On the tube
PGA Tour: The Players Championship -- second round (noon, Golf). NHL playoffs: Eastern Conference Final -- Game 1, Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins (6:30 p.m., CBC). MLB: Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Indians (6:30 p.m., Sportsnet).
Today's event
HORSE RACINGThoroughbreds -- At Assiniboia Downs. Post time 7 p.m.
Royals flush with success after repeat in Ottawa
The Selkirk Royals have served up another repeat victory but this time, it's on the national scene.
Coach Rick Scott's Royals 18-and-under girls volleyball team won a second straight national title at the 17-and-under and 18-and-under Canadian Open Volleyball Championships in Ottawa.
They won the 17U title last year. Six members of the Royals were also members of Selkirk's four-time provincial AAAA high school championship team.
"I'm very proud of this team, they're a great group, for their dedication and hard work," said Scott, who will take up a new post as head coach of Dalhousie University women's volleyball team this summer. "It's very difficult to win consecutive national titles, it's not something that is done very often."
The Selkirk team made a stunning comeback in their quarter-final match against Ontario when they battled back from a 10-3 deficit to win the third and deciding set 15-13.
The Royals beat Fraser Valley, B.C., the defending 18U champion, in the semifinals and shut down Calgary's Canuck Pulse 25-12 and 25-17 in the gold-medal match.
Royals left-side Tabitha Love of Dauphin was named tournament MVP while the all-star team included setter Megan Cyr and Kayla-Dawn Grantham of the Royals and left-side Mariel Barcia of fourth-place Winnipeg Cobras.
In the girls 17-and-under Division I, Kellie Baker and Sarah Friesen of Brandon Tri-Star Storm were named all-stars.
In the 18-and-under men's division, Bison Gold earned silver with right-side Dane Pischke and left-side Chris Voth named all-stars along with Winnipeg Strike's Matthew Schriemer.
Selection camp under way
THE national senior men's volleyball team's final selectional camp began Thursday with a final roster of 20 to be announced Monday.
Head coach Glenn Hoag will name up to 20 athletes who will train in the Winnipeg-based Team Canada Volleyball Centre this summer. A team will be selected from that group to compete in the Pan American Cup tournament in Winnipeg June 2-8.
Manitoba players participating in the camp include setters Mike Munday (Winnipeg) and Dustin Addison-Schneider (Winnipeg), middles Nathan Toews (Winnipeg) and Joel Small (Brandon) and left-side Toon van Lankvelt of Rivers.
Hoop squads named
BASKETBALL Manitoba has named four boys and girls provincial teams in the 15-and-under midget and 17-and-under juvenile age groups.
These teams will represent Manitoba at two exhibition tournaments in July followed by national championships. The midget nationals are Aug. 5-9 in Kamloops, B.C. with the juvenile nationals Aug. 19-23 in Charlottetown.
Over 250 players competed in the provincial team tryouts in mid-April. For a full list of rosters, see page C6 or see www.basketballmanitoba.ca.
Five glove scholarships
FIVE players from the Zone 4 High School Fastpitch League will take their talents and scholastic abilities south to North Dakota this fall.
Tiffany Friesen of the Morden Thunder, the 2006 provincial high school championship MVP, is going to Jamestown College, Paige Smith of Gretna's MCI Blues will attend Valley City State and Adrianna Boychuk, Deanna Mitchell and Ashley Smoke of Portage Collegiate Institute Saints have accepted scholarships at Valley City State, Minot State and Jamestown.
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