Since the start of the high school season the College Heights Cougars have hovered near the top of the provincial triple-A girls volleyball rankings.
Now they're just two match victories away from proving themselves worthy of the B.C. crown.
The Cougars booked themselves a spot in the provincial semifinal round when they defeated the Vernon Panthers 3-1 (21-25, 25-9, 25-23, 25-19) Friday on the court in Vernon.
The Cougars will play either Brooks of Powell River or Fraser Heights of Surrey in a semifinal match today at 10:50 a.m. The winner advances to the gold-medal final today at 6:30 p.m.
The North Central zone-champion Duchess Park Condors, who started the tournament Thursday ranked No. 1, saw their provincial triple-A girls title hopes disintegrate Friday when they lost their round of 16 playoff to Caledonia of Terrace 3-1 (25-17, 26-24, 17-25, 25-19).
The Condors went on to defeat Mountain Secondary of Langley 2-0 (25-20, 25-18) in the consolation round Friday afternoon. The Condors will take on Okanagan Mission today at 9:30 a.m. The winner will advance to the ninth-place match at 1 p.m.
Meanwhile at the double-A boys championship in Kelowna, the zone-champion College Heights Cougars lost their quarterfinal in three sets to Clarence Fulton of Vernon (26-24, 27-25, 25-8), then defeated W.L. Seaton of Vernon 2-0 (25-15, 28-26 to advance to the fifth-place match today at 12:45 p.m. against Langley Christian.
In other consolation round results Friday, the D.P. Todd Trojans beat Woodlands of Nanaimo 2-1 (25-20, 25-27, 15-9) and High McRoberts of Richmond 2-1 (25-17, 31-33, 15-9) to advance to the ninth-place match today at 10:15 a.m. against Pacific Christian.
MEI of Abbotsford will play Langley Fundamental today for gold, while Pacific Academy faces Fulton in the bronze-medal match.
Also in Kelowna at the 20-team triple-A boys tournament, the Prince George Polars finished 20th, after dropping a 2-0 (25-22, 25-19) decision to Belmont of Victoria. The Polars also lost Friday to the North Peace Ooks of Fort St. John 2-0 (25-16, 25-18).
At the double-A girls tournament in Winfield, the D.P. Todd Trojans lost their round of 16 playoff Friday to Langley Christian 3-1 (23-25, 25-7, 25-11, 25-11).
That dropped the North Central zone-champion Trojans into the consolation round.
At the single-A girls championship in Castlegar, the Cedars Christian Eagles rebounded from a disastrous 0-3 start on opening day and reeled off wins over Credo Christian of Langley 3-2 (25-15, 25-27, 25-15, 13-25, 15-8) and Queen Charlotte 2-0 (25-11, 25-18).
Cedars will take on Highroad Academy of Chilliwack today at 8:30 a.m. If the Eagles win they will play for 13th place at 1:45 p.m.
