When the Yukon volleyball championships get underway Thursday in Whitehorse, both the men's and women's teams from Vanier will be looking for a clean sweep of the season.

After claiming victory at the annual tournament in Dawson earlier this month, both sides once again went home with the big trophy at the Super Volley final last Saturday, defeating the Porter Creek Rams. It was the second year in a row that the Crusaders laid claim to Super Volley supremacy.

Russ Tait, who coaches the women's team, called the men's match Saturday, which went to four sets, 'a classic'.

'P.C. won the first one and looked quite strong doing it,' he explained. 'But then Vanier came back. It was really exciting.'

Crusader Dennis Boyd said the Rams came out strong in the first set and his team made some unfortunate mistakes, allowing Porter Creek to capitalize.

'They caught us on our heels and we had to fight back for the win. In the fourth set, they were up 23-16 and we came back to win 28-26. We managed to pull ourselves together, because at one point we were bickering and arguing on the court. Our coach (Dwayne Stoker) told us it was up to us to get it together, and we finally started to play as a team.'

Boyd was named MVP of the final match, but insisted the victory was 'a major team effort.' He said even the players on the bench didn't sit down for one minute during the fourth set.

Tait said he was impressed with Vanier's Jeremy Dawn, who hadn't been serving well to start the match, but came through with some big serves when it counted the most in the fourth set.

'He had a lot of respect from everybody for the way he played at the end. It was basically go big or go home.'

Tait also gave credit to Porter Creek's Jared Quock for the way he played, as well as Kaleb Dawe. But it was Crusader Tory Wiebe who took home the MVP honours for the entire Super Volley season.

The season-long MVP for the women was Vanier's Jana Tait, who also played in her final volleyball match as a Crusader on Saturday. While the Crusaders will be defending their title at the Yukon championships this weekend, Jana will be in Alberta.

'The girls played really well,' said Russ. 'For us, it was a big match also because it was the last chance for the rest of the team to play with Jana. They wanted to come out strong and they did.'

Jana has been selected as one of ten candidates from Northern Alberta, Saskatchewan and the territories for the Canadian Merit Scholarship. She'll travel to Edmonton Friday for an interview, after which two of the ten will be chosen to fly to Toronto. If she makes it that far, she will be up against 70 candidates in total for 30 available post-secondary scholarships.

The scholarship, worth about $16,000, recognizes students who have high academic achievement, are involved in their community and take part in sports and recreation.

Jana said it was hard for her when she found out the interview was at the same time as the Yukon championships, but she knows she needs to look at the bigger picture, and she has complete faith in her team's ability to win without her.

'We've had a core group that's gone through since Grade 7, so they have a lot of experience.

'Super Volley the week before the final was actually when I broke down. That's when it hit me that it was one of the last matches I'd be playing. At the final, I just wanted to play and enjoy it. I just wanted to have a game I wouldn't be disappointed with and I did.

'It will probably hit me again when I'm (in Edmonton) and they're playing the championships without me. I want to call my dad when they're playing and just listen to the action on the phone, let the team know I'm there with them.'

Russ said everybody else on the team realizes it's important for Jana to attend the interview, and it will be a chance for the other players to step up and show what they're made of in her absence.

'Jana is a real leader for the team on the floor, plus she's a consistent player, so she'll be missed. It'll be a challenge for our team, but I'm counting on the seniors like Krystal Reaume, who will probably take over the role as captain.'

If the Crusaders can hold off the teams from Porter Creek, F.H. Collins, Dawson City and the other Yukon communities, they would capture their second straight triple-crown the titles from the Dawson Invitational, Super Volley and Yukon championships.

The same applies for the men's squad from Vanier.

'We won in Dawson, we won at Super Volley, we have one more to go and it's the most important,' stated Boyd. 'This one is the big deciding fact and Porter Creek will definitely be out to get us.'

Dawson also has a very strong team this season, said Boyd, thanks in part to a new head coach Derrick Bilodeau.

'All four coaches (Vanier, P.C., F.H. and Dawson) are ex-players, who have all played at least at the college level, and that makes a huge difference.

' All four high schools are in contention this year and that's really nice to see.'