The College Heights Cougars put a serious fright into every opponent during a Halloween weekend tournament.
The Cougars senior boys volleyball team tore through the Kelly Road Scary Spooky Halloween Jam without losing a single set. In Saturday's championship match, College Heights defeated the Duchess Park Condors 25-19, 25-14.
"They had a very good weekend," Cougars coach Linden Smith said of his players.
"This was us getting back into the swing of things."
At their previous tournament, the Best of the West two weekends ago in Kelowna, the Cougars had to deal with the loss of power hitter Ben Shand, who sprained an ankle during the team's second match and was sidelined the rest of the way. The remaining players did their best to continue on without him but, ultimately, the Cougars didn't get the results they wanted. Even though they entered the event as one of the elite double-A squads in the province, they failed to crack the top 16 in the final standings.
Shand, who played for the 16-and-under provincial team this summer, was still on the injured list for the Kelly Road gathering but the Cougars didn't miss him quite as much thanks to the standout play of Nehemiah Ohori.
"He had a very good weekend," Smith said in reference to Ohori, who, like Shand, is a Grade 11 team member. "He's been kind of a role player all year, playing pretty much every position. Playing left side this weekend, he was hitting the ball well, playing defence and passing well. He really stepped up his game."
In the final against Duchess Park, the Cougars were businesslike and methodical in the straight-sets victory.
"They were steady," said Smith, who works alongside fellow coach Jay Guillet. "They didn't let minor mistakes get to them and they just kept going for it. There was good fight in them this weekend."
In the playoff semifinals, the Cougars beat a strong but short-staffed D.P. Todd Trojans team 25-11, 25-13. In the quarterfinal round, College Heights downed Correlieu of Quesnel 25-14, 25-12. The Cougars' pool-play victories came against Kelly Road (25-14, 25-21), Cedars Christian (25-10, 25-15) and North Peace of Fort St. John (25-10, 25-16).
The tournament win was the third of the season for the Cougars and sets them up well for their next challenge - the George Elliot Coyote Classic this coming weekend in Winfield. The Coyote Classic will feature the top double-A and triple-A teams in B.C. and will be a perfect measuring stick as the zone and provincial championship tournaments draw nearer.
"We're just looking to perform to the best of our abilities and hopefully play some good double-A teams," Smith said. "We have a chance to play George Elliot - who is ranked just above us in the rankings - in our second match. If we get that game, that would be a big one."
Smith said the Cougars were at No. 8 on the provincial double-A list going into the Kelly Road tournament. The latest rankings should be released today.
Following the Coyote Classic, the Cougars will compete at the double-A zones, Nov. 20-21 at D.P. Todd. The top two finishers will move on to provincials, Dec. 1-3 in Langley.
