The Prince George Kodiaks finished tied for fifth place in the top division at the club volleyball national championships in Saskatoon on the weekend.
The Kodiaks, an 18-and-under boys team, advanced to the playoff round but lost in straight sets in the quarterfinals to FOG Black of Edmonton. Scores were 25-17, 25-19.
The Kodiaks started nationals by posting a 2-1 record in pool play. They fell 25-18, 25-17 to FOG Black, beat the Rustlers 25-22, 25-18 and downed the BRVC Vikings 25-17, 25-16. In the pool, Prince George placed second to FOG Black and moved on to the power-pool round.
The Kodiaks won their power pool with a mark of 2-1. Fraser Valley Volleyball Club also went 2-1 but Prince George took top spot based on a 27-29, 25-22, 15-13 win against FVVC. In their other power-pool matches, the Kodiaks defeated Storm Thunder 25-17, 20-25, 15-13 and fell 25-23, 25-22 to KVC KaPow.
The power-pool result landed the Kodiaks in the playoffs and set the stage for the loss to FOG Black, the eventual bronze medalist.
In the final, Force of Surrey beat Pakmen Gold of Mississauga, Ont., 15-25, 25-21, 16-14.
At nationals, there were 10 teams in the top tier and 49 overall.
The Kodiaks, who play under the umbrella of the Prince George Youth Volleyball Club, are coached by Dan Drezet, Linden Smith and Colen Wilson. Team members are Jared Apolczer, Max Bast, Cody Boulding, Braden Dukacz, Jonah Gilbert, Ryan Hampe, Nick Hansen, Carter Karpenko, Lucas Mantel, Ben Shand, Nigel Thompson, Evan Veldman and Graham Walkey.
Three other PGYVC teams - two in the 16U girls division and one in the 16U boys group - will be in Calgary this weekend for the Western Canadian Open.
