Glenboro Panthers rule the court and take the Provincial A volleyball championship
The Glenboro Panthers walked into the Henry Champ Gym at Brandon University seeded second in the province and walked out carrying the provincial championship banner.
The Panthers opened their round robin with confidence and control, sweeping the host team from Rivers with commanding scores of 25–8 and 25–15. Tucker Forbes earned Player of the Game honours. Their second matchup came against their neighbouring rivals from Wawanesa, and Glenboro brushed past them 25–15 in both sets, with Evan Griffin named Player of the Game.
Riverton was next, and the Panthers handled them 25–18 and 25–10. Kylan Diehl secured Player of the Game as Glenboro continued gaining momentum. In their final round-robin match, they topped Hamiota 25–13 and 25–15, with Owen McLean taking the honours.
Coach Jayden Patterson noted that the tournament’s turning point came in Saturday morning’s quarter final against the Morweena Raptors. Glenboro entered as the top seed in their pool, but the Raptors were determined to make them earn every point. After dropping the first set, the Panthers settled in, winning the next two 25–19 and 17–15 to advance to the semifinals.
“We won the second set, but gave up an 8–4 lead in the third set and were down 15–14. The entire team dug deep and scored the next three points to end the game,” said Coach Patterson.
In the semi-finals the Panthers punched their ticket to the finals with a straight set victory over Wawanesa. They won the first set 25-14 and completed the sweep by winning the second set 25-18.
The gold medal match pitted the Panthers against the Miami Marlins, a skilled, athletic squad that had impressed all season. The Marlins were the top-ranked team and the one opponent Glenboro hadn’t beaten this year. They were also the team that eliminated the Panthers in last year’s semifinals. But Glenboro was not about to let the banner slip away again.
In a nail-biting final filled with heart-stopping rallies and enough “ooooh!” moments to rattle the rafters, the Panthers sealed the provincial title with scores of 28–26 and 30–28.
“It was back and forth to start the first set, but we were down 11–5 when we called a timeout. Then we were down 19–13, and then we scored eight straight points to take a 21–19 lead,” said the elated coach. He added that the second set played out almost identically: “We were down 11–5 at our first timeout, then 24–20 at our second. We were one mistake away from Miami forcing a third set, then we scored five straight, exchanged points, and got the game-winning block at 29–28 to win the championship.”
Provincial All-Stars included Grade 11 setter Brydon Cornock, Grade 12 left side Tucker Forbes, and Grade 12 left side Evan Griffin, who was also named Provincial MVP. Coach Patterson also highlighted team captain and Grade 12 right side Austin Dubyts as a crucial leader throughout the weekend.
From pool play through medal presentations, Glenboro showcased the whole package: gritty defence, sharp serving, smart decision-making, and the kind of electrifying bench energy that fuels an entire team. Long after the echoes of the gym have faded, that team photo with the provincial banner will remind them of how they earned it, point by point, serve by serve and spike by spike.
The Baldur-Cartwright boys were also in Brandon and finished third in their pool. They beat Hamiota in the quarter-finals before losing their semi-final match to Miami and losing the 3rd place game to Wawanesa.
PHOTO CAPTION: PROVINCIAL A VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONS: (back row, l. to r.) Brandon McCulloch (Coach), Willliam Drinkwater, Evan Griffin, Austin Dubyts, Owen McLean, Kylan Diehl, Tucker Forbes, Jayden Patterson (Coach). (front row, l. to r.) Dalton Potvin, Easton Shearer, Brydon Cornock, Ashton Potvin.
