The Terrace 16U Jr. Rage volleyball team claimed all but one victory in the Girls ‘A’ Lower Mainland Super Series in Burnaby recently, tying for fifth place overall.
The tournament hosted 24 teams from across B.C. It is the second in a tournament Super Series that includes a number of Lower Mainland tournaments each year.
Starting off, the girls earned first in their pool, defeating the Nanaimo Mariners and Vancouver Pheonix in two sets and Burnaby Action in three.
That moved the team into playoffs, where they beat the new Smithers Avalanche in two sets, 25-11 and 25-16, and Kelowna KVC Krush in three, losing 22-25 but then coming back 25-21 and 15-10.
Next up was the quarterfinal.
There the Junior Rage faced Vernon Sky Blue in a lopsided match where Terrace lost 9-25, recovered to win a solid 25-15, but then lost in the third set 3-15.
That dropped the girls into a final, lower-round playoff match against North Shore Vancouver for fifth place.
It turned out to be an exciting clincher after both teams claimed one set and entered a tie-breaking third and final set.
Terrace had a tough start, struggling against strong serves, and fell behind a bleak 3-10.
But coach Frank Marrelli called a time out, encouraging the girls to get one good pass. The team managed to get the pass, break the streak and then climb back from there.
Marrelli says it was great seeing the girls persevere and battle back.
“My excitement was to watch the girls’ grit and determination,” he said. “They were going to battle to the last point… They never gave up, and you don’t always get that. It really shows a lot of character.”
Junior Rage managed to turn things around, go on the offensive, and seize an impressive 15-13 comeback to take the victory.
The win gave the team a 5-1 record, earning them a fifth place tie with Focus Flames, who had a 4-1 win record similar to Terrace Rage.
Next the team will head to Battle of the Borders in Kamloops March 31 to April 1, and then provincials are April 26-29.
