Volleyball seems to be Brandon's specialty, as two of the three teams nominated for the Westman Journal's High School Team of the Year award were powerful forces on their side of the net in 2009-10.

The Crocus Plains varsity girls' volleyball team, the Neelin varsity boys' volleyball team, and the Vincent Massey varsity girls' basketball team are competing one last time this year in this off-the-court battle.

Crocus's varsity girls' volleyball team was the returning champion in the provincial AAAA league, and although they started the season a little rough, they finished with a bang. Winning gold in five of their seven regular-season tournaments, the Plainsmen quickly overcame any struggles they started with, going undefeated from Oct. 23 until the end of the season, finishing with a record of 46-8.

In the provincial tournament, they found they had to play St. Mary's in the semi-finals. St. Mary's was already 4-1 against the Plainsmen during the season, but the Crocus girls rose to the occasion at the right time, beating St. Mary's three sets to zero. They continued their winning streak by going into the final against Vincent Massey Winnipeg, beating the Trojans in four sets to secure consecutive AAAA championships.

The Neelin varsity boys' volleyball team had an extremely successful season as well, claiming their second Manitoba High School Athletic Association provincial AAA championship in three years.

The Spartans were expecting to face a struggle this year because Greg Beckwith, the old boys' coach, switched to helping the girls' program and new coach Chad Paradis took over. The team under Paradis didn't miss a beat, going 35-13 on the season. A big part of the Spartans' success was the talent on the roster, with two members, Blake Majcher and Kirby Sinclair, making the all-star team. Majcher also won tournament MVP at the provincials, and Sinclair was chosen as a provincial tournament all-star, as well as being nominated for the Westman Journal Male Athlete of the Year.

The Massey varsity girls' basketball team exceeded expectations from day one. Having gone only 16-13 last season, a 19-game win streak to start the season was a welcome surprise, as was finishing the season 29-5.

The Viking girls also went through a change in coaching, as regular coach Heather Baranyk going on maternity leave left Dean Oakden and Jerry Hemmings to co-coach the team with the help of Justin Thiesen. But the new coaching staff did OK as the girls went on to win their first five tournaments of the year. They nearly captured the city championships against Crocus as well, but after rallying in game two to force a third, the Vikings fell just short in the last quarter, losing the final. The Vikings made it to the provincial tournament as a No. 6 seed, but were also unable to prevail there, losing to St. Mary's. Sarah Didychuk and Jen Dixon led the team all season and were named to the all-star team. They will be leaving behind eight girls on the roster who all have big hopes for next season.

The winner of the Team of the Year award will be announced in next week's Journal.