For the first time, the Muenster Cougars Girls Volleyball team are provincial champions.

They won the title on Saturday, defeating Invermay in three sets, 26-24, 10-25 and 15-10.

On Monday, Coach Joel Taphorn said that is still surreal.

"It really hasn't sunk in yet, two days after the win," he exclaimed. "A little shocking, little surprised. Once we got past the quarter-final game, you kind of felt things were in our court a little bit."

As Taphorn referenced, the provincial title was almost lost, save for a miraculous comeback against Medstead in the quarters.

After losing the first set, the Cougars were in tough in the second set and staring elimination in the face when they came off the mat and fought back.

"We were down 23 to 16 and we had an injury timeout. My one girl couldn't go back in, so I subbed another girl in and she rallied off nine points," explained Taphorn.

That gave them a 25-23 win, forcing the deciding set, which Muenster won 15-13.

"As soon as that win happened, you just felt that everything was going to go our way."

In the semi-final, the Cougars swept Kerrobert in two sets before the showdown with Invermay, who is coached by former Humboldt Collegiate Institute teacher Rod Zwarych.

"Invermay is a really good team, they're coached well, play hard," said Taphorn. "To watch those three sets, it was intense just about every point."

Making it more special for Muenster as a first provincial championship, was the fact that they were also the hosts of the tournament.

"To sit in that atmosphere, having people chanting - there was a couple timeouts I told (the team) you got to soak it in a little bit. But also when calling timeouts you gotta focus on the task at hand, they were caught up in the whole moment. It was really entertaining."

The Muenster School gym, which houses many provincial soccer banners, will have to make room for the latest addition. 

Taphorn added that many of the players on the team also played on the soccer team that won silver at provincials.

"When you're a multi-sport athlete and being able to get to that level in multiple sports, it says something about the group of girls you have."

Taphorn says that the support the team received in being able to host and eventually win the provincial championship is unmatched.

"Businesses within our community gave financial donation and time. We had a wide variety of students, parents, a lot of former students came back to help us," he said.

"Above all, I have to thank my co-coach, Jewel Varga. She put in countless hours. She would be taking time off work, driving at the drop of a hat. She gave up everything to show her committment to the team," continued Taphorn. "When you have a lady like that, putting in her time, she doesn't get the thanks she deserves."

Click below to hear more with Taphorn.

The Cougars weren't the only Horizon Central team to find the podium on Saturday.

In Rose Valley, the host Roadrunners upgraded their 2015 silver to the championship by defeating Dinsmore 2-0 in the final.

At the same tournament, the Englefeld Eagles picked up their third straight bronze medal, while in the 3A tournament, Wynyard took home the bronze.

While the girls teams competed in provincials, boys teams were looking to qualify for provincials.

In the 1A bracket, Annaheim, Middle Lake and Cudworth have qualified. Annaheim lost to Kahkewistahaw in the regional final, while Cudworth and Middle Lake finished as the next two qualifiers.

Langenburg hosted the north regional in 3A boys, where Bellevue/Wakaw swept through the field en route to the regional championship. They downed Meath Park in two sets in the final.

St. Brieux qualified as well, winning the third place game.