As Saturday came to a close, the 18-and-under Kodiaks Black had dug themselves into a deep hole.
The girls squad from the Prince George Youth Volleyball Club had lost all three of its round-robin matches at the Division 2 provincial championships in Richmond and things looked bleak.
And it would take a Herculean effort in Sunday's playoff round to prove they belonged at the three-day tournament.
The Kodiaks, with a lineup of 10 girls, were up to the task though, going on to win two of three matches to claim the provincial bronze medal.
"The girls played great the second day - I think it was a lack of confidence on the first day," said Kodiaks Black coach Hans Minck. "They had a couple of breaks go their way (on Sunday) and they oozed confidence. It kind of worked out for us - everybody played and it was a team effort."
On the first day of competition, the Kodiaks Black lost consecutive round-robin matches to Vancouver's Synergy WC, Richmond's Air Attack Gold and Vancouver's Apex Xplosion.
Minck knew the team could do better in the playoff round. The Kodiaks finished fourth at a Super Series tournament in Kelowna two weeks ago.
"I just told them to smile out there and let's enjoy the moment," he said.
The Kodiaks edged Fraser Valley's Ace of Hearts 2-1 (21-25, 25-23, 15-10) in their first playoff match. In the second match, Synergy WC defeated the Kodiaks 2-1 (25-16, 20-25, 15-7) to advance to the gold-medal game.
That meant the Kodiaks faced the Apex Xplosion in the battle for the bronze medal.
The teams had met at the Super Series in Kelowna, where the Xplosion came out on top to finish third.
In the bronze-medal game in Richmond, the Kodiaks won the first set 25-22, but dropped the second set 25-12.
"In the second set, the mix of girls I had in there didn't go well so (in the third set) we went back to the original six who won the first set," said Minck. "We were down in the third and we had a couple of breaks go our way and it went into extra points."
The Kodiaks won the set 17-15 and the bronze medal to go along with it.
"It was a great moment and a good way to go home," said Minck. "It was a team effort, that's for sure, and a nice way to end the season."
The Kodiaks won't compete at the Volleyball Canada club championships due to schedule conflicts.
Air Attack Gold won the tournament with a straight-set victory over Synergy WC.
