
There will be two teams from Prince Albert vying for the 5A Girls Provincial Volleyball title in Weyburn this weekend.
Carlton punched their ticket thanks to a regional championship finishing 3-1 in the five team round robin format.
The Crusaders started the tournament with a three set win over North Battleford. In their second match of the day, Carlton would fall in a close three set match against crosstown rival St. Mary. Wins in straight sets over Warman and Lloydminster secured the regional title for Carlton.
Crusader head coach Tori Glynn says she was proud of how Carlton executed in big moments throughout the day.
“It was a really good weekend for us. It was nice to see our team come together. They worked really hard and just consistently executed our game plans against the teams in our region. So it was a really fun experience for our team.”
The regional win for the Crusaders comes after they lost in the city finals to St. Mary in straight sets on their home court.
Glynn says the city final was a good learning experience for Carlton and she was proud of the mental toughness shown by the Crusaders.
“I think that it gave us an opportunity to examine the things we needed to work on as a team. Every match is a learning experience and our coaching staff is really proud of the resilience that we’ve shown and I think that we’ve grown a lot. We’ve been able to develop skills that we wanted to develop in order to be successful this weekend.”
Carlton will be in Pool A for provincials, with their first game scheduled for noon on Friday against Swift Current, who finished as the provincial runner up to St. Mary last year. Other teams in Pool A include the host Weyburn, Saskatoon St. Joseph and Regina Campbell. The top four teams from each pool will enter the playoff bracket.
Glynn says the Crusaders are hopeful that their work throughout the season will pay dividends on the biggest stage.
“Provincials is such a fun experience and we do have senior players who have been to provincials before. We’re excited, they’ll have an opportunity to be leaders and show some leadership for our younger athletes on that provincial stage. We’re going to enjoy playing volleyball at that high level. We’re excited to represent Carlton in Weyburn and we’re excited to take all of that hard work and dedication that we had all season and apply it.”
Marauder girls enter provincials as defending champs

The last two times the St. Mary Marauders have qualified for provincials, they made it all the way to the final. St. Mary lost in the final in 2022 and won it all in Prince Albert last year.
The 2024 edition of the Marauders is a very different team then the one that won the provincial title in their home gym a year ago after graduating several key players on their roster.
St. Mary head coach Shaun Hunko says he is happy that the Marauders are back at provincials and that the team is taking on a different role this time around.
“It’s very exciting. Especially for the fact we lost eight girls from our team from last year. We set our minds on trying to get back here again this year and we’re able to do that. I’m really pumped for the opportunity.”
“This year is a little bit different, just in the sense that we have more of the underdog role. It’s a lot easier when you’re the underdog than when you’re the favorite. It’s a little bit different and there’s less pressure. No one’s expecting us to be successful this weekend just for the fact we lost so many girls. We know what we’re capable of and that’s the important thing.”
In the regional tournament, the Marauders started with wins in three sets over Lloydminster and Carlton. The Marauder girls would knock off North Battlefords in straight sets before a narrow three set loss against Warman.
Hunko says he was pleased with how the Marauders played and that they received entry into provincials thanks to a tiebreaker.
“It was really successful. We came out and won matches that we were expecting to win. It’s a funny format in the way it works. It was a five team round robin and three teams tied at three wins and one loss. The tiebreaker format is a win loss by sets ratio. The way it worked out Carlton finished first and we were second.”
St. Mary will begin provincial play at noon on Friday when they take on Saskatoon Holy Cross. The Marauders were placed in Pool B and will also play Balgonie, Regina LeBoldus and Regina Miller in pool play.
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