The Caronport Cougars were the top team all season and they showed it in the final.

The Cougars held off a strong fight from the Peacock Toilers to win the Moose Jaw High School Senior Girls Volleyball League championship in three straight sets on Tuesday at Sask Polytech.

It’s the third straight league title for Caronport.

“We were able to score some of those momentum turning points, I thought Peacock played really well, best that we’ve seen them this year, they came ready to play,” said Caronport head coach Derek Zacharias.

Caronport posted a perfect 8-0 record during the regular season, only dropping a few sets along the way.  They were given a good fight from Peacock, who came into the game as the second seed after going 5-3 during the regular season.

“Peacock played some tremendous defence, they dug a lot of balls and transitioned well, but we were fortunate to put some big hits away when we needed them,” said Zacharias.

The Toilers were in every set throughout the night, but they just couldn’t find that one final break to swing the game in their favour.

“My girls played great, I couldn’t ask from anything more from them, they came with heart, they played with heart,” said Peacock head coach Lorne Polupski.  “I feel bad for my girls, I’ve some of those girls for four years, since grade nine.”

Peacock's Taylor Mantell attempts to tip the ball past Caronport's Jayda Harder during Tuesday night's Moose Jaw High School Senior Girls Volleyball League final. (Photo: Marc Smith)

In the first set, the Cougars came out firing, but the Toilers answered back at every turn.  Caronport would hold on for a 25-18 win.

The second set saw Caronport jump out to a big early lead, but Peacock forced their way back into the set before eventually falling 25-17.  The third set played out much the same with the Cougars again winning, 25-17.

Zacharias said that once his team settled into the Sask Polytech gym, they started to play well, “Once we were able to get into a rhythm, I was really happy with how the girls competed,” he said.

Despite the loss, Polupski said he’s proud of how his team has grown and is playing as they head into the provincial playdowns.

“Our lowest placing in a couple of tournaments was fourth, we got a couple of seconds, we lost to Swift Current in a bronze that was really tight here in Moose Jaw, so we’re really looking forward to regionals, we’re almost on top of our game right now,” he said.  “We’ve peaked, we’ve got everybody healthy, so it’s good.”

Both teams will now turn their attention to regionals coming up this weekend around the province. 

Peacock and Central head to Estevan for the 5A Girls South Regional tournament, while Caronport and Vanier are in Dalmeny for the 4A Girls West Regional.  Both tournaments hit the court on Friday and Saturday.

At the 3A level, the Cornerstone Falcons are making their way to Regina for the 3A Girls South Regional tournament.