Jr. Sundogs 17U Women strike provincial gold

The Swift Current Anderson and Company Law Firm Jr. Sundogs 17U Women's Elite captured the Division 1 Gold medal at the 17U Women Indoor Provincial Championship this past weekend in Warman.

Arriving at the 32-team tournament, the Sundogs were the number-one seed in the province. They went 3-1 in pool play beating JCVC Red, QCVC Elite, and Route 20 Renegades, but falling in three sets to the Sask Stealth VC Bravo.

In the quarterfinals, they bested the Esterhazy Heat 25-15 and 25-20 on Saturday morning before blasting by the Saskatoon Wolfpack VC 25-16 and 25-14 in the semifinals.

Swift Current was then pitted against the Sask Stealth VC Bravo for the second time in the tournament and were looking for revenge and the provincial title. The Sundogs emerged from the match with a straight sets 25-21 and 25-20 victory.

"They played to not lose in that game (against the Stealth in pool play) and that showed and they lost," Sundogs head coach Shawn Hiebert said. "The kids had a nice little discussion that I didn't even have to be a part of, because I was a part of quite a few of them earlier in the year. They talked about resilience and what they were going to do going forward into that final day. They performed, they did it on their own."

The Sundogs 17U Women's Elite won all three Sask Cups before provincial, a rare feat at any level. The provincial title puts them in a rarified class of Jr. Sundogs teams on the women's side becoming only the second to win the championship.

"That's pretty cool to be a part of it and even around it," he said. "I'm just privileged that I got to ride along with it. It's surreal.

"It was fun to watch. It's neat as a coach when you work all year and get to see something like that. When there's not much coaching to do at a tournament like that and they take care of themselves."

Hiebert said several factors came into play for them to win gold this year: skill, luck, great assistant coaches, and trusting parents.