At one point Saturday at the B.C. High School Senior Girls AAA Volleyball championships in Langley, the Okanagan champion Seaton Sonics of Vernon were a game away, then 18 points away, from a spot in the provincial final and a guaranteed medal.
The Sonics finished fourth and came home empty-handed.
Seaton built up a 2-0 lead on the Little Flower Academy Angels of Vancouver, and was leading 7-0 in Game 4, when the Angels completed the comeback to stun the Sonics 15-25,20-25,25-12,25-20,15-8.
That relegated Seaton to the bronze medal match, where they lost to the Dawson Creek Penguins 27-25, 25-7.
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Little Flower then went on to win the provincial title, defeating the Carihi Tyees of Campbell River 25-22, 25-23, 25-20. It’s the second year in a row the Tyees lost the final game.
Jamie Nicolls of Seaton was named to the tournament’s first all-star team while teammate Madison Gardner was named to the tournament’s second all-star squad. Morgan Boisvert of the Sonics and Ashley Budgen of the Vernon Panthers were tournament all-star honourable mentions.
Budgen and the Panthers finished eighth, falling in their last game to the R.W. McMath Wildcats of Richmond, 15-25, 25-19, 15-10.
VSS and Seaton were grouped in the same round-robin pool with the Sonics winning the Battle of Vernon, 25-15, 25-14, and with wins over the Charles Hays Rainmakers of Prince Rupert (25-15, 25-18) and the Duchess Park Condors of Prince George (26-24, 10-25, 15-9) Seaton finished in first place. The Panthers were second after they beat Duchess (25-23, 27-25) and Charles Hays (25-18, 25-14).
Teams were then re-seeded one through 16 for the Round of 16 playoffs. Seaton defeated the Hugh McRoberts Strikers of Richmond 21-25, 25-13, 25-17, 25-20 while the Panthers took care of the G.W. Graham Grizzlies of Chilliwack (no scores on website).
In the quarterfinals, Seaton defeated the Okanagan Mission Huskies of Kelowna 25-15, 25-15, 25-20 while VSS was knocked out of medal contention by the Penguins, 25-17, 25-17, 25-9.
BC A GIRLS
Vernon Christian School Royals placed sixth at the 16-team tournament in Castlegar.
The Royals went 2-1 in the round-robin, beating Credo Christian Kodiaks of Langley 20-25, 25-22, 15-10, and the Duncan Christian Chargers 29-27, 25-13, but losing 12-25, 25-15, 17-15 to Kelowna’s Immaculata Regional Mustangs.
VCS was third in the pool and faced Vancouver Christian in its opening playoff match in the Round of 16. The Royals upset Vancouver to advance to the quarterfinals, where they fell to the host Mt. Sentinel Wildcats of South Slocan.
With a medal out of reach, VCS defeated Credo Christian 9-25, 25-19, 15-13 to advanced to the fifth-sixth place game against Immaculate, who won the contest 27-25, 27-25.
Olivia Pederson of the Royals was named to the tournament’s first all-star team while teammate Meredith Pederson was a second-team selection.
BC AA BOYS
Seaton Sonics placed 11th out of 16 in Langley.
The Sonics went 2-1 in the preliminary round, beating the Alpha Aztecs of Burnaby 25-19 25-19, and the Prince Charles Bulldogs of Creston 25-21, 25-15, but losing 20-25, 26-24, 15-12 to the Sir Charles Tupper Tigers of Vancouver.
In the Round of 16, Seaton fell in straight sets to the Langley Christian Lightning, 25-19, 25-21, 30-28.
On the consolation bracket, the Sonics take of the St. Michael’s University School Blue Jags of Victoria 29-27, 28-26 before losing to the Duchess Park Condors of Prince George 23-25, 25-17, 15-9.
Seaton closed the tournament with a win, downing the Hugh McRoberts Strikers of Richmond 19-25, 25-22, 17-15.
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