There’s a lot to be said for youthful enthusiasm, especially in the realm of sports.

That concept was driven home this past Saturday by the St. Regis Lady Tigers volleyball team and their impressive second place finish at the Arlee Spike It tournament.

In a field packed with local teams and several from outside the area, the Lady Tigers won their pool in the round-robin style competition, allowing them to advance to the championship round.

In the semi-finals of the championship round, the Lady Tigers played and defeated conference rival Hot Springs, which was able to overcome injury and Covid restrictions that caused them to miss a scheduled game last week because they could not field the required six players per side called for in volleyball rules.

For the past several years the Lady Tigers have relied on the energy and positive vibes of their young roster, which has been dominated by freshmen and sophomores who consistently came close but had trouble closing out a lead.

Now the St. Regis girls have a solid core of experienced and talented seniors who still display the fun side of sports with their between-plays dancing and high-fiving.

On the way to winning their pool, the Lady Tigers beat host Arlee, a long-time volleyball power, Drummond and Darby. That set up the meeting with Hot Springs, which finished third in the same pool play division despite having the minimum number of players.

St. Regis got by Hot Springs and moved into the finals where they faced always tough Seeley-Swan, winner of the tournament’s other pool. Seeley-Swan prevailed but St. Regis was also a winner by virtue of how far they have come in building a winning team.

Seeley won the championship, 3-2.

“It took three games to beat us,” said a proud coach, Jennifer Pruitt who has watched this team mature without losing its fun approach to the game. “It was a fun day for St.Regis”.

The Lady Tigers continue their season tonight (Tuesday) with a crucial match against I-90 rival Superior on the Bobcats home court. They then travel to Lincoln for a match against the Lady Lynx Thursday night before hosting Hot Springs Saturday afternoon.

Because of changing schedules due to Covid and other concerns, check with the school if you have questions about times and dates.