourth in the provincial rankings. They’ll play a match Nov. 23 against either the Kelvin Clippers (12th seed) or Miles Macdonell (5th seed). Start time is scheduled for noon.

On the boys side of the tournament, both SRSS and Gabrielle-Roy are playing in preliminary round games, and are favoured via the provincial rankings to advance. The top four seeds advance, with the Sabres and Les Roys just missing out by holding fifth and sixth seeds.

The Sabres are playing a re-match of the SCAC semi-final against 12th-ranked Dakota, hosted in Steinbach Nov. 13. Steinbach came out on top 3-1 in the playoff match. The winner will move on to play fourth-ranked Vincent Massey (Winnipeg).

Gabrielle-Roy is matched up with 11th-seed Miles Macdonell, with the winner moving on to play Glenlawn in the quarterfinals.

Both teams will be in action Nov. 21 at Mennonite Brethren at 1 p.m. (SRSS) and 5 p.m. (Gabrielle-Roy).

In the junior varsity ranks, SRSS teams are also in the mix, with the boys team heading into pool play on a hot streak. The Sabres defeated Jeanne-Sauve in the SCAC championship Nov. 14, while the girls came up short against Northlands on the same night.

The AAAA junior varsity provincials include three pools of four teams, with the semi-finals and finals played at Stugeon Heights Collegiate Nov. 23 throughout the day.

OTHER PROVINCIALS

The province’s lower-level provincials are set to begin Nov. 28 and end on Nov. 30th.

The AA provincials are being hosted in Zone 4 this year, with schools in Morris (boys) and Rosenort (girls) holding games.

Gabrielle-Roy, fresh off a zone championship, won a provincial qualifier event they hosted Nov. 16 to nab a spot at provincials and will be joined by Grunthal’s Green Valley School. The Pirates locked up a spot at provincials after defeating Teulon Collegiate in a winner-takes-all battle in Russell.

On the boys side of the AA bracket, the host Morris/St Jean co-op team will be joined by Green Valley as well. The school’s boys team equalled their counterparts, finishing second in the tournament and winning a one-off match against Erickson to advance to provincials.

The Zone 13 AAA championships were held Nov. 18, with Lorette sending their fans home happy. The Scorpions girls team won the banner in their home gym, defeating the Niverville Panthers in a highly entertaining final.

The Panthers had better luck in the boys tournament, defeating Steinbach Christian School in the final, which was hosted in Beausejour. Wildcard berths in the AAA provincials have yet to be determined.

No team from the region was able to qualify for the A provincials.