McNair Marlins are off to Kelowna this week to participate in the B.C. ‘AAA’ Girls Volleyball Championships for the first time in recent memory.
The Marlins secured a spot in the 16-team tournament by finishing third at the Lower Mainland “AAA” playoffs, behind respective Vancouver private schools Crofton House and Little Flower Academy.
Power play pool begins Thursday with the Marlins in a group that includes Prince George, Caledonia and Mark Isfeld. They will be looking to earn the 13th seed when the round of 16 begins Friday morning. Playoffs and consolation play will continue until Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, they have been a fixture in the top 10 rankings all season, now the McRoberts Strikers will attempt to take it a step further and be a medal contender at the B.C. “AA” Boys Volleyball Championships, starting Wednesday at the Langley Events Centre.
The Strikers captured their third Lower Mainland title in four years thanks to an unbeaten run on their home court — defeating Richmond High, Magee and Charles Tupper. The feat was worth another banner and plaque but did little to improve their status in what is considered the most competitive tier in the province this season.
McRoberts is seeded ninth for the 16-team tournament, meaning getting past the first round of the playoffs is no certainly. The Fraser Valley zone features the top four seeds at the championships including No. 1 Langley Christian. Still, the Strikers are a veteran team with plenty of tournament experience.
“It’s going to be a dogfight, predicted head coach Daniel Wong. “The Valley is very strong but we can compete with all the top teams. It depends who is sharp and on. We lost in two straight to (No. 3) MEI but both games were 25-23 and could have gone either way. It comes down to who is going to be hot at provincials.”
The Strikers already had the Lower Mainland banner wrapped up when they closed out the tournament against Tupper. They promptly won the opening two sets and had three match points they couldn’t convert. Tupper eventually won the third game and also took the next one before McRoberts finally prevailed in five.
Wong just patiently watched his players deal with the adversity, hoping it will help them in the long run.
“The whole season we knew the kids had the skill level to succeed and go far. We are really trying to work on their mental game and build their character a little more,” he said. “So when they get into those situations where there is a little bit of pressure, we sit back and let them take over. We want them to learn from the experience.
“We especially want the seniors to step up and take ownership of the team. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”
Grade 12 power-hitting standout Jeff Lam was named Lower Mainland MVP.
The Strikers will be joined by Richmond High in Langley after the Colts secured the other provincial berth. They are seeded 15th.
Power pool play takes place Wednesday and round of 16 action begins on Thursday.
The Richmond Christian Eagles have returned home from Smithers with a bronze medal at the B.C. “A” Boys Championships.
The Eagles secured their spot on the podium with a straight set win over Fraser Valley champion Credo Christian. They earlier went 5-0 in round-robin play and saw their unbeaten run end with a four set loss to eventual runner-up Centennial Christian in the semi-finals.
The roster includes: Leo Tam, Alan Yang, Derek Wu, Matthew Penner, Shawn Chan, Terrence Moy, Stanley Cen, Zachary Lee, Christian Chung, Nathan Louie, Hansen Tu and Joshua James.
Richmond Christian’s senior girls team are also in Kelowna this week for the B.C. “A” Championships.
