The Weyburn Junior High Cobras girls volleyball team took first over the weekend in a tournament held at the Weyburn Comprehensive School.

Nine teams were entered, including high school teams from Midale, Rockglen, Milestone, Indian Head and Gravelbourg, along with junior teams from P.A. Carlton, Weyburn Comp and Regina Riffel. The Cobras were the hosts and were the only Gr. 7-9 team.

The Cobras just made the playoffs after coming in fourth through the round-robin with 10 wins and six losses.

"The girls took a while to adjust to the senior height," said coach Dean Leach.

After the round-robin, Indian Head was first, Midale was second, Milestone came third and WJH Cobras was fourth, just squeezing by Regina Riffel. The Comp girls came in sixth after having a slow start, but they came on strong by the end of the tournament.

WJH beat Indian Head in the first round of playoffs in an exciting three-game series, ending with a 16-14 win in the third game for Weyburn. Midale was plagued with injuries and sickness, and were defeated in two games by a powerful Milestone squad.

The final between WJH Cobras and Milestone was a classic. Weyburn was a bit flat after the emotional semi-final, and Milestone won the first set.

"I wasn't too worried about the first loss. We had had a bad start, and with rally point, it is hard to come back. I felt we came on stronger in the second half of the first game and felt confident going into game two. The girls' fitness paid off down the stretch," said Leach, noting Milestone was down to six players who were tiring by the end.

The Cobras won game two, and went on to a 15-11 victory in game three to take the gold medal. This is their fifth win this year in six tournaments, and they will travel to Melville this weekend for their next competition.

"We have some very strong players at power and at middle who are fed offensively by some of the best setting I have experienced at the junior high level. But the key to our success, I feel, has been our defence. Our blocking has improved, our tip coverage has improved, and our first pass is getting better with each tourney. I'm pleased with where we are at this point in the season," said Leach.