They entered the B.C. Senior Boys A Volleyball Championships as the 10th seed out of 16.
And with only one Grade 12 player on the squad, Chris Bannick’s Vernon Christian School Royals finished three spots higher.
It was a well-earned seventh place showing for the Royals, who qualified for the 16-team tournament in Duncan Dec. 1-3 as the Okanagan’s No. 3 seed.
“The boys played a lot of volleyball this past week and what impressed me was they took their game to a whole new level,” said Bannick. “The sacrifice to hit the floor and make plays that kept rallies alive and brought us hard-earned points made me very proud as their coach.”
In pool play, the Royals went 2-1 with a victory over the Maple Ridge Christian Hornets 25-12, 25-12, a loss to the Brookes-Westshore Gryphons of Victoria 25-27, 26-28, and bounced back to a win over the St. Ann’s Academy Crusaders of Kamloops, 24-26, 25-22, 15-9.
Player of the game (POG) selections for each match were setter Tristan Thompson with 21 assists and five service aces against the Hornets; outside power Asher Hovius with seven kills versus the Gryphons; and middle Hayden Sayer with four aces and one block over the Crusaders.
In the Round of 16 on Friday, the Royals faced a familiar opponent in the Okanagan champion Kelowna Christian Knights and came out on top 25-14, 25-16, 25-23. Offensively, Hovius led the charge with eight kills and two service aces, while Jack Johnson had eight kills and tw blocks from the right side. Player of the game was Hovius.
The quarter finals on Friday night was a real battle and went to the fifth set limit, but the Royals lost to the Unity Christian Flames of Chilliwack, 19-25,20-25, 29-27, 25-18, 6-15. Hovius led the attack with 10 kills, while Ben Tishenko also added kills from the left side, and Johnson had six. POG was Tishenko.
In Saturday’s consolation matches the Royals bowed out to the Nanaimo Christian Trail Blazers 23-25,25-27. POG was team libero Ethan Veenendaal. In the final game VCS played hard and prevailed over the Brockton School Grizzlies of North Vancouver 25-13, 24-26, 15-06. POG was Cash Riemersma as he supplied four kills, one ace, and two blocks from the middle position.
Hovius and Johnson received second-team all-star selections for their consistent, outstanding play both offensively and on the defensive side of the court.
“Everyone bought into the team system and really played well in support of one another,” said Bannick. “The passing was excellent which allowed us to make great transitions to our explosive options on offence.”
Vancouver Christian Phoenix defeated Cedars Christian Eagles from Prince George in four sets to claim provincial gold.
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roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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