It was a banner week for Langley Christian as the school’s volleyball program flexed their collective muscles.
The Lightning captured three of four Fraser Valley banners last week, with the fourth squad placing fifth at the Fraser Valley championships and securing a spot at the upcoming provincial championships.
Leading the way for Langley Christian was the junior boys squad, which continues to steamroll the competition.
The Lightning ran their record to a perfect 45-0 after picking up six victories at the Fraser Valley championships.
The championships were held in Coquitlam at Dr. Charles Best Secondary and Centennial Secondary, with the gold medal match played on Friday.
Even more impressive was the fact Langley Christian did not drop a single set along the way.
“Our team was flying,” said Langley Christian coach Carol Hofer.
“Everyone was playing the best volleyball they have all season.
“They are peaking at the right time.”
After a 3-0 record in the preliminary round, the Lightning struck down MEI in the quarter-finals, Earl Marriott in the semifinals and Seaquam in the finals.
Brodie Hofer picked up most valuable player honours while Trevor Koch and Jeremiah Macadam were named all-stars.
Credo Christian came sixth at the tournament while Langley Fundamental did not make the championship round. Credo qualified for provincials — which run Nov. 26 to 28 in Kelowna — but is not attending.
Despite a perfect record so far, Carol Hofer said the team is spending the next week focusing on a few areas they can improve on.
Her challenge is maintaining a balance for the team between not believing they are unstoppable while also maintaining their healthy confidence they have generated.
“At the end of each tournament, we are one step closer to our end goal,” she said.
Grade 8 girls
With their championship dreams on the line, coach Marie Grim called a timeout and gathered her players.
Her team, the Langley Christian Lightning Grade 8 girls volleyball team, was in the third and decisive set against Elgin Park but trailing 10-6.
At stake was a spot in the Fraser Valley championship game last week (Nov. 12).
“I just said to our girls ‘we are officially the underdogs now. We have nothing to lose: if you play every point like it is the point of the game and then you celebrate and enjoy that point, then you can claw your way back in,’” Grim said.
The Lightning scored the next four points to tie the set and then finished off Elgin Park.
But Langley Christian didn’t have much time to celebrate, as they quickly went to the other gym at Seaquam Secondary and had eight minutes to warm up for the Fraser Valley final against Pacific Academy.
“After that (semifinal) win, our girls had so much energy,” Grim said.
“They wanted to make every point count.”
And the Lightning continued their momentum, scoring the first five points in the championship game and winning two sets to none.
“We had to use certain spots on the floor, which at the Grade 8 level, can be hard to do,” Grim said. “The girls executed; it was beautiful.”
“I have been coaching for decades here and it was one of those wins you don’t forget. They will always remember how they pulled that off. The effort was far greater than I have seen before,” she added.
The victory was also a measure of revenge for Langley Christian as they had twice lost to Pacific Academy in tournament finals.
Ava Krepp was named most valuable player while McKenna Gardner and Claire Fricca were all-stars.
Credo Christian advanced to the championship round, but lost to Pacific Academy in the quarter-finals.
Grade 8 boys
It came down to an all-Langley final for the Grade 8 boys Fraser Valley championship on Friday. And just as was the case at the Langley district championships a few weeks earlier, the match went the distance before Langley Christian prevailed over their crosstown rivals, the Langley Fundamental Titans.
The Fraser Valley championships were held at Surrey’s Earl Marriott Secondary.
Langley Christian won the first set 25-22 and the Titans took the second set by that same score. The third and decisive set was 15-12 in favour of the Lightning.
The Titans match up very well against the Lightning, said Langley Christian coach Bruce Wergeland.
“Just like the (district) final, we got really flat,” he said. “They shut down our offence and matched up well against what we were trying to do.
“It made it really challenging for us to get any sort of rhythm.”
It was even more puzzling for the coach as his team looked so much different — and better — in the semifinals, when they knocked out the No. 1 seed, Earl Marriott two sets to none.
“They wanted to win and knew they could, but there was some uncertainty and that definitely made it sweeter, knowing that we had to grind it out,” he said.
Langley Christian was led by most valuable player Jonas Van Huizen while Ethan Spoor and Aiden Jeckel earned all-stars.
Langley Fundamental’s Emmanuel Tran and Justin Lee were also named all-stars.
“Overall I am just really proud of my team, coming together at the right time,” said Titans coach Henderson Tran.
Junior girls
The Langley Christian junior girls team came fifth at the Fraser Valley championships, securing a spot at next week’s provincial championships, which run Nov. 27 and 28 in Delta.
There are no Grade 8 provincial championships.
