Pool play is complete and the teams are ready for the knockout stage as the 3A and 4A tiers of the 2019 BC Secondary School Volleyball Provincial Championships got underway at Langley Events Centre on Thursday.
The teams for both tiers will play the round of 16 and quarter-final round on Friday.
AA Girls
All four top seeds won their respective pools on the opening day of the championship.
The Little Flower Academy Angels – the top overall seed – breezed through Pool A by winning all three matches without dropping a set (and only allowing a team to 20 points once in those six sets).
At 2-1, the South Kamloops Titans took second while the G.W. Graham Grizzlies and Hugh McRoberts Strikers were third and fourth, respectively.
Last year’s silver medallists, the Carihi Tyees were also a perfect 3-0 without dropping a set to win Pool B. The R.A. McMath Wildcats finished second, the Crofton House Falcons (who won the title in 2018) were third and the Stelly’s Stingers came fourth in the pool.
The Dawson Creek Penguins were tops in Pool C, also going 3-0 without dropping a set. The Okanagan Mission Huskies took second in the pool, followed by the Prince George Polars and Salish Wolves.
And in Pool D, the W.L. Seaton Sonics took first place with the Vernon Panthers, Duchess Park Condors and Charles Hays Rainmakers finishing second through fourth.
AAA Girls
It came down to the final match and a deciding set to determine who would win Pool A. And when the dust had settled it was the top-ranked Kelowna Owls surviving the upset-minded Claremont Spartans to take the pool.
The Owls won 2-1 (25-21,22-25,17-15) to finish 3-0 and take Pool A. The Spartans were ranked 10th overall heading into pool play and finished second. The Seaquam Seahawks and North Peace Grizzlies were third and fourth, respectively.
The Lord Byng Grey Ghosts were tops in Pool B after a perfect showing on opening day, winning all three matches and not dropping a single set along the way.
The Dover Bay Dolphins were second, the Sardis Falcons third and the Burnaby Central Wildcats fourth.
Pool C saw an upset as the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers (seeded eighth overall) edged the third-overall seeded Mission Roadrunners. The Van Tech Talisman were third in the pool and the Pinetree Timberwolves fourth.
The Semiahmoo Totems were tops in Pool D thanks to a 3-0 record which saw them win all six of their sets. The Riverside Rapids did upset the Oak Bay Breakers for second in the set (the Rapids were the 14th overall seed while the Breakers entered as No. 7) and the Terry Fox Ravens placed fourth.
Pool E also featured a shake-up in the second and third spots. The Handsworth Royals won the pool but the South Delta Sun Devils (who had to win a wildcard qualifying spot just to make provincials and came in as the No. 15 seed) placed second in the pool ahead of the Elgin Park Orcas, the sixth overall seed, The Mount Boucherie Bears were fourth.
