Steveston-London’s senior boys’ volleyball team has taken home the Richmond City Championships trophy.
The Sharks advanced through to the championship with 3-0 victories over Richmond High and McRoberts secondary.
Their rivals, the McMath Wildcats, also headed into the final with 3-0 victories over Burnett and Richmond Christian School.
This set the stage for a best of five set match between the Sharks and Wildcats, to win the Richmond City Championship trophy on Nov. 12, with students, friends and family cheering on the teams.
The Wildcats won the first set in the final match with 25-23, but the Sharks returned the favour in the second set with the same score. The Sharks also took the lead in set 3 at 25-21, but McMath responded in set 4 with a slightly better score at 25-20, tying the match sets at 2-2.
The tie-breaking fifth set saw McMath take an early 3-0 lead, but Steveston-London evened out the score at 3-3 before finishing at 15-10, claiming the title of Richmond Sr. Boys Volleyball Champions for 2021.
The Sharks and Wildcats are provincially ranked teams at #6 and #7, respectively, of all AAA schools. Steveston-London also finished first and were undefeated in the regular season with an 8-0 record.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a year-and-a-half hiatus for high school championship athletics, the Sharks went to the 2019 City Championship final but ultimately lost the championship match to the McRoberts Strikers.
Both the Sharks and Wildcats are now looking towards the South Fraser Zone championships this week, which will be held at Steveston-London and Richmond secondary on Tuesday and Wednesday evening, with the championship and bronze medal matches at Elgin Park secondary in South Surrey on Thursday night.
Both teams will be looking to qualify for the Provincial AAA Championships on Dec. 1 to 4 in Kelowna.
The Sharks roster includes current team captain Tyan Suzuki, Finn Johnson, Justin Chan, Aaron Cheung, Mehkai Manzano, Callum Ruthe, Charles Zhang, Arvind Srinivasan, Nathan Yee, Nicholas Yee, Isaac James, Kaden Nelson and Jack Shaw
The Sharks are coached by Mike Yee with the assistance of Ryan Yee and Enrico Sia, both graduates and former Steveston London volleyball athletes.
The McRoberts senior girls volleyball team also won the Richmond City Championships.
