Magrath volleyball teams set to compete in provincial championship tournaments

By Garrett Simmons
Westwind Weekly News

The Magrath Pandas 2A girls volleyball team is heading to provincials.
Magrath earned a birth in provincials following a second-place finish in zones on the weekend, hosted by Lethbridge College.
Three Hills School will host the 2019 2A Girls Volleyball Provincials, as matches will begin today (Thursday). In Pool A, Magrath will be joined by Sexsmith Secondary, Christ the King, Rundle College, Onoway and the host Three Hills team.
Magrath will get the tournament started with a 10:15 a.m. game today against Christ the King. Friday at 11:30 a.m., Magrath will take on Sexsmith, before matches at 3:15 p.m. against Onoway and 7 p.m. against Rundle College. Round-robin play will wrap up Saturday with a 9:45 a.m. game against Three Hills.
Playoffs go at 1 p.m. with quarterfinal matches and 2:30 p.m. with semifinal matches. The bronze medal will be determined at 4 p.m. and the gold-medal game will take place at 5:30 p.m.
Magrath’s path to provincials was secured after a solid performance in zones, which included a perfect 3-0 record in the round robin.
The Pandas defeated Raymond 25-10, 25-19, beat Willow Creek 25-12, 25-22 and downed F.P. Walshe 25-20, 25-16.
Magrath got past Taber St. Mary’s in the semifinal but fell to Vauxhall in the zone final.
Raymond lost in the quarterfinals to Kate Andrews, after a round robin that included a loss to Magrath, a 25-8, 23-25, 15-8 win over Willow Creek and a 25-15, 25-15 win over F.P. Walshe.
In 3A boys zones, the Magrath Zeniths also advanced to provincials as the host team. The provincial tournament begins today (Thursday) at Magrath High School.
Magrath will compete in Pool A, as the Zeniths will open play today at 1:45 p.m. The Zeniths will be back on the court Friday at 10:15 a.m. and at 12:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. Saturday’s action begins at 9:45 a.m. for Magrath.
In zones on the weekend in Lethbridge, the Zeniths won both round-robin matches, by scores of 25-20, 25-23 over Winston Churchill and 25-22, 25-15 over Medicine Hat’s McCoy. However, Magrath fell in the semifinal to Cardston, by scores of 23-25, 25-17, 19-25 and 13-25.
Quarterfinals take place Saturday at 1:15 p.m., while semifinal matches will be played at 2:45 p.m. and 4 p.m. The bronze-medal game is set for 5:30 p.m. and the championship match will be played at 7 p.m.
In 1A girls zone competition, Stirling fell in the quarters to Picture Butte, after the team went 1-3 in pool play. Stirling lost to Foremost 11-25, 10-25 and fell to Senator Gershaw 19-25, 10-25. Stirling’s lone win was a 27-25, 16-25, 15-9 win over Lomond.
And with the Southern Alberta High School Volleyball League season also wrapped up, awards have been handed out for the 2019 season.
Shane Orr of the Magrath Zeniths took home Varsity Coach of the Year honours, as Ken Baker of Magrath won for Junior Varsity Coach of the Year.
Jesse Miller and Colton Finck of the Zeniths were named a first-team all-stars, while Joseph Van Bruggen was named a second-team all-star.
First-team all-stars for the girls included Hattie Ogden of Magrath, while Raymond’s Kyra Collier was named a second-team all-star.

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