The Cedars Christian Eagles developed a trait for being stubborn this high school volleyball season.
They got in the habit of thinking that no matter what the score they were never out of it, and that mentality helped them forge a bronze medal with their names on it Saturday afternoon at the single-A boys provincial championship in Nanaimo.
Taking on the Nanaimo Christian Trail Blazers on their home court, the Eagles won the first two sets, 25-22, 25-23, lost the third one 25-17, and appeared to be heading for a fifth-and-deciding set with their opponents one point away from forcing it, leading 24-19.
Cedars head coach Frank Crosina called timeout and reminded his troops how they refused to go away quietly after losing the first two sets to Credo Christian Friday morning in the quarterfinals and rode the hot serving and dominant net play of backup middle blocker Dylan Buehler to win three straight sets.
“That went beyond our wildest dreams to play that well in those last three games after being down and the boys just kept rolling - we’d had one amazing comeback and this was our chance for another amazing comeback,” said Crosina.
With bronze on the line, they walked back out on the court and with Grade 12 middle blocker Jakob Oliver serving, the Eagles reeled off six unanswered points. Zach Wagner kept the Eagles alive with a difficult backcourt dig that kept the set alive. The teams traded points and Nanaimo had set point again after a missed pass on the Cedars’ side of the net, but Eagles captain Tony Kibonge hammered down a spike and senior setter John Jeong pounded another ball into the opposite court for a 27-26 Eagles’ lead. After a Nanaimo time-out, Jeong ended it with a block at the net that found polished hardwood.
“They’ve been amazing all year long, every game we play they never think they’re going to lose, even when we’re down quite a bit, they just have fun and that’s what I like about them most,” said Crosina.
“It was a good thing we had Jakob Oliver serving, if he misses a serve it’s (only) one in a game and when he was back there with the ball I didn’t want anybody else serving and he just served it out, he never missed one. The other thing was their big middle (Calvin Vanderkooi) was in the back row and that gave us a good chance.
“We just knew if we got two or three points there, they’d be on their heels, and as long as we don’t hit one out or put one into the net. Our guys are really solid passing the ball, so we could just keep it rolling, and if they don’t hit it hard at us, dig it up and put it back at them, and that’s what happened. We didn’t let them off the hook.”
The core of the team was together in 2018 and 2019 when the Eagles represented the North Central zone at junior provincials.
Ranked No. 2 going in, the Eagles leaned heavily all tournament on power hitter Mitchell Crosina and as a tournament first team all-star he was a dominant force in the medal match and his consistency putting balls down in the backcourt never wavered. Kibonge was selected to the second all-star team.
The pandemic wiped out what would have been a promising 2020 season for the Eagles and seniors Mitchell Crosina, Kibonge and Wagner can now say they ended their high school volleyball careers on a high, having won their last match. The nine-player roster also includes Grade 11s Jeong, Buehler, Liam Tiefensee and Gabe Taylor, and Grade 10s Sam Nelson and Ryan Crosina. Debbie Taylor and Jeff Pudlas are the co-coaches.
Abbotsford Christian defeated Vancouver Christian 3-1 for single-A gold in Nanaimo.
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Meanwhile, at the triple-A girls tournament in Vancouver, the Duchess Park Condors lost their fifth-place playoff Saturday to Windsor, 3-0 (25-22, 17-25, 15-11) and finished sixth. Macyn Unger of the Condors was picked for the second all-star team and Madison Florell made the honoourable mention list. Mt. Douglas defeated WL.L. Seaton for gold.
At the single-A girls championship in South Slocan, the North Central zone-champion Cedars Christian Eagles finished seventh. They lost Saturday to the Fot St.James Falcons 2-1 (23-25, 25-23, 15-9) and went on to lose to Ebenezer of Smithers 2-1 (23-25, 25-20, 15-11). Forst St. James plaved sixth and was voted the most sportsmanlike team. Osoyoos won the gold-medal match 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) over Mt. Sentinel.
Maddy Erbacher of Cedars and Sarah Saharchuck of Fort St. James were chosen to the all-star team. Isabella Milton of the Eagles was picked as the tournament's most outstanding libero.
At the double-A girls provincials in Abbotsford the D.P. Todd Trojans went 1-3 in the consolation round and finished 11th.
