The College Heights Cougars were ranked sixth in B.C. for much of the season. But, when the double-A girls provincial volleyball championship starts on Thursday in Abbotsford, the Cougars won't be there.
College Heights, edged by the D.P. Todd Trojans in the north central zone final on Nov. 19, failed to clinch one of two provincial wildcard spots at a playoff in Winfield on the weekend. Instead, the B.C. berths went to St. Thomas More of Burnaby and West Point Grey of Vancouver. Those teams were No. 5 and No. 10 on the rankings list.
The Cougars won their first wildcard match against Clarence Fulton of Vernon but then lost 2-0 to St. Thomas More and fell 3-0 to West Point Grey.
"That was a great match," Cougars coach Jason Olexyn said in reference to the tilt with the Grey Wolves, a contest that gave West Point Grey the last vacancy in the provincial tournament. "They did beat us three straight but we were in the 20s for all of the sets so we were right there with them.
"I always have high expectations but I always forget that we have five Grade 10s on the team. We're such a young team and it was an uphill battle."
In the zone final, the Cougars lost in five sets to the Trojans, 15-10 in the fifth.
At provincials, D.P. Todd will be in a preliminary pool with St. Patrick of Vancouver, Pacific Academy of Surrey and Charles Hays of Prince Rupert. The tournament starts Thursday morning and the final is set for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
