The Briercrest College junior varsity volleyball teams finished off their first season of PAC play this past weekend in Swift Current at the PAC championships. The men eventually fell to the eventual PAC champions while the women fell in the championship semi-final.

The third-ranked Briercrest men’s volleyball team faced Moose Jaw Polytechnic in the first round losing 2-0 (25-21, 25-20); they then faced second ranked, and eventual PAC Champion, Millar College of the Bible, losing 2-1 (25-20, 24-26, 15-12).

Head coach Carter Reimer summed up the weekend and season.

“This past weekend at playoffs we went in with much excitement knowing that we had made significant improvements throughout the semester,” he explained. “Our first game was against Moose Jaw and unfortunately they came out stronger than we did and took the game in straight sets. We were running a modified line-up due to some missing bodies so I think that we struggled adapting to that. Our next game against Millar was a tough fought match, both teams were playing great volleyball; I thought that our guys were executing at a high level and could extend plays with some great defense. We ended up losing that match in three with the final score being 15-13 for Millar in the third. Overall, we were disappointed with the weekend, we thought that we had a chance to go far in the tournament but unfortunately for us that wasn’t the case. The guys showed a lot of perseverance over the course of the season, having to deal with multiple injuries and playing some different positions, but they continued to improve with each rep and it was a pleasure to coach them this season.“

The men's volleyball team was well represented at the PAC Awards banquet Friday evening, with Luke Rafuse selected as PAC men's volleyball top defensive player and Emile Perrault as a league All-Star.

The second-ranked Briercrest women volleyball team lost to third-ranked Prairie College 2-1 (30-32, 25-22, 15-12) in the first round of playoffs before defeating Great Plains 2-0 (25-20, 25-17) and Moose Jaw 2-0 (25-17-25-19) on the back-end side of the bracket on Saturday. They then fell to Prairie again in the championship semi-final 2-1 (25-21,20-25, 15-5).

Head coach Richelle Vigeant was pleased with her team’s performance.

“Our ladies put out a hard-fought effort this weekend,” Vigeant said. “After losing our first game, we were put in the back-door draw to fight our way back. They fought hard through two games to get to the semi-finals, but just fell short in the third and final set to Prairie. I was proud to see our team stay united throughout the weekend. Although we found ourselves in some very challenging games and situations, each member of our team remained engaged and there for one another for support throughout the weekend. Players were ready for strategic substitutions, and were able to adapt to some different rotations and matchups against different teams. I am proud of our team's effort last weekend, and I believe our first season as part of the PAC was a success. “

Sydney Klassen and Ashley Mitchell were recognized as PAC women's volleyball All-Stars at the Friday night Awards Banquet.

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