Will Saints go marching on (again) as North West girls kick off Volume 3?

Schools SA20 Volume 3 is here, and it's North West's girls division who lead the competition into the next edition with the Phase 1 fixtures running from mid-August for five weeks through to the playoffs scheduled for 14 and 16 September.

Six schools make up the North West girls' draw: the CSA Hub teams from Ikageng and Matlosana, as well as Klerksdorp Hoërskool, Potchefstroom Gimnasium, Hoërskool Lichtenburg and Saints Christian School will face each other in round-robin action before the top four emerge.

All eyes in this region will be on Saints, who arrive with the most compelling storyline in the draw. The girls from Potchefstroom have been the nearly-team of Schools SA20's short history, reaching the national final in both volumes played so far - and falling agonisingly short both times. In Volume 1 they came up against a dominant Steyn City School side, and in Volume 2 they pushed Queens High School all the way before losing a tight decider. Two finals, two heartbreaks, and a target on their back heading into Volume 3.

Their North West campaign gets going against Lichtenburg, before dates with Potch Gimmies (who they defeated by 119 runs in the Volume 2 provincial final), Klerksdorp and Matlosana Hub complete the group phase. It's a schedule that will test them against every style in the province before the knockouts even begin.

The question hanging over Saints this season is a simple one: can a team that has twice been the best of the rest finally go one step further? Considering the gees which the players play with and energy their supporters bring to a matchday, they certainly will be up for the challenge. That said, there's five other teams hoping to make the storyline in the North West have a different ending ... stay tuned.

ALL THE NORT WEST VOLUME 3 GIRLS FIXTURES

11-14 August: Matlosana Hub vs Klerksdorp Hoërskool; Ikageng Hub vs Potchefstroom Gimnasium; Saints Christian School vs Hoërskool Lichtenburg

17-21 August: Saints Christian School vs Potchefstroom Gimnasium; Klerksdorp Hoërskool vs Hoërskool Lichtenburg; Ikageng Hub vs Matlosana Hub

24-28 August: Matlosana Hub vs Potchefstroom Gimnasium; Hoërskool Lichtenburg vs Ikageng Hub; Saints Christian School vs Klerksdorp Hoërskool

31 August-4 September: Matlosana Hub vs Saints Christian School; Klerksdorp Hoërskool vs Ikageng Hub; Potchefstroom Gimnasium vs Hoërskool Lichtenburg

7-11 September: Potchefstroom Gimnasium vs Klerksdorp Hoërskool; Hoërskool Lichtenburg vs Matlosana Hub; Saints Christian School vs Ikageng Hub

14 September: Semifinals

16 September: Final

Select matches to be live-streamed on the SuperSport Schools App. Stay tuned to Schools SA20 social channels for further details.