As the season comes to a close, the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association (MHSAA) has honoured volleyball players from the region.

On Nov. 30, Mackenzie Lowden of the Lorette Scorpions was named as one of the two Dairy Farmers of Manitoba athletes of the week for helping her team win the Zone 13 championship.

The Scorpions also enjoyed other tournament success this season, winning a bronze medal at the Neelin Dig tournament and the consolation bracket at Niverville’s tournament.

While listed as a left side hitter, Lorette Collegiate athletic director Michelle Marinelli said in a MHSAA news release it was Lowden’s versatility which helped the Scorpions find success. Lowden also played as a setter and right side throughout the season.

Area hockey players will be heading to P.E.I. in February to represent the province.

Defenseman Reece Gault and forward Owen Martin, both of Oakbank, were named to the Canada Winter Games roster. The roster features the best U16 players in Manitoba.

St. Adolphe’s Avery Pickering will also be making the trip. The age-group for women at the Canada Winter Games is U18.

Taras McEwan, an assistant coach with the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Winnipeg Ice, will be leading the U16 group as head coach.

With a schedule chock full of away games this season, fans of the Providence Pilots men’s and women’s basketball teams were given a rare treat Nov. 26, as the Pilots came out with a pair of victories against the Universite de Saint-Boniface Rouges in Manitoba Colleges Athletic Confrence (MCAC) action.

The men’s team fell behind by 10 points in the first quarter, but eventually stormed back for a convincing 89-58 victory, erasing their early deficit by half-time.

The women’s game was even less competitive, with Providence crushing their Winnipeg-based opponents by a final score of 102-38.

Both basketball teams will hit the road for their final games of 2022, playing Free Lutheran Bible College in Minneapolis Dec. 1, Emmaus Bible College Dec. 2 and Faith Baptist Bible College Dec. 3. The final two matches of their trip take place in Dubuque, Iowa.

It took until nearly 11:30 p.m., but the Steinbach Regional Secondary School varsity boys team was able to equal their counterparts, winning a South Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) banner inside their home gym.

With the girls’ match going a full five sets, including a 19-17 final set, the boys match didn’t begin until well into the evening.

While there was plenty of drama to be found in the girls varsity final, the varsity Sabres boys team was (relatively) more comfortable finding their way to the championship banner, winning 3-1 (25-14, 25-21, 19-25, 25-19) over the Dakota Lancers.

Both the boys and girls SCAC finals featured Steinbach against Dakota, with Steinbach using a raucous home-court advantage to lock up the varsity SCAC championships.