Both teams were eight points away from provincial gold. With the big prize so tantalizingly close, the Langley Christian Lightning turned white-hot and the Duchess Park Condors couldn't cool them down.
Ultimately, the Duchess senior boys volleyball team had to settle for silver at the double-A provincial championship tournament. Saturday's final match in Kelowna ended 23-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 15-8 in favour of Langley Christian.
Looking back at the gold-medal tilt, coach Keith Wood isn't sure his Condors could have done anything to change the outcome.
"It was so even until we changed sides at 7-7 in the fifth set and [the Lightning] just caught on fire," Wood said. "They went into the zone. In that sense, it wasn't as heartbreaking because we were still playing well but everything worked for them. They got the random bounces over the net and we just couldn't find the floor. It wasn't a feeling that we lost, it was a feeling that they found top gear and just rolled."
Wood said his players were devastated after the loss but he's hoping that in the coming weeks they'll start to see their provincial experience in a different light.
"We've always tried to focus on the process rather than on the intrinsic motivator of a banner," he said. "As a kid, when I was in high school, I always wanted to go to provincials and we couldn't do it. And they did it. I think in a few weeks they'll realize what they gained from it. They just have to wait for that sting to go away. For me, I've never been so proud of a bunch of guys. What we have accomplished in the last two years is absolutely amazing -- the growth that we've seen, and not just skill-wise but as people and young men."
Last year, the Condors placed fourth at provincials after a loss to Langley Christian in the bronze-medal match.
This year, the MEI Eagles of Abbotsford were the top seed, with the Lightning second and the Condors third. But, in the playoff semifinals, Duchess Park upset the defending-champion Eagles 27-25, 15-25, 25-14, 25-21.
"We asked the boys to change up some little things [on offence] and they did that," said Wood, whose squad fell 25-23, 25-20 to MEI in pool play on the first day of the tournament. "It gave us a lot of momentum because we were scoring some really easy points. We found the holes in their defence and the boys really felt that it was their game and they could do it and they just executed their skills perfectly."
Duchess Park started the playoffs with a 25-13, 25-8, 25-13 win against Charles Hays of Prince Rupert and then defeated Langley Fundamental 25-16, 25-19, 24-26, 22-25, 15-6 in the quarterfinals.
During the closing ceremonies, graduating Condors players Sam Yurkowski and David Robertson were selected as first-team all-stars. Yurkowski is a setter and Robertson is a power hitter. As well, Grade 12 right side hitter Nathanial Pawluk was named to the second all-star team and Grade 12 middle blocker Zach Shill received an honourable mention. In Wood's view, Josh Colley could have been picked as the most outstanding libero but that award went to Mark Antoniuk of Langley Christian.
The Condors are rounded out by Tristan Berry, Duncan Elliot, Eric Kidwell, Min Kim, Josh Tiani and Cole Olsen. Wood praised the Grade 12 Olsen for giving the Condors a spark off the bench in the playoffs.
"In the quarterfinals I called him on to serve and [later in the tournament] he got an ace in the provincial final," Wood said. "If anybody stepped up, that kid stepped up and I was just amazed."
