A second straight B.C. AAAA girls volleyball championship wasn’t in the cards for the Kelowna Owls.
An unexpected upset at the hands of Charles Best Secondary in the quarterfinals Friday at Riverside in Port Coquitlam ended the Owls’ medal aspirations at the 2012 provincial tournament.
The Owls, ranked No. 2 heading to provincials, fell to Charles Best in five, hard-fought sets (21-25, 26-28, 25-15,2 6-24, 11-15).
KSS then rebounded from the disappointment, defeating South Kamloops and then McMath to take fifth place overall in B.C.
“We finished off like champions,” said Owls’ coach Tony Sodaro. “The girls wiped away their tears and battled hard for fifth.”
In the last four years under Sodaro’s guidance, KSS has lost just three matches at provincials, earning one gold, one bronze and two fifth-place showings.
Despite missing out on the medals in 2012, Sodaro was proud of his team’s effort.
“We had a great run this year and I still believe we are the best program in B.C.,” said Sodaro.
“We played the best team volleyball all month long and just ran into some bad luck and a few players that one match of their lives against us.”
The Owls won their power pool at provincials with a 3-0 record with wins over McMath, Argyle and Oak Bay, then swept past Burnaby North in the round of 16 to reach the quarters.
In the fifth-place match, KSS prevailed over McMath 25-16, 23-25, 15-12.
Katie Valgardson was named to the second all-star team, while Cayte Wilson and Megan Witala picked up game MVP honours.
No. 1 South Delta captured the gold medal with a victory over Heritage Woods in the final.
