The Georges P. Vanier Vipers junior ‘A’ volleyball squads are the kings and queens of the court for 2008. Both teams won their respective divisional championship early last month with the girl’s team bumping off Mistassiny from Wabasca while the boy’s were victorious over the Ecole Heritage Lynx. “We showed excellent discipline and great positional play during the final,” says girl’s head coach Bob Owens. The team’s march to the divisional championship took place Nov. 1 at G.P. Vanier with six teams vying for bragging rights. They included Prairie River and St. Andrew’s from High Prairie, Roland Michener from Slave Lake, Mistassiny, Ecole Heritage and G.P. Vanier. Round robin play saw the Vipers winning all their matches to finish first in their pool and advance to the semi-final while Ecole Heritage ended up second in their pool as a result of a tough loss to Mistassiny. Heritage defeated Roland Michener in two straight sets (25-6 and 25-9) of their quarter final match to advance to the semi-final against Vanier – a match which lived up to everyone’s expectations. “It was the most exciting match of the tournament with excellent three-hit volleyball played by both teams,” Owens explains after Vanier earned two straight wins by scores of 25-21 and 27-25. That set the stage for a showdown in the final against the Mistassiny Mustangs, which defeated St. Andrew’s 25-18 and 25-23 in the semi-final round to advance. Vanier eventually won the first set 25-17 before the Mustangs bounced back to win 25-21 to force a third and deciding set. And that’s where the Vipers took charge, dominating play en route to a 15-8 win. The boy’s side, meanwhile, saw Vanier (led by coach Gerald Kopp) and Heritage square off in the final with the Vipers emerging victorious with two straight win to claim the divisional crown. Five teams competed in the championship, including St. Andrew’s, Gift Lake and Mistassiny and the two local teams with Heritage taking first place honours in the round robin and Vanier claiming third. Heritage knocked off Mistassiny in the semi-final while Vanier advanced by winning two straight sets against St. Andrew’s to advance. The championship match between Vanier and Heritage was the third time this year which the two teams met in a tournament final with both wins going to the Lynx. That, however, would change in the championship final as Vanier turned the table with two consecutive wins over Heritage to make it a clean sweep for the Vipers in the final. Both Vanier teams wrapped up their respective seasons on Nov. 8 at zones with third place results. The girl’s team lost to Peace High in the semi-final while the boys squad bowed out to LaCrete, also in semi-final action. “Overall, we had a very successful season,” says Kopp in reference to the divisional championship. G.P. Vanier coaches Bob Owens and Gerald Kopp wish to thank all parents for their support throughout the course of the 2008 volleyball season.