A much-anticipated rubber match between two Central Okanagan rivals looks to be a distinct possibility in the annual Best of the West senior girls and boys volleyball tournament at Kelowna Secondary School this weekend.
The George Elliot Coyotes of Lake Country and the host Kelowna Owls are among the favourites to claim the eight-team BOTW girls Gold-Division title after finishing second and third respectively among 15 teams at the past weekend’s UBC Okanagan Heat high school tournament.
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Ranked No. 2 in the province in the AA division, the Coyotes defeated the No. 1 (4A) Owls 2-0 (25-14, 25-13) in semifinal play at UBCO and went on to grab the silver after dropping a 2-0 (25-9, 25-18) decision to the Springbank Community School Phoenix of Calgary in the championship match.
The win over the Owls avenged the Coyotes’ 2-0 loss to KSS at the UBC Vancouver tournament in September and provided added confidence for a team that also finished second at the recent Thompson Rivers University tournament and fourth at UBC.
“Our girls are always excited to play KSS, so yes, it would be fun to meet them again at the Best of the West,” said GESS head coach Doug Meraw, whose team won five of seven matches on the weekend. “I thought we played great against them at UBCO, so another test against the best 4A team in the province is a challenge we would welcome.”
The Coyotes go into pool play on Friday still fighting the injury bug as setter Sheena Macfarlane hurt her arm while digging for a ball in the match against KSS. While she played the rest of the tournament in pain, she’s expected to be out of the lineup this weekend.
The good news is that Grade 12 left side, Jasanna Kunz, who sprained her ankle a few weeks back and eased into the lineup in the back row at UBCO, is expected to be ready for an expanded role at the Owls’ Nest.
Elliot, ninth-place finishers at the B.C. School Sports provincial AA tournament last year, will also be counting heavily on returning setter/left side Tessa Ivans (Grade 12) and left side Chloe Ladd (Grade 11) to continue their outstanding play.
Both were named to the UBCO tournament all-star team, and according to coach Meraw, the selections were well-deserved.
“We switched to a 5-1 system Friday afternoon with Sheena (Macfarlane) setting and Tessa (Ivans) hitting and they both played amazing. Chloe (Ladd) was definitely one of the top servers and passers in the tournament and her front-row play was great as well.”
Meraw, who will be forced to experiment with his roster this weekend without Macfarlane available, noted the silver-medal performance on the past weekend was definitely a team effort.
“We were able to use two girls to serve and play back row for our middles and another girl to libero out my right side player after serving. So we played nine girls in every game.”
Meanwhile, the host Owls played the UBCO tournament without Madelyn Hettinga, who sat out with a non-volleyball-related ankle injury. The UBC Okanagan Heat-bound middle/left side is expected to be back in the lineup this weekend but will be used sparingly according to her dad and coach, Kelly Hettinga.
“We want to make sure she’s ready for the home stretch,” he said.
Right-side hitter, Sophie Lachapelle, did her best to be a steadying presence for the team without Hettinga, and earned a tournament all-star selection.
But coach Hettinga conceded the Owls’ performance was sub-par overall and the team “had a lot of trouble getting into a rhythm” even though he tried to kick-start things by juggling his lineup.
“Our result was decent, but we had difficulty really finding our stride,” he said. “ We had moments when we really dug in and played great — like coming from behind to beat one of the best teams (2-1) in Western Canada (Springbank) — and times when we just couldn’t connect, like falling in straight sets to George Elliot.
“Elliot was simply the better team, played smarter, fought harder and overall just wanted it more.”
He added that one of the challenges for the Owls — who defeated No. 3-ranked (AAAA) Handsworth Royals of North Vancouver 2-0 (27-25, 25-15) in the bronze-medal match —is having a target on their back.
“Everyone (including George Elliot) wants badly to beat us all the time and it’s tough to stay on top mentally for every match. But on the flip side, that’s one of the things that push us and helps us get better each time out. So we’re learning from those experiences.”
The Owls will begin pool play at the Best of the West Friday on home court against three unranked teams — Mt. Baker of Cranbrook (10:30 a.m.), Burnaby Central (11:40 a.m.) and Earl Marriott of Surrey (3:10 p.m.). They’ll begin the playoff round on Saturday morning.
Elliot is in the Gold B pool at Mt. Boucherie Secondary School on Friday with (McRoberts of Richmond (10:30 a.m.), Duchess Park of Prince George (12:50) and Pacific Academy of Victoria (3:10 p.m.).
Semifinal play in the Gold Division goes at 1:40 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. at KSS with the championship match set for 4 p.m. at the Owls’ Nest.
In all, 32 teams are entered in the girls’ tournament, including the KSS Black team that finished seventh among the 15 Division 1 teams at the UBCO tournament and will play in the 16-team Yellow Division at the BOTW.
The Kelowna Christian School Knights, ranked No. 1 in the province among single-A teams, will also play in the Yellow Division along with the Immaculata Mustangs and the Mt. Boucherie Bears. The Rutland Voodoos, and Aberdeen Hall Gryphons will represent the Central Okanagan in the Black Division.
The boys’ side of the Best of the West will feature most of the top-ranked teams in the province in the three divisions, including the No. 1 Earl Marriott Mariners of Surrey and the No. 2 host Kelowna Owls in the Gold Division.
Those two longtime rivals will meet on Friday in pool play beginning at 2 p.m. in what they hope will be a preliminary to the tournament championship on Saturday.
Also in the Gold Division are the MEI Eagles of Abbotsford, ranked No. 1 provincially in the AA division, and the Langley Christian Lightning, seeded No. 2 in AA. The George Elliot Coyotes, ranked No. 3 in AA, will also compete in the Gold Division this weekend, along with No. 4 College Heights of Prince George.
The Vernon Royals, ranked No. 1 in single-A and Calgary Christian round out the Gold Division which will feature semifinal games beginning at 1:40 p.m. and 2:50 p.m.
BOTW gold will be decided in the tournament final at KSS beginning at 4 p.m.
The 16-team Yellow Division includes the Mt. Boucherie Bears (No. 4 -AAA) and Okanagan Mission Huskies while the Kelowna Christian Knights (No. 5 - A), KSS Blacks and Immaculata Mustangs will compete in the Black Division.
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