The D.P. Todd Trojans should have been out of fuel. Instead, they switched to their reserve tanks and locked up a somewhat unexpected berth in provincials.
Last Saturday, on their home court, the Trojans senior girls volleyball team knocked off the favoured College Heights Cougars in five sets in the final match of the double-A zone championship tournament. Just prior to the final, D.P. Todd also went five sets against the upstart Kelly Road Roadrunners in the semifinal round.
In between the two epic matches, the Trojans only had about 45 minutes to rest.
"It was a pleasure to pull that off, considering what we had to go through to get there," said D.P. Todd coach Brian Bird.
"After our five-game match against Kelly Road, for them to come back and do another five-game match, it showed a lot of heart. They found some energy somewhere."
The tournament, also attended by the Nechako Valley Viqueens of Vanderhoof, only offered one provincial berth so neither the Trojans nor Cougars were about to let down. College Heights, the sixth-ranked team in B.C., prevailed in an extended first set and D.P. Todd took the next two. In the fourth set, the Cougars - down to their final life - dominated play and forced the fifth.
In the deciding set, the Trojans built an 8-4 lead and then the teams traded points until the score reached 14-9. The Cougars got their 10th point when they won a thrilling rally that lasted about 90 seconds. But, on what turned out to be match point, the Trojans dug up an attempted kill shot and got the ball into the hands of Amanda Antrobus, who sent a beautiful set to right-side hitter Haleigh Kearns. Seeing victory in front of her, Kearns went high and slammed the ball down the sideline.
"That was nice," Bird said. "Instead of ending on College Heights making an error, we managed to finish it on an attack."
All in all, the match lasted two hours and 20 minutes. And that was after the Trojans had been on the floor for two hours with the Roadrunners.
"I'm so proud of those girls," Bird said of his players. "I had my doubts - I was waiting for my team to hit the wall physically.
"I don't know where they had the energy to jump up in the air when they won."
Kearns was chosen as the tournament's most valuable player and D.P. Todd middle blocker Mackenzie Van Spengen was named to the all-star team. All-stars for College Heights were middle blocker Jynessa Kaulback and right-side hitter Alysha Madsen.
College Heights coach Jason Olexyn is disappointed with the team's result at zones but is keeping the loss in the final in perspective.
"D.P. Todd has beat us in the past - it wasn't unheard of," he said. "Yes, we beat them on Friday two straight in the round robin but a five-set match is a whole different story."
The provincial tournament is Dec. 1-3 in Abbotsford and will be hosted by the MEI Eagles, the two-time defending champion.
The Cougars, meanwhile, have decided to play in a six-team wildcard tournament this weekend in Winfield. A top-two finish would get them to provincials through a back door. Other teams at the last-ditch playoff will be St. Thomas More of Vancouver (ranked fifth in B.C.), West Point Grey of Vancouver (ranked 10th), Langley Fundamental, Clarence Fulton of Vernon and host George Elliot.
"It's not going to be easy," Olexyn said.
