The Vanguard Valkyrs battled among the best 1A boys' volleyball teams in the province over the weekend, and came away with an SHSAA Provincial Bronze Medal.

The Valkyrs, led by coaches Chris Caswell and Stephen McComish, were in Rouleau for games on Friday and Saturday.

Place in Pool A, Vanguard stumbled slightly to a 2-2 round robin record with straight-set wins over Leader and Goodsoil, but also losing in straight sets to Edam and Bellevue.

In the playoffs, the Valkyrs met Middle Lake and forced their first three-set game of Provincials. Vanguard snuck by in the third set of the Provincial quarterfinal with scores of 25-15, 19-25, 15-13.

However, they would run into the eventual gold medal-winning team from the host community, as Rouleau would top the Valkyrs in three sets.

Dropped into the third-place game, Vanguard met a nearby south-central Saskatchewan opponent from Mossbank.

In what was described as "a thriller" of a bronze medal match, the Valkyrs won in three sets (18-25, 25-21, 15-11) to secure the medal at SHSAA 1A Boys' Volleyball Provincials.