Senior Volleyball Set To Bump Into Round Robin Pool Play
By Robert Thomas
Tomorrow evening’s senior girls and senior boys volleyball will see three changes.
The first change is - as started with junior boys’ games tonight - teams change sides at the end of each set.
This is the end of a measure designed to stop the potential spread of COVID - 19.
The second change is teams in both senior boys and senior girls move into a round robin tiered format.
The teams are now divided into a tier format with the top three teams in Pool A and the bottom three teams in Pool B.
The format then has Pool A and Pool B play a three team round robin with the other teams in their pool.
Standings will continue, but no team in Pool B can move to a higher rank than any team in Pool A.
Senior Boys Pools
The record of senior boys volleyball teams at the time of tiering into a round robin pool
On the senior boys side Assiniboia, Central and Cornerstone are in Pool A.
Pool B consists of Vanier, Peacock and Avonlea.
Senior Girls Pools
The record of senior girls volleyball teams at the time of tiering into a round robin pool
On the senior girls side Vanier, Central and Peacock are in Pool A.
Pool B consists of Notre Dame, Cornerstone and Briercrest.
The reason for the change allows more games to be fit into a limited schedule without having to play two nights a week.
“This format allows us to fit in extra games into the season in a creative way. Doing a full round robin of six team leagues twice is a 10 league night regular season,” league commissioner Levi Broda told MJ Independent, adding “This would mean we have most weeks with matches on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Combined with a full tournament slate we would not have enough practice time and we have to be mindful of the SHSAA (Saskatchewan High School Athletics Association) game limits.”
Action from an earlier senior girls volleyball match - mj independent file photo
“We're basically looking for the goldilocks zone where we have just the right amount of league games; one round robin was not enough, but two was too much,” Broda wrote.
Although there is tiering “no teams are eliminated from the City Championship at this point despite where their final two (tiered) matches are,” he said.
“We have used this format in the past and will definitely use it again if the amount of teams in our leagues require it. Those decisions are made early in September when all schools declare their teams.”
The Third and Final Change is the scheduling of games.
No longer will there be two games per evening - starting at 6:20 pm and 8 pm - at a gym but now all games start at 7 pm and there will be only one game per gym per evening.
The mini round robin schedule spikes off at 7 pm Tuesday with the following games:
Senior Girls - all games start at 7 pm
Central Cyclones at Peacock Toilers (Pool A)
Notre Dame Hounds at Cornerstone Christian School Falcons (Pool B)
Senior Boys - all games start at 7 pm
Central Cyclones at Assiniboia Rockets (Pool A)
Peacock Toilers at Vanier Vikings (Pool B)