Coach Taylor Verboom conceded he didn’t know which version of his Aberdeen Hall Gryphons would show up at the B.C. School Sports senior A girls volleyball championship tournament in Nanaimo on the weekend.
Would it be the squad that seemed content as a team ranked in middle of the pack for most of the season or the one which had shown — at times — signs of upsetting some of the best in the province?
What he got was the plucky group he knew existed from the start of the season but hadn’t reached its full potential.
Seeded 12th going into the 20-team BCSS tournament at Nanaimo Christian School, the Kelowna-based Gryphons knocked off three higher-ranked teams in the championship bracket to reach the provincial final to claim the school’s first-ever provincial team medal.
While the Gryphons succumbed 3-0 to the highly favoured defending champions and No. 1-ranked Unity Christian Flames of Chilliwack in the title match, they earned unabashed praise of their coach and supporters in attendance.
“It took them a bit to get rolling (2-2 in pool play), but their fight and never-give-up attitude came through when we got to the championship round,” said Verboom, who had taken the Gryphons to the provincial tournament a year earlier and had finished ninth. “We really liked their grit as the tournament progressed and our win over Elkford was definitely a turning point.”
Trailing 2-0 in a quarter-final match with the No. 3-seeded team, the Gryphons stormed back to win the next three sets for the victory and earn a semifinal meeting with their Okanagan rivals from Kelowna Christian School.
The No. 2-ranked KCS Knights had had Aberdeen’s number during the season, winning all but one match among several in league and tournament play — as well at the final at the Valley championship.
“That match at the Valleys was really close and I think that’s what really sparked the fire in the girls,” said Verboom, noting that his team’s passing game throughout the tournament on the Island against the hard-serving Knights was better than it had been all season. “They realized they had the potential to win against KCS, so the motivation to get over the hump was definitely there.”
The Gryphons’ resolve intensified when they won the first set against KCS in the semis. And while they lost the second set, their mettle came through again as they took the next two for the unlikely victory — led by tournament first-team all-stars Hayley Zandee (libero) and Jaeda Yurkiw (right-side).
“Hayley and Jaeda were lights out for us as usual, but everybody stepped up down the stretch,” said Verboom. “But It was a team effort that’s for sure.”
Although the Gryphons continued to dig deep in the final and were the only team at the tournament to get into the 20s (25-22 in the first set) against the vaunted Unity attack, they came up short against the Fraser Valley juggernaut led by MVP Kirsten Kampman and sister Kylie, a first-team all-star, but earned the surprising provincial silver.
Meanwhile, the KCS Knights, the Okanagan champions, finished fourth overall, led by first-team all-star Tasha Boulter and second-team all-star Abby Heinen.
UPDATE of KelownaNow story on Saturday:
The Kelowna Owls won eight straight matches and knocked off the top-two seeded teams on the way to capturing the 2018 B.C. School Sports provincial AAAA girls volleyball championship on Saturday in Penticton.
A 3-0 victory in the final over two-time defending-champion and No. 1-seed Belmont Bulldogs of Victoria capped an almost perfect three days of volleyball for the upstart Owls, who lost just three sets in the eight matches.
The top-ranked team from the Okanagan for the 13th consecutive season, the Owls took the first set 25-21 against Belmont in the championship match and staved off a pair of late Belmont comebacks to win 25-22 and 25-23 and complete the sweep and earn their first provincial girls volleyball championship since 2012.
Head coach, Kelly Hettinga, said his team had been working toward a peak performance in the championship match since Day 1 of the season.
“Part of that meant trying a variety of things through the course of the season that we would ultimately be able to apply when we made it through to provincials and prevent Belmont from a three-peat,” said Hettinga.
The Owls, seeded fifth going into the 20-team provincial tournament, had earned a berth in the title match by upsetting No. 2 Moscrop Panthers of Burnaby 3-1 (18-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-16) in semifinal play on Friday.
Hettinga noted that being in the most competitive opening pool provided the Owls with the opportunity to step up their game from the get-go.
After going 4-0 in pool play on Thursday, the upbeat Owls defeated the Terry Fox Ravens of Port Coquitlam 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs and downed No. 6 Lord Byng Grey Ghosts of Vancouver 3-1 in quarter-final play for the right to advance to Friday’s semis.
In the final weeks leading up to the provincial tournament. So they felt good about the matchup in the championship.
While dominant at the net with 33 kills and 11 blocks, the Owls’ performance in all areas of the court was outstanding.
“This group was defined by its depth and also functioned so well as a team with so many good friends and healthy relationships among the Grade 11s and 12s,” said Hettinga.
Sarah Hall, the Owls’ right-side/setter, earned most valuable player honours for the championship tournament while Madelyn Hettinga garnered a first-team all-star designation and Amelia Anderson and Jaalah Ward were selected for the second all-star team.
While they struggled early on to find their footing, a young George Elliot Coyotes team gained momentum in the latter stages to win their final three matches at the B.C. School Sports senior AA girls volleyball championship in Burnaby on the weekend.
Going 1-2 in pool play and finishing in third place, the Coyotes faced an uphill battle, starting with a strong Surrey Christian team in the first round of the championship bracket. They fell 3-0 and were relegated to the consolation side of the draw.
Elliot regrouped to defeat Prince Charles of Creston and Elphinstone of Gibsons and upset No. 3-ranked Langley Christian 2-1 (22-25, 25-22, 15-13).
It was the final secondary school matches for Elliot’s three Grade 12 girls — Abby Einarson, Julia Paulson and Maya Ufimzeff — while the majority of the team will return for what is expected to be a season that will provide an opportunity to contend for a provincial title.
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