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Written by JASON PETERS, Citizen staff
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Sunday, 30 November 2008 |
With a podium finish as their possible reward, the Duchess Park Condors didn’t bring their best effort to the court.
Saturday in Kelowna, site of the double-A boys high school volleyball provincial championship tournament, the Condors lost to the Langley Christian Lightning in the bronze medal match. Langley won in four sets, 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 25-15.
“We were off,” said Condors coach Glenn Wong. “The guys just couldn’t shake the nerves of a bronze-medal match.
“The one thing the guys learned the hard way was, you can’t spot them five points. And that’s what we did. We were always playing catch-up, and you just can’t do that in a provincial tournament. If you’re waiting for another team to make a mistake at this level, and especially in the top four, it’s not going to happen.”
Last season, the Condors finished fifth at provincials, so they did move up one spot.
This time around, Duchess finished with an overall record of 3-4. Individually, Grade 12 setter Colin Carson and Grade 12 middle blocker Jan Bienkowsi-Gibbs were chosen as first-team all-stars.
“Colin was great,” Wong said. “He handled (playing at provincials) well. Everybody in B.C., at the college and university level, was asking, ‘Where is Colin going next year?’
“Jan has come a long way,” Wong added. “He’s a great player, he’s a gamer. He knows the game very well and he plays it with passion. When Colin was setting him in the middle, he was hard to stop.”
The College Heights Cougars finished sixth after losing their last match 21-25, 26-24, 15-13 to Clarence Fulton of Vernon. Adam Starzyk, a Grade 12 power hitter for the Cougars, made the second all-star team. Top-ranked MEI beat Fraser Valley Christian 22-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 18-16 for gold.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 30 November 2008 )
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