MVP Surinx leads J.H. Bruns school’s first provincial crown

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This article was published 04/12/2021 (1690 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The J.H. Bruns Broncos were aiming to go where no one else in school history had gone before and they made good on that promise Saturday night.

Led by 6-foot left side Raya Surinx, who was named tournament MVP, the Broncos claimed the first AAAA volleyball title for Bruns with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-17) triumph over the St. Mary’s Academy Flames at Sturgeon Heights Collegiate Saturday night.

“This is absolutely insane,” said Surinx, who was difficult to stop as she launched numerous kill shots across-court and down the line. “I haven’t won a provincial title in club (volleyball) so this is really surprising and I’m really happy we did it.”

A hotly contested third set — the teams were tied 23-23 before Bruns clinched the set win — was pivotal.

“It’s so huge,” said veteran Broncos coach Kris Funk of the title win. “I don’t think the girls recognize how big this is because we’ve had good teams in the past but we haven’t really haven’t been close really. And I don’t think they realize that this is going to kick start a whole bunch of volleyball players at Bruns.

“I’ve seen this happen at other schools where a team wins a provincial championship and all of a sudden more people get interested and it’s really gonna snowball, right? We’re gonna build on this.”

All of Saturday’s games were played in eerie quiet. Fans had to watch online since pandemic rules did not permit spectators inside the gym.

Earlier, it had been a day of upsets in the semifinal round.

The No. 4-seeded Broncos staged the first shocker, toppling the No. 1-ranked Vincent Massey Trojans 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 18-25, 19-25) to advance while the sixth-seeded Flames had to work a bit harder, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to post a 3-2 (25-27, 14-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-9) triumph over the No. 2 Sturgeon Heights Huskies.

“At first I was a bit unsure because of seeing (Vincent Massey’s) reputation,” said Surinx. “But then after the first set, we got more and more confident and it just worked out for the best… After we beat Massey I think it gave us a huge confidence boost.”

Surinx, who was named the province’s top female high school player in a poll released Friday, will attend the University of Manitoba next fall.

“Today was accumulation of all the hard work that she’s put in — on the volleyball court and training off the volleyball court,” said Funk of his high-leaping star. “She just works like crazy… she’s always improving. She wants to be the best. She absolutely does.

“It’s uncanny. I’ve coached a lot of really, really good players in the past and she has a chance to be as good if not better than all of them just because of the focus she has. And she’s humble.”

The tournament all-star squad included: Olivia Dao, Sturgeon Heights; Sara McClymont, Vincent Massey; Katya Cisneros, St. Mary’s; Ava Skromeda, St. Mary’s; Mia Caronte, J.H. Bruns; and Jenna Dyck, J.H. Bruns.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14