The Correlieu Sr. Girls Volleyball team competed in a 10-team tournament in Revelstoke on Oct. 13-14 and won it all.
It was a long drive to Revelstoke, so the team left Quesnel on Thursday after school and did not arrive until late Thursday night. They returned to Quesnel Sunday afternoon, but they brought home the bragging rights.
“It was a very hectic weekend with the team playing a total of 17 sets in seven games,” says head coach Steve Klassen.
The tournament started on Friday at 11 a.m. and Correlieu competed in the first game against Vernon Christian School.
The girls overcame their first-game jitters and came out with a win in three sets, 18-25, 25-22, 15-11, the coach says.
Next up was another Okanagan school — David Thompson — and once again the girls rallied a victory in three sets, 25-15, 22-25, 15-8.
Following this game, there was a mixed team skills competition. One event had the entire team involved in a serving competition and the second event had Emily Russell and Jorja Salmons playing in a mixed team of 4 on 4 Queens court, Klassen notes.
“Jorja’s Team of 4 won the competition and a small prize was awarded along with some bragging rights.”
Immediately following the skills competition, Correlieu took to the court against the local Revelstoke A team.
“Having the home court advantage proved invaluable as they handed our girls their first (and only) loss of the entire tournament — 27-25, 15-25,13-15.”
On Saturday, Quesnel had one more round-robin game against Kelowna’s Mt. Boucherie team, which Correlieu won in two sets — 25-12, 25-13. They ended up third in their pool and had to play the second-place team from the other pool, Revelstoke B.
The girls pushed hard in that game and won handily in two sets — 25-7, 25-14. The victory put them in the semifinals, and once again, they had to face Vernon Christian.
Before the semi-final matches began, there was an individual skills competition on centre court and several of Correlieu girls competed — Camryn Klassen (setting), Aleesha Bautista (passing), Hannah Doucette (spiking) and Taya Mueller (serving).
“All performed well, but in the end, Taya was the one who came away with a victory.”
After this competition, the team regrouped and prepared for the semifinal matchup against Vernon.
“To date this was the most intense game we have ever been a part of,” the coach says.
“Emotions were at an all time high on both ends of the court and the girls played with such determination and grit that there were almost zero errors the entire game. They left everything on the court and came away victorious in two sets — 25-21, 26-24.”
The victory earned Correlieu a berth in the finals against Merritt.
“After such an exhausting semifinals match, the girls really had to work to get prepared for the final game, coach Klassen explains.
“However as the game progressed it became clear that not only were they ready to play but they were ready to win. Everyone played strong against a very skilled Merritt defensive team. “
Doucette came out swinging and in two sets accumulated no less than 19 kills, helping lead the team to victory in two sets — 25-16, 25-20
‘Hannah was the MVP for the weekend based on her consistent play throughout the tournament, her excellent serving and her powerful hitting.”
The team was awarded a tournament game ball as a trophy which will be a great addition to the athletic display case at Correlieu, the coach adds.
“There are two more tournaments in Prince George we will be attending but most importantly we are hosting zones this year on Nov. 17-18. Come out and support your Sr. girls volleyball team!”
