Volleyball season will kick into high gear this weekend with a number of local high school teams heading to tournaments. Teams from PCI and MacGregor are busy getting ready for the regular season to begin and fine-tuning their teams for the upcoming games.

In MacGregor, the JV boys will be hosting a one-day tournament on Saturday. There are no other JV boys teams in the Zone so they will play exhibition games and tournaments. Coach Penny Wilson says the season looks to be a good one, with lots of skill coming up through the ranks.

"Really strong athletes coming out of grade 9," says Wilson. "Really coordinated kids coming over from the elementary school across the street. Really gifted and able to do a lot of things already. We haven't had a ton of practice but it should be pretty exciting."

The tournament promises to be an action-packed affair. Teams from as far as Russell and Landmark will be participating in some high-quality volleyball.

The MacGregor Mustang JV girls team will be on the road this weekend as they attend a tournament in Warren from Friday to Saturday. The girls look to be in a strong position as three of their players are also playing on the varsity squad, allowing for a tremendous amount of in-game experience. Coach Bryan Marriott says the girls' core group of players is a strong one that will be able to take them far.

"We're starting to look really good," says Marriott. "The girls are really keen. We've got a lot of girls returning from last year's team. We've got some strong up and coming grade nines. We're looking great. I project that we're going to be a contender and a strong tam throughout the season, there's no doubt."

They will get a chance to prove their status as contenders at this tournament as there are a number of strong teams at the tournament, including some Winnipeg squads.

The Mustang Varsity girls are also on the court this weekend. They will head to Brandon to take part in the extremely competitive ACC Invitational tournament over Friday and Saturday. Coach Kyle McKinstry says they are eager to get on the court and see what they can do.

"We kind of just want to get out there and see what we're made of," says McKinstry. "There will be some very good competition. We've been working hard on our defensive skills and abilities. We know htat we're a good ball-handling team so we're looking at being quite competitive."

The varsity girls have added an additional coach to the squad for this season, Alicia Giesbrecht. McKinstry says the volleyball IQ that she brings to the team is high and will push the girls to work even harder.

In PCI action, the JV Saints will be heading to Winnipeg to take part in the MBCI Invitational. The girls will be part of a massive tournament featuring 24 teams from around the province where competition will be understandably stiff. Action will take place from Friday to Saturday.

The JV Trojans will be heading to Winnipeg also as they attend the Daniel McIntryre Invitational.

The Varsity squads from PCI have the weekend off but are back to the grindstone next week when their regular seasons resume.