Gladstone Gladiators started the senior boys AAA B.C. Championship seeded eighth and met their goal to finish the provincial tournament with a higher rank.
“Every team always wants to do better. We’re happy with how we did,” said Gladstone coach Jeff Young. “Right when we got to the top eight, I talked to them and said everything else after this is what we should be happy with.”
Playing at the Langley Events Centre Nov. 26 to 29, Gladstone was bumped from the top four in a quarter-final loss to No. 3 Oak Bay. They took command of the game by going up two sets, but then Gladstone let the game slip away on unforced errors and missed serves.
“We lost five serves in one set,” said Young. “They were crucial points.”
Oak Bay, a Victoria team that went on to lose to the eventual champion Earl Marriott in the semi-final and finished fourth overall, read Gladstone’s offense and make key adjustments to prevent the Gladiators from using their strength in the middle.
“They started changing their defence and their service because our middles were scoring all the points. I could see that’s how they kept forcing shots to the far, deep corners. It was hard for us to get a really good pass.”
Gladstone lost 30-32, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 18-15.
Despite being knocked out, Gladstone exhausted the higher-ranked team and was praised for its defence.
Oak Bay’s Al Carmichael said it was his side’s closest game all season and applauded the Gladiators systematic approach and skill. “We had to switch up our serving, going shorter to disrupt their strong middle game," he said. "And their defence was playing so well we knew we had to attack with more power. We started getting hard rips on the ball."
Young told the Gladiators they were the stronger team. “They deserved the win, but in my eyes this was an upset. I went in, knowing we could beat them. We just couldn’t finish.”
Gladstone beat Dover Bay in five sets after dropping the first two.Â
Tigers’ strong season ends with two losses
The York House Tigers built on the strength of an undefeated league record to finish fourth at the AA senior girls volleyball B.C. Championship, held at Brentwood College in Cowichan Nov. 27 to 29.
In a hold-on-to-the-seat-of-your-pants quarter-final against St. Thomas More on Friday, the Tigers came back after narrowly losing the first two sets to win the next three. They drove the third and fourth sets to extra points and held on to win the deciding set. The score says it all: 25-21, 25-22, 26-24, 28-26, 15-9.
Playing for a shot at the championship final, York House lost to Ladysmith and then played Surrey Christian for bronze. The Tigers fell short of the podium and finished fourth in B.C. Pacific Academy defeated Ladysmith in the final to win gold. The St. Patrick’s Celtics finished 11th overall.
York House finished sixth at the provincial tournament last year and St. Pat’s was seventh. In 2012, they were eighth and ninth, respectively.
LFA clinches bronze
Little Flower Academy followed up their Lower Mainland title with a bronze medal at the AAA senior girls volleyball B.C. Championship in Parksville Nov. 27 to 29.
The Angels battled hard to advance from their highly competitive group and to reach third place, they overcame No. 4 Duchess Park who beat them on the first day.
“It was quite the run for my team,” coach Ross Ballard said in an email. “After a three-way tie for second in pool play, my team did just enough to earn second place after the tie-breaker, which meant a match-up against a tough Lambrick Park team who we ended up beating 3-0.”
The win set up a quarterfinal meeting with Vernon secondary. Ballard said the Angels won convincingly. “The team was very loose and played a great team game that was enjoyable to be a part of.
Against Timberline in the semi-final, LFA faltered in the first set and lost the second 26-24. Timberline went on to lose the gold-medal game to the powerhouse team out of South Delta.
Playing for third, LFA met Duchess Park for the second time in three days.Â
“The Angels, with another great team effort, played some remarkable defense and persevered 25-20, 25-21 to win the bronze medal,” said Ballard.
Nini Breukels was named a first-team all-star and Sarina Trasolini a second-team all-star.
Little Flower finished eighth last year and won gold at the 2012 provincial tournament.Â
