A commendable season concluded this weekend for seven Prince George schools at B.C. volleyball championships across the province.
Five institutions cracked the top 10 in their respective tournament, with some pulling off major upsets to get to their final seeding after Saturday (Nov. 30).
The Duchess Park senior girls, pictured above, finished in fifth place at the 2019 AAA provincials in Langley.
The Condors had a 1-2 record after the preliminary round, but then beat the South Kamloops Titans in a five-set Round-of-16 thriller on Friday (Nov. 29) to get to the quarter-finals.
After falling to eventual silver-medalist Carihi (#2), the reigning city champions won two straight games over Vernon (#12) and Okanagan-Mission (#6) to soar to fifth in the province.
In addition to the team’s overall powerful performance, Duchess Park’s Macyn Unger was named a First Team All-Star, while Karynn Hampe (#9) earned an Honourable Mention All-Star.
The lady-Condors also won the 2019 Prince George city championship earlier this year, coached by J.P. Martin & Keith Hampe | #CityOfPG pic.twitter.com/2ddotHmpns
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) December 1, 2019
In the same 16-team tournament, Prince George Secondary improved by a single seed to 10th place and was named the Most Sportsmanlike Team, but not without a little drama.
The Polars (#11) also began 1-2 after round-robin play and were relegated to the consolation bracket after a loss in the knockout stage, but automatically advanced in the next contest when Charles Hays Secondary (Prince Rupert) failed to show up.
The green and white went 1-1 in the next two games to finish in 10th, upsetting seventh-seed Crofton House in three sets and losing three intense frames with South Kamloops.
In senior boys’ AA action, the College Heights Cougars and Duchess Park Condors each finished where they started in the rankings leading up to the weekend.
The Cougars, after losing in the quarterfinals to George Elliot (#4), won their final two games to walk out of Langley in fifth place.
The final scores against the Pacers were 27-25, 23-25 & 15-9 🏐 Eli Woldringh has himself an impressive championship performance, which earned him a Second Team All-Star | #CityOfPG pic.twitter.com/2o2mP90Jx9
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) November 30, 2019
The Condors met College Heights in the Round-of-16 in an all-Prince George match, but lost to the city and North Central Zone champions in four sets.
DPSS bounced back quickly by winning the next two contest over Alpha (#14) and W.L. Seaton (#15) to reach the consolation final, eventually losing in three sets to Langley Fundamental (#8).
Kelly Road and D.P. Todd senior girls' squads have a tougher time at the 2019 AA provincials, both going 0-3 in their pools and losing the next two playoff games.
The Roadrunners salvaged the weekend in Coldstream by winning the final pair of matches and this year's North Central Zone winners claimed 17th place in the 20-team event.
The Trojans found a way to win the last game of their 2019 season, despite finishing in 19th, easily defeating Prince Charles Secondary in straight sets.
Meanwhile, down in the Kootenays, Cedars Christian flew to a higher perch than expected and were also rewarded as the Most Sportsmanlike Team at the 2019 A provincials.
After going winless in group play and in the knockout round, the lady-Eagles won three straight games to win the consolation bracket and claim ninth with a three-set victory over Vancouver Christian.
Cedars moved up three spots by tournament’s end after starting as the 12th seed.
North Central Zone-champion Kelly Road defeated St. Thomas Aquinas (North Vancouver) by scores of 25-15, 21-25 & 15-10 to claim the 17th spot after trouncing Prince Charles in straight sets 25-5 & 25-16 | #CityOfPG
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) December 1, 2019
