The Duchess Park Condors got a close-up view of the junior boys volleyball provincial champions.
In a quarterfinal playoff match at provincials, held in Abbotsford on the weekend, the Condors ran into the Fraser Heights Firehawks and lost in straight sets. Later, the Firehawks defeated the Langley Christian Lightning for B.C. gold.
In the 20-team tournament, Duchess Park finished tied for fifth.
"I'm very happy with that," said Condors coach Glenn Wong. "We were aiming for top eight and we did it. Fifth is well in it."
In that quarterfinal clash with Surrey-based Fraser Heights, the Condors fell 25-13, 25-14.
"It would have been nice to take a set off them, but what we wish as coaches doesn't necessarily come true," Wong said with a grin. "All their kids played club volleyball, and only two of my guys do. That's a huge difference. There's nothing you can do about it. It's basically, 'Here we go.' I knew that we would be in tough."
After the loss to the Firehawks, the Condors beat Dr. Charles Best of Coquitlam 26-24, 25-16 to secure their final placing.
At provincials, the Condors went 5-2 overall. In round robin, they dumped W.L. Seaton of Vernon 24-26, 25-20, 15-12, downed Delta 25-22, 25-19, lost to eventual silver-medallist Langley Christian 25-19, 25-22 and defeated Burnaby North 25-15, 25-14.
In their crossover match, the Condors got past Langley Fundamental 25-22, 18-25, 15-7, which put them on course to play Fraser Heights.
In the post-tournament awards ceremony, David Robertson of Duchess was named to the second all-star team. Robertson is a Grade 10 power hitter. In a skills competition earlier in the event, Sam Yurkowski of the Condors established himself as the top setter.
The College Heights Cougars also qualified for provincials but didn't attend.
