The Caledonia Senior Boys volleyball team saw success in Prince George over Thanksgiving weekend – taking first place in the College Heights John Bragg Memorial Invitational.
The team was in a pool with Duchess Park teams 1 and 2, and the College Heights junior team. On Friday night they played Duchess Park 2, beating them in two straight sets. Following that game they faced Duchess Park 1, who came into the tournament ranked #7 in the province for AA boys, and finished last season as the silver medal winner at provincials.
Caledonia lost a very close first set 25 – 23, but rallied to win the second set 25 – 20 and the third 15 – 12, marking the first victory over Duchess Park in recent memory.
Saturday morning the team faced the College Heights junior team, with coach Rich Clair deciding to get the bench players floor time. The result was a 22-25 loss in the first set, but once the starters re-entered the match, the boys quickly took control, winning the second set 25 – 12 and the third 15 – 8.
This win set up a quarter final match against the Duchess Park juniors. And after winning that match in straight sets they faced off in a semi-final against the host, College Heights, who were ranked #10 in the province in AA boys. The team lost a really close set in the opener, 26 – 24, but once again rallied to win the second set 25 – 23, and the third 16 – 14 to advance to the final.
The final match saw them up against DP Todd, ranked at #9 in the province, and considered the strongest PG team that weekend.
The final was a back and forth battle with neither team being able to open up a big spread. Caledonia won the first set 25 – 22, and lost a close second set to set up the third and final set. Once again, Caledonia opened up a small lead, but the play and scoring went back and forth. Caledonia was able to close out the third set 15 – 13 to win the tournament.
Keel Haldane was an all-star for the Kermodes, racking up many kills on the weekend and with most teams struggling to contain his hitting. Kai Davies was also given an all-star for his strong hitting and overall play.
Coach Clair commended all his players for their strong team play and mental toughness, finding ways to win close games and showing growing confidence and composure throughout the tournament.
The team is hitting the road again tomorrow, Oct. 24, to attend a large tournament at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.
