Jordan Patterson wants to celebrate his 17th birthday in Kelowna this year.
The libero for the College Heights secondary Cougars senior team would like to bring his volleyball teammates to help in the celebration, but first the Cougars have to survive the 2011 double-A boys and girls zone volleyball championships today and Saturday at CHSS.
"A provincial title would be good or even a zone title," Patterson said regarding great gifts for his Dec. 2 birthday.
The Cougars head into the North-Central zone championship as the favourites, having won the title last season before finishing eighth at provincials. CHSS are ranked third provincially, but two of their competitors - Duchess Park Condors and D.P. Todd Trojans - have also cracked the Top 10.
Duchess Park finished the season strong to move up to the fourth slot, while the Trojans - the runner-up to the Cougars in 2010 - are 10th. The other team in the tournament is Chetwynd.
"We're kind of prepared the same [as last year] for zones, but if we make provincials we're a lot more prepared for that," said Patterson. "We have a lot more confidence."
The Cougars had 18 players involved in senior boys volleyball this season, dividing the players into two teams. The A team posted a 37-2 match record and a 76-8 sets record, while the B team had a 12-11 match record and 29-25 set record.
It's been two weeks since the Cougars have played competitive volleyball, when they finished second at a tournament outside of Vernon, losing to MEI - the top-ranked team from Abbotsford.
There are seven Grade 12 players who remember what happened at the provincial championship last season - Patterson, setter Warren Bachand, specialist Brett Bobier, right-side Austin Cromarty, power Nolan Schwab, middle Wayne Woyciehouski and right-side Tanner Wheeler.
"It's a little depressing to think it's the last home game, but it's exciting at the same time to play your final game," said Patterson.
All seven players have played together since Grade 10, while Patterson and Bachand first played together in Grade 8.
The girls zone championship is a six-team round-robin event, but the boys only have one chance to get to the final Saturday.
CHSS faces off with Chetwynd in a best-of-five semifinal Friday at 4 p.m., while the Condors and Trojans battle for the final spot in the final at 5:30 p.m.
The losers from Friday play for bronze at 12:45 p.m. Saturday, while the winners play for gold at 2:30 p.m.
The top two teams qualify for the provincial championship.
Jay Guillet, coach for the senior boys Cougars, reminded his team at Thursday's practice that the regular season means nothing this weekend and the team with the most desire will go to Kelowna.
"When it comes to zones everyone is equal, it doesn't matter if you've beat them six times," said Guillet.
