They were young, short on numbers and had to adjust to some major rule differences. The 17-and-under Kodiaks still blasted their way to bronze at a weekend volleyball tournament in Spokane.
At the Border Smackdown, the Kodiaks were competing against 18-and-under teams and had just seven players in uniform. Despite those challenges, they advanced to the bronze-medal game, where they beat Spokane 28-26, 25-22.
"We went in with the attitude that we had nothing to lose," said Kodiaks coach Glenn Wong, whose club had fallen to Spokane 22-25, 25-19 in preliminary play. "The boys didn't get spooked. They wanted to end on a good note and the key was that they stayed relaxed and didn't let anything faze them, especially the rules. The U.S. volleyball rules are quite different than in Canada."
One of the major differences is that the ball is not considered dead when it hits the ceiling.
"You're allowed to play it off the ceiling on your side of the court," Wong said. "And some of what we don't allow for ball handling, they are allowed to do. So it was a learning curve."
The players who made the trip were John Polnik, Josh Colley, Ryan Janzen, Duncan Elliot, Kalin Johnson, Rory Smith and Josh Rockwell. Wong said Polnik, a setter, was the team's most valuable player.
"He spread the ball out to everybody, so everybody was swinging," Wong said. "In the end, when we played Spokane, he gave us five straight points in the second set just on serving. He stuck out the most. He has a bright future if he wishes to pursue it -- all these boys do, in fact. Everybody was surprised at our technical ability."
In their other playoff matches, the Kodiaks beat Lethbridge Red 25-21, 25-20 and lost to Richmond Air Attack 25-14, 25-20.
In their other preliminary games, the P.G. boys downed Club Idaho 23-25, 25-20 and were overpowered by Lethbridge Blue 25-14, 25-20.
The Kodiaks were representing the Prince George Youth Volleyball Club.
