Both provincially ranked. Both evenly matched.
Perhaps it was home-court advantage that propelled Coldstream’s Kalamalka Lakers to the North Zone Senior Boys AA Volleyball championship over their Vernon rivals, the VSS Panthers.
The Lakers, ranked 6th in the latest B.C. AA poll, knocked off the seventh-rated Panthers 3-1 in the North Zone final Wednesday, Nov. 9, at Kal Secondary. Kal won the contest 25-20, 21-25, 25-16, 25-19. VSS played the final with only six players.
Fulton Maroons finished third, sweeping the Seaton Sonics 3-0. The Sonics visit the Summerland Jets Tuesday, Nov. 15, for a winner-take-all challenge game to determine the eighth and final team for the Okanagan Valley Senior Boys AA championships in Vernon.
The winner joins the Lakers, Panthers, Maroons, George Elliot Coyotes of Lake Country, South Kamloops Titans and Westsyde Whundas of Kamloops, and Princess Margaret Mustangs of Penticton at the Valleys Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19.
Kalamalka will be the host team for the tournament, but the event is being held at Vernon Secondary School as the Okanagan AA Senior Girls championship is being contested at Kal Secondary.
The Lakers will play South Kam, and VSS takes on Westsyde Friday at 2:15 p.m., followed by Elliot taking on Princess Margaret, and Fulton playing Seaton/Summerland at 3:30 p.m.
The championship game is set for Saturday at 3:45 p.m. The Valley champion will get the one Okanagan berth to the provincial championships Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in Victoria.
SENIOR BOYS A
The North Zone champion Vernon Christian School Royals are in the seven-team Okanagan Valley championships at Kelowna Christian School Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19.
The Royals will open Pool B play Friday at 2:40 p.m. against Kamloops Christian Eagles, and will face the Immaculata Mustangs of Kelowna at 3:45 p.m.
Pool A consists of the host Kelowna Christian Knights, King’s Christian Thunder of Salmon Arm, Revelstoke Avalanche and St. Ann’s Crusaders of Kamloops.
After the round-robin, the fourth-place team in Pool A meets the third place team in Pool B in a crossover match. The winner will meet Pool A’s second-place team in a Saturday quarterfinal, while Pool B second-place takes on Pool A’s third-place squad. The winners advance to the semifinals to face the winners of each preliminary pool.
The championship game is slated for 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The winner advances to the B.C. Championships Dec. 1-3 in Duncan.
SENIOR GIRLS AA
The Kalamalka Lakers earned the right to host the eight-team senior girls AA Valley finals, winning the North Zone championship 3-0 with wins over the Pleasant Valley Hawks of Armstrong, Revelstoke Avalanche and a 25-18, 25-10 win over Vernon’s Fulton Maroons in a battle of 2-0 teams in the event’s final game.
Revelstoke defeated PVSS to finish third so the Rams join the Lakers and Maroons at the Okanagan championships, which begin Friday, Nov. 18, at 12:30 p.m.
Kal will open up against the Westsyde Whundas while Fulton will play Summerland. Both games are at 12”30 p.m. Friday. The Lakers are joined in Pool A by the Kelowna Christian Knights and Revelstoke. Fulton and Summerland are in Pool B with the Merritt Panthers and Princess Margaret Mustangs.
The championship game is slated for 3:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19.
Top two teams advance to the B.C. championships next month in Merritt.
SENIOR GIRLS AAA
The Seaton Sonics will try for a sixth consecutive Okanagan championship this weekend in Kamloops.
The Sonics went 5-0 at the Okanagan Valley ranking tournament Oct. 21. The Vernon Panthers were second at 4-1 while the George Elliot Coyotes were third at 3-2.
South Kamloops Titans (2-3), Valleyview Vikings (1-4) and Sa-Hali Sabres, all from Kamloops, rounded out the six teams.
At the Okanagan championships, Seaton, South Kamloops and Valleyview will be in Pool A while the Panthers, Coyotes and Sa-Hali make up Pool B.
The Thompson-Okanagan Zone will send two teams, plus the host George Elliott (total of three teams), to provincial championships Dec. 1-3 at GESS.
This story was updated Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 4:05 p.m. with more tournament information
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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