A whole slew of volleyball action took place over the weekend, both locally and abroad.

Starting with the JV Zone 11 Boys and Girls Volleyball Championships, which took place at Oscar Lathlin Collegiate. A total of 10 schools competed on the girls’ side, while eight schools took part in the boys’ division. Competition was at an all-time high, with teams battling for the opportunity to be crowned Zone 11 champions and book their tickets to provincials.

After pool play, the final four was set for both divisions. On the boys’ side, MBCI, Mantou Sakahigan Kiskinamakewikamik, HBOIERC, and St. Theresa Point High School advanced to the semifinals. MBCI and HBOIERC both came out on top in their respective matchups to earn a spot in the final, where the Spartans defeated the Huskies in straight sets to claim the championship.

On the girls’ side, Hapnot Collegiate Institute, HBOIERC, MBCI, and OLC advanced to the semifinals. Hapnot and MBCI eventually secured their spots in the final, where the Kopper Kweens came out on top after two razor-close sets to capture the title.

Elsewhere, the two varsity MBCI teams were in Brandon competing in Neelin High School’s DIG Tournament.

After pool play, the boys earned a spot in the B-Side bracket, while the girls advanced to the C-Side bracket. Both squads came up short in their opening matchups but worked their way into their respective consolation finals.

The MBCI boys eventually took down R.D. Parker Collegiate to finish on a winning note, while the girls came up short in their best-of-three matchup against the Hartney Hornets.

Looking ahead to this weekend, MBCI will play host to the Senior Varsity Boys and Girls Zone 11 Championships. A total of nine Northern schools will be in town to compete for the opportunity to represent the North at provincials in the coming weeks.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard came up short in their weekend matchup against the Waywayseecappo Wolverines.

The final score read 4-1 in favour of the number-two-ranked Wolverines, with Sam Laplante accounting for Northern Manitoba’s only goal.

Northern Manitoba now has three home games coming up this week. Tomorrow, the Swan Valley Stampeders will be coming to town, while Friday and Saturday will see the Portage Terriers make the trek up to The Pas.

All three games have puck drop slated for 7:00 p.m.

Elsewhere in the MJHL, teams that enjoyed a perfect weekend included Waywayseecappo, Winkler, Portage, and Steinbach. Niverville and Swan Valley were the only teams to split their weekend series.

Despite the loss, the Blizz remain tied for third place in the MGEU West Division with the Stampeders.

The Pas Huskies have announced that registration is now open for their A&W/Funky Threadz U9 Hockey Tournament.

The non-refundable entry fee is $800 per team, with e-transfers accepted at tpmha.u9@gmail.com.

The roster deadline for the January tournament is December 9th, while the payment deadline is December 19th.

The tournament itself will kick off on January 8th and run through the 10th, with space available for a total of 16 teams.

For more information, contact Crystal Krost at crystalmorrish@hotmail.com or by phone at 204-620-1889.

Attention all volleyball players and coaches here in The Pas, OCN, and across the R.M.! There will be both a coaching clinic and a youth camp taking place next week at Oscar Lathlin Collegiate.

The two-day event is being organized by the Manitoba Aboriginal Sports & Recreation Council’s Sport for Science Development Team.

Friday’s session, which runs from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., will be geared toward those interested in coaching the sport.

Saturday is when the youth camp will take place, with three separate sessions for different age groups. Players aged 12 and 13 will be in the gym from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Those aged 14 and 15 will have their session from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., while players aged 16 and 17 will take the court from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

All skill levels and abilities are welcome. Space is limited, so those interested are encouraged to register at masrc.com.

A few of the MBCI volleyball teams were in action this past weekend.

The JV boys were in Dauphin competing in the DRCSS JV Boys Tournament, while the SV girls made the trek to Thompson to play in R.D. Parker Collegiate’s Senior Varsity Northern Lights Tournament.

After going 1-1 in round-robin play, the JV boys earned a matchup against Crocus Plains for third place. The Spartans would come out on top after two back-to-back competitive sets to secure third place.

The SV girls, meanwhile, went 2-1 in their pool, earning them a first-round matchup against Mikisew School. That victory propelled the Spartans into the semifinals, where they faced the eventual tournament champions, the HBOIERC Huskies.

Although the SV girls came up short, they still put up a great fight against the tournament’s top team.

Looking ahead to this weekend, both SV MBCI squads will be hitting the road to Brandon to compete in Neelin High School’s DIG Tournament, arguably one of the biggest volleyball competitions held annually.

The OCN Storm’s three-game win streak came to an end this past Saturday when the back-to-back champs fell to Cross Lake in what was a close contest.

Each team found the back of the net once in the final frame, sending the game to overtime. It would be Cross Lake’s Melvin Scatch who scored the game-winner to hand the Storm their first loss in four games.

Sunday’s game was just as tight, with the main difference being that both teams had an easier time finding the back of the net. By the time regulation ended, the score was tied 6-6.

In the overtime period, Keestin Danielson scored his second goal of the night to seal the victory for OCN.

The only other game that took place this past weekend saw NCN defeat Norway House 5-4 in overtime.

Looking at the standings, Cross Lake and OCN remain tied for first place with 12 points. Peguis sits in second with 10 points, while Norway House is in third with nine points. NCN remains in last place with five points.

OCN will play host once again this weekend as they’re set to take on NCN in back-to-back games. Puck drop on Saturday is set for 7:30 p.m., while Sunday’s contest will get underway at approximately 1:00 p.m.

It was another weekend split for Northern Manitoba after taking on the Winnipeg Blues in Cross Lake and Norway House this past weekend as part of their Impact Tour.

Friday’s game in Cross Lake saw nearly 900 fans in attendance, while Saturday’s matchup in Norway House had well over 600 fans show up for the second meeting between the two teams.

Game one against Winnipeg was a tough outing for the Blizz. By the time the second period wrapped up, the score read 4-0 for the Blues. Northern Manitoba’s Kurtis Kinoshita and Matthew O’Sullivan each found the back of the net in the final frame, but it wasn’t enough, as the Blues added one more to secure the 5-2 victory.

Saturday’s contest was a much different story. Even though the Blues got on the board first, Jack Perrier found the back of the net at the halfway point of the first period to tie things up heading into the second.

Sam Laplante scored the lone goal of the second period, while Shiva Singh and Matthew O’Sullivan added two more in the third to make the final 4-1.

Netminder Connor Mackenzie earned his second win of the season while in goal for Saturday’s matchup.

The Blizz now pivot to this week’s only game against the Wolverines in Waywayseecappo. Puck drop for Friday’s game is set for 7:30 p.m., with 102.9 CJAR covering all the action from start to finish.

Elsewhere in the MJHL, Portage, Winkler, Steinbach, Winnipeg (Monarchs), and Waywayseecappo each split their weekend of play. The only team to go undefeated on the weekend was Virden.

As of right now, the Blizz sit in third place in the MGEU West Division with 16 points.