In senior boys volleyball this season, the College Heights Cougars and D.P. Todd Trojans took turns beating up on each other. Today in Kelowna, they'll trade kill shots again, this time in the provincial championship tournament.
At the double-A boys provincials, the Cougars and Trojans are in the same pool and will square off at 12:30 p.m. at UBC Okanagan. The last time the teams met, College Heights swept D.P. Todd in the final of the north central zones.
For provincials, the Cougars are seeded fifth out of 16 teams and the Trojans are eighth. Just a few weeks ago, the Trojans were in the No. 5 spot on the B.C. list.
The bottom line? Either squad could do some serious damage at the championship. College Heights coach Jay Guillet said his Cougars could "absolutely" bring a medal home from provincials.
"That's always my mindset and I think it should be D.P. Todd's mindset as well," said Guillet, who guided the Duchess Park Condors to provincial gold in 1999-2000. "Both teams can play at that level. We're going to be very well-represented at provincials."
Langley Christian and Sa-Hali of Kamloops are the other teams grouped with College Heights and D.P. Todd.
Based on today's results, teams will be re-ranked for Thursday matches. A champion will be crowned on Saturday. W.L. Seaton of Vernon is the favourite to win, followed by MEI of Abbotsford, Langley Fundamental and George Elliot of Winfield.
Kelowna is also hosting the triple-A boys provincials. The Kelly Road Roadrunners, second-place finishers in the north central zone, are in the 20-team field. The 17th-seeded Runners play their first match today at 11:15 a.m. against Reynolds of Victoria. Also in Kelly Road's pool are Mount Baker of Cranbrook and Kwantlen Park of Surrey.
The final match is scheduled for Saturday night. Surrey-based Semiahmoo is ranked No. 1.
In senior girls competition, the triple-A provincials start Thursday at Duchess Park. The host Condors -- who are also zone champions -- are seeded fourth and the Kelly Road Roadrunners are ranked 14th (see Thursday's Citizen for a preview story).
At the double-A provincials, which get going Thursday in Kamloops, D.P. Todd and College Heights are representing the north central zone.
The single-A provincial tournament starts Thursday in Abbotsford. The Cedars Christian School Eagles earned a spot in that event.
