The flight path of the Duchess Park Condors kept them well out of reach of the North Peace Oscars.
The Condors are this season's junior boys volleyball zone champions after a relatively easy victory against the Fort St. John-based Oscars. In Saturday's final match at zones, played at Kelly Road secondary, Duchess Park topped North Peace 25-16, 25-14.
"We went after them," said Duchess Park coach Glenn Wong. "We served tough and we picked up our defence. We gave them no breaks and never let up. That was our whole key."
In the final, one of the difference-makers for Duchess Park was middle blocker Duncan Elliot. At the net, both defensively and offensively, he was too much for the Oscars to handle.
"He has been under the radar for a long time," Wong said of Elliot. "He was just a wall up there -- he just shut them down. He blocked a lot out and he added to our attack with Nathan (Pawluk) in the middle."
Polars at best when it counts
Playoffs always seem to bring out the best in the PGSS Polars.
It was true again at the zone championship tournament.
PGSS started relatively slowly at the junior girls volleyball zones, held at Quesnel's Correlieu secondary on the weekend. But, once the Polars got into the playoff round, they elevated their play, something that has been their custom all year. In Saturday's final match, PGSS took on College Heights and held off the talented Cougars for a 23-25, 25-22, 15-7 win.
The victory was the Polars' first against College Heights this season.
"We played really well in the playoff portion," said PGSS coach Jasen Florell. "Everything just went well. They chased down every ball, went after everything and kept attacking. It was a culmination, I guess, of the whole year. They really wanted to win this tournament and they went out and showed it on Saturday."
Senior Trojans shine in Kamloops
The D.P. Todd Trojans tuned up for the zone championship tournament by playing their best volleyball of the season.
The D.P. Todd senior boys team finished in fifth place at a Thompson Rivers University tournament in Kamloops on the weekend. In their last match, on Saturday, the Trojans defeated G.P. Vanier of Courtenay 25-15, 27-25. Vanier entered the event as the fifth-ranked triple-A team in B.C., while the Trojans came in at No. 10 on the provincial double-A list.
In their first match Saturday, the Trojans dumped George Elliot of Winfield -- ranked fifth in double-A -- 25-17, 25-18. D.P. Todd then faced top-ranked W.L. Seaton of Vernon in the playoff quarterfinals and lost in three sets, 24-26, 25-22, 15-8.
D.P. Todd started the tournament by posting a 1-2 record in pool play on Friday.
Nic Balazs was picked as a tournament all-star for the fourth time this season.
The double-A zone championship tournament is Friday and Saturday at Duchess Park. The College Heights Cougars (No. 8 in B.C.) and Trojans are favoured to meet in Saturday's final.
