The Zone 9 champion Virden Bears lost to Sanford in their wildcard match Monday night. The Sabres defeated the Bears 25-7, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21 and earned a berth in the Provincial AAA High School Varsity Girls Volleyball Championship which begins Thursday in Dauphin.


Steinbach Regional girls and Gabrielle Roy boys captured the Provincial AAAA Junior Varsity Volleyball championship banners Monday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre on the campus of the University of Manitoba in South Winnipeg. The Sabres defeated Brandon Vincent Massey 25-22, 25-18, 26-28, 25-18 in the girls final. Les Roy swept the Sisler Spartans 25-23, 25-23, 26-24 in the boys final.


Two Manitoba Junior Hockey League teams are inside the top 10 of the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Top 20 rankings. The Steinbach Pistons (19-2-1), who are riding a 10-game win streak, remain at number four. The Winkler Flyers (16-3-0-1) jumped from number seven to six. The West Division leading Virden Oil Capitals (15-5-1-1) moved into the Top 20 for the first time this season. The Caps are ranked 12th. The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Flin Flon Bombers (20-1-2) are the number one ranked team in the country for the fifth straight week. The Dauphin Kings and Portage Terriers received honourable mention.


The Winnipeg Jets begin a four-game homestand tonight as they meet the Dallas Stars at Canada Life Centre. The Jets saw their five-game winning streak come to an end Sunday with a 3-2 loss to the Predators in Nashville.