With only eight players on board for their trip to Coldstream/Vernon for the BC double-A provincial boys volleyball championship, the Duchess Park Condors posse from Prince George is about as small as you can get.
Quality over quantity, that’s the Condors’ motto this week for the North Central zone champions as they take their place on the court ranked fifth out of 16 teams.
The Condors started out with 11 players but as the season progressed a few of them quit and one was removed from the team by school authorities. Despite the turnover, they’ve maintained their winning ways.
“There’s very few of us but it’s not often you get a group that plays this well together and ids this close, it’s a special group of guys and the chemistry between us has brought us a long way this season, “ said Condors head coach Griffin Olexyn.
Just two Condor players - twins Joel and Patrick Strasdin - are in their Grade 12 seasons.
Owen Martin, Brayden Woroshelo, Santiago Gonzales and Sam Cramer are Grade 11s and Jonah Barrette is in his Grade 10 season. For the provincial tournament they’ve added Sawyer Roberts, a Grade 9 student who played for the junior boys team.
Head coach Griffin Olexyn’s coaching staff includes his dad Jason, Dan Drezet and Braden Dukacz. The Olexyns coached the Zone 8 team that hosted BC Summer Games in 2022 and three of the current Condors – Martin, Woroshelo and Cramer – made that team, although Cramer chose to play on the Zone 8 basketball team instead.
Five of the current Condors played on the junior team that finished fourth at the BC junior invitational tournament last year.
Duchess Park had just seven players in the fold when they claimed zone bragging rights in a four-set win over the College Heights Cougars at D.P. Todd gym. The Condors lost the first set, then swept the next three. Duchess Park lost to College Heights and D.P. Todd Trojans on the opening day of the zone tournament.
The Condors, Trojans and Cougars were at one point ranked fourth, fifth and sixth respectively in the province. They played each other constantly throughout the season and learned by osmosis what it takes to win at a high level, which should help the Condors and Cougars be ready when they get thrown to the wolves chasing the provincial crown this weekend.
“It’s not usual that you have that many top-calibre teams in one zone and it was good having that steady competition all season long,” said Griffin Olexyn.
The Condors will take on their crosstown rivals, College Heights, in their opening power-pool match Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. The Cougars are ranked seventh.
Duchess Park has already faced top-seeded Langley Christian and played No. 3-ranked Abbotsford Christian during the tournament season.
Martin, Barrette and Roberts are the Duchess Park power hitters, Patrick Strasdin and Gonzales slot in at middle blocker, Joel Strasdin covers the right side, Cramer is the setter, and Woroshelo plays libero.
The senior Olexyn likes his team’s chances of contending for a medal on Saturday.
“We’ve had them for three years now and they just have a cool chemistry and have really melded well with the Grade 12s that got fourth at provincials last year,” said Jason Olexyn. “They’re playing really well right now.
“They’ve conditioned themselves well and I think they’re in great shape,” he said. “It could be a factor if we’re not getting sleep at night but they’re ready for the challenge and we have positive thoughts going into it.”
In other senior boys provincial action this weekend, the North Central zone-champion Cedars Christian Eagles are ranked 11th at the single-A championship that starts Thursday in Abbotsford.
