The senior girls volleyball team from Caledonia Secondary School earned sixth at the ‘AAA’ provincials in Kelowna last weekend, losing two tight games after a strong streak of four victories early in the tournament.
Team mom Kam Siemens says it was a tough loss at the end, particularly because the girls had already defeated the team they lost to in the consolation final.
Both rivalries against Mark Infeld from Vernon were intense matches, forming two bookends at the start and at the end of the championship.
Caledonia launched into the championship strong, battling through an intensely tight match and only defeating Mark Infeld in both sets, first 27-25, then 26-24 in the second set.
Next they faced M. McNair from Richmond, handily defeating them 25-18 and 25-11.
After that they battled through three sets against Prince George Secondary School, winning 25-19, then losing 11-25, but coming back to claim the game 15-10.
The three victories put the girls first in their pool, and lined them up against Kelowna’s Okanagan Mission Secondary.
It was a best-of-five match and the girls swept three sets in a row. They won both the first two sets at 25-19, and claimed the third set 25-22.
“Kelowna didn’t realize the force they were going to deal with!” Siemens said, adding that the bleachers were packed with Kelowna supporters, but the girls did have support from proud parents and the Centennial girls.
The win secured the girls a place in the quarter-final against Vernon’s Seaton Secondary. It was a very tight match, with back and forth wins.
The teams battled the first set so tightly, that it went to 30 points, with Caledonia only narrowly losing at 28-30. But Caledonia came back and claimed the next set 25-13. The girls fell 25-22 in the next set, but then won the fourth set 25-17. Everything was on the line in the fifth set, and the girls played hard, but they lost 15-6.
That put them in the consolation match, battling for fifth place against Mark Infeld, the team they beat in their first game. Unfortunately they lost both sets 25-20.
“The girls fought hard and it could have gone either way,” she said.
It was a bit emotional, because five of the girls were playing their final championship, she added.
“They learned so much during the season but what they will take away is lifelong friendships and a love of the game!
