Dinsmore Wildcats dominate home court at Rock the Block volleyball tournament

By David McIver

Host Dinsmore Composite teams won the junior boys category, reached the junior girls final, and made the senior boys and girls semifinals of the Rock the Block volleyball tournament, held in the rink and high school on Sept. 27. Each category featured five teams.

The junior boys Wildcats defeated the Beechy Blazers in two sets in the final. Their junior girls counterparts lost their final in three sets to the Davidson Raiders.

Ali Morrison of the Dinsmore Wildcats bumps the volleyball during the junior girls semifinal match at Dinsmore Composite School during the Rock the Block tournament on Sept. 27. The Wildcats defeated the Beechy Blazers 26-24, 27-25 to advance to the final, which they won. Photo by David McIver

The senior girls Wildcats, a co-operative team with Elrose Composite, lost a semifinal to the LCBI Bisons in two sets. The Elrose Composite senior boys team also fell short in a semifinal, losing to the Cabri Cougars in two sets.

The junior boys Wildcats, first with a 7-1 set record after the round robin, defeated the Elrose Eagles 25-15, 25-15 in the final. The Wildcats had beaten the Davidson Raiders 25-14, 25-12 in a semifinal.

The Eagles, who finished the round robin with a 3-5 record for fourth place, beat the Beechy Blazers 25-22, 26-24 in the other semifinal. The Blazers had finished with a 5-3 record for second in the round robin, ahead of the 4-4 Outlook Blues, the Eagles, and the 1-7 Raiders.

The Dinsmore junior girls took Davidson to a third set in the final. The Raiders won the first set 25-18. The Wildcats, third with a 4-4 record in the round robin, came back to edge them 26-24 in the second. The Raiders, 8-0 in the round robin, won the decider 15-9.

The Wildcats had beaten the Beechy Blazers, who were second at 5-3, in two sets in a semifinal. The Raiders beat Kenaston, fourth at 3-5, in two sets in the other semifinal. The Biggar Blazers had gone 0-8 in the round robin.

In senior girls action, the Dinsmore-Elrose Wildcats lost to the LCBI Bisons 25-14, 25-22 in a semifinal. The Wildcats had finished the round robin 4-4 for fourth place.

The Kenaston-Loreburn Kodiaks, winners of the previous weekend’s Rosetown tournament, beat the Bisons 25-22, 25-13 in the final. The Kodiaks, who went undefeated with an 8-0 round robin record, had defeated the North West Central Wildcats from Plenty 25-10, 25-18 in the other semifinal. The Bisons had split into two squads for the round robin—LCBI White (6-2 for second) and LCBI Red (2-6)—and then combined for the playoff round. Because of that, North West Central, 0-8 in the round robin, became the fourth playoff team.

In the senior boys competition, the Wildcats, 6-2 for second place after the round robin, lost a semifinal to the Cabri Cougars 25-19, 26-24. The Cougars defeated the LCBI Bisons 21-25, 27-25, 17-15 in the final. The Bisons had beaten the Eston Mustangs 25-14, 25-20 in the other semifinal. LCBI had topped the round robin with a 7-1 record. The Cougars went 4-4 for third, followed by the 3-5 Mustangs and the 1-7 Davidson Raiders.

“We have been building this team for the past few years,” said Chelsea Billett, one of the junior boys Wildcat coaches. “We undoubtedly have a skilled group of Grade 8-9 boys who are fantastic leaders and exceptional players, but we also have Grade 5, 6, and 7 boys who are quickly adapting and learning the game at a very fast rate. I couldn’t be more proud of this young group for capturing gold at our home tournament!” Billett coached the team with Kristin Ward.

Taking advantage of the visiting teams—156 players and coaches listed in the program—parents and others, about 500 people overall, Dinsmore hosted a town-wide garage sale, the Kinettes’ fall market, and the Dinsmore library book sale.

This was the sixth edition of Rock the Block, first held in 2016. After 2017, the tournament took a four-year break. When it restarted in 2022, organizer Lance Morrison scheduled it for the last weekend in September to coincide with the community garage sale, hoping it would fall after harvest and before the rink got too cold. “Putting all the events together seemed to be very successful,” said Morrison. A fish vendor at the market sold out by 2 p.m. “It is really becoming a big day for Dinsmore.”