Skip to content

Vernon’s Seaton Sonics win fourth straight Okanagan title

Sonics among a handful of Vernon school heading to B.C. high school volleyball championships
19461536_web1_191113-VMS-Royals4
The Vernon Christian School Royals begin defence of their B.C. High School Senior Boys A Volleyball championship Thursday in Castlegar. (Photo submitted)

Seaton Sonics are making a return to the B.C. High School Senior Girls AAA volleyball finals next week in Langley.

And doing so as Okanagan champions for a fourth straight year.

The sonics avenged a loss to Kelowna’s Okanagan Mission Huskies in the final of the George Elliot Coyotes Classic in Lake Country a couple of weeks prior, downing the Huskies 3-1 in the best-of-five championship.

Both teams advance to the B.C. finals.

READ MORE: PHOTOS: Vernon high school volleyball squads block out cancer

“This was not easy for the team to accomplish,” said Sonics head coach Troy Lorenson, who has been at the helm for the past three Valley titles. “It was probably the strongest field of Okanagan teams in many years, with several of them ranked in the top 10 in the province throughout the season. Being the former Valley champions always ensures our opponents will be ready for us.”

The Sonics took the top seed into pool play of the six participating teams, which also included the Vernon Panthers, based on their first-place finish at the AAA Interlock tourney in October.

Seaton beat VSS and the Sa-Hali Sabres of Kamloops to advance to the semifinals against the South Kamloops Titans Saturday morning. The Sonics swept aside South Kam 3-0 to advance to the championship.

“The Sonics volleyball program has come a long way over the years, and it starts from the leadership of our athletic directors through our Grade 8 and junior coaching staff,” said Lorenson. “The team has set a very high target this season, and we are on track. Whatever happens at provincials…it has been another incredible season.”

The Panthers fell in the semifinals to Okanagan Mission and then dropped the bronze-medal game in five sets to South Kamloops.

Seaton is one of 13 teams qualified for the 16-team field (three wild card spots are up for grabs this weekend) for the B.C. championships. The Sonics are in a group with one of the wild card winners, the Duchess Park Condors of Prince George and the Charles Hay Rainmakers of Prince Rupert.

SENIOR GIRLS AA

The host Kalamalka Lakers will be the third Okanagan seed at the 20-team B.C. High School AA championships which run Nov. 28-30 at Kal Secondary (games will also be played at Vernon and Fulton secondary schools).

The Lakers beat the Pleasant Valley Sinners of Armstrong for the bronze medal at the Okanagan Valley championships in Lake Country.

READ MORE: Coldstream squad primed for provincials

Kal lost a semifinal to the Summerland Rockets while the eventual champion George Elliot Coyotes of Lake Country knocked out the Sinners in the other Final Four match.

The Coyotes and Rockets, along with the Lakers, advance to the B.C. championships.

SENIOR BOYS A

The Vernon Christian Royals begin defence of their B.C. A senior boys championship Thursday at Selkirk College in Castlegar.

The Okanagan champion Royals, ranked No. 1 in the province going into the B.C. tournament, have been grouped in a four-team pool with the host Mt. Sentinel Wildcats of South Slocan, the Centennial Christian Seahawks of Terrace and the Credo Christian Kodiaks of Langley. The Royals will play each of those teams in pool play Thursday.

READ MORE: Vernon Royals best in B.C.

The championship game of the 16-team affair will go Saturday night.

SENIOR BOYS AA

The Seaton Sonics have qualified for the B.C. AA Senior Boys tournament in Langley Nov. 28-30.

Richard and Karen Bedard’s Sonics lost the Okanagan final in Kamloops, 3-0, to the George Elliot Coyotes of Lake Country. Both teams advance to the provincials.

The Sonics made it to the Okanagan final by taking care of the host Sa-Hali Sabres 2-0, then swept the Summerland Rockets 3-0 and defeated the Princess Margaret Mustangs of Penticton 3-1.

Seaton has been placed in a four-team pool for the 16-team provincial finals with the Sir Charles Tupper Tigers of Vancouver, the Alpha Aztecs 0f Burnaby and Prince Charles Bulldogs of Creston, and will play each school Thursday, Nov. 28.


@VernonNews
roger@vernonmorningstar.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

19461536_web1_191122-VMS-Volleyball1
The Seaton Sonics captured the Okanagan Valley Senior Girls AA Volleyball pennant for the fourth straight year, meaning a fourth consecutive trip to the B.C. championships. (Photo submitted)
19461536_web1_191122-VMS-Volleyball2
Owen Sunderland of the Seaton Sonics (6) goes up for a kill against Penticton’s Princess Margaret Mustangs at the Okanagan Valley Senior Boys AA Volleyball championships in Kamloops. The Sonics lost the valley final but advance to the B.C. tournament. (Greg Louis photo)