The VIU Mariners women’s volleyball team got upset in the final as the opposition completed a Cinderella story.
The No. 6-seeded College of the Rockies Avalanche knocked off the No. 3, No. 2, and then the No. 1-seeded Mariners at PacWest provincials in Abbotsford last week to win that program’s first championship.
“That team was extremely hot the whole tournament,” said Shane Hyde, VIU coach. “We played well, maybe a couple little deficiencies, but we got beat by a better team at that moment.”
The final went to five sets, with the Rockies winning 26-28, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-10. Down two sets with nothing to lose, the Rockies played that way and the M’s couldn’t match it.
“All the other teams feel a little bit of nerves and stress and that team, they didn’t have any…” Hyde said. “Definitely that matchup was scary when you’re the No. 1 seed who’s got all the pressure in the world.”
The day before in the semifinals, the Mariners women got past the Fraser Valley Cascades 21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-10.
“For a set and three-quarters of a set, they played error-free and it was a bit nerve-wracking because we weren’t playing badly, it was just that they weren’t making any errors,” Hyde said.
His team took full control as the match went on though, and the semifinal win secured a berth at nationals. The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championships will be held March 10-13 in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Tylar Turnbull and Megan Rosenlund were selected to the tournament all-star team.
VIU’s men won bronze after defeating College of the Rockies 25-16, 27-25, 25-21 on Saturday. VIU started with a win against the Capilano Blues, 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 25-18, then lost to the Douglas Royals in the semis, 25-17, 25-22, 20-25, 25-20.
Wayne Woyciehouski was a tournament all-star.
