Nanaimo volleyball teams came up big at playoff time, and three of them are off to provincials.
The Cedar Spartans won the senior A girls’ Island championship on Saturday and the Dover Bay Dolphins and Nanaimo District Islanders also navigated their respective Island championship tournaments on the weekend.
The Spartans defeated Duncan Christian 24-26, 25-12, 15-8 in Saturday’s final at the Cedar Community Secondary School gym.
Coach Bill Rounis said even though his team had qualified for provincials just by reaching the Island final, that one extra win was a big one.
“We still needed to make sure we continue to play well,” he said. “Winning the Islands was part of it, too, it wasn’t just making it to the B.C.s. We’re on the right track.”
Cedar’s Alexa Ellis was tournament MVP and Trisha Randen was an all-star.
In Victoria, the Dover girls battled injuries at the senior AAAA Island championships and had just enough in the tank to reach the final against G.P. Vanier where they lost in four sets.
"With the injuries, we did what we could with what we had," said Dave Nelson, the team's coach.
Getting to that match meant an automatic berth in provincials, which Nelson said was definitely nice to see.
“Especially for the Grade 12s, being their last year, they want to finish on the right note,” he said.
Jamie Bassett and Rachel Vanstone were selected as all-stars.
Up in Courtenay, the NDSS girls won a five-set marathon match against the host Isfeld Ice to reach the Island senior AAA girls’ final.
“They showed a lot of heart,” said Kyla Nichol, one of the Islanders coaches. “It was over two hours of volleyball, a long game, but they pushed through and won it and that was the big one.”
Asha Parhar and Paige Milner were chosen as all-stars.
Three senior girls' teams were eliminated from the playoffs on the weekend – the Woodlands Eagles, Wellington Wildcats and Nanaimo Christian School Eagles.
Woodlands just missed out, placing fifth at Islands in their home gym on the weekend. The team started the tourney with an inspiring three-set victory over rival St. Margaret's, but ended off with a loss to the Ladysmith 49ers in Saturday's quarterfinals.
Coach Hung Tang said it was a disappointing outcome for the players, but he's proud of their accomplishments over the course of the season.
"They had the opportunity to go to provincials but we just came up one game short," he said. "Overall we were really pleased with the girls and how we finished."
GAME ON … Provincials in all divisions start Dec. 1 around the province. Dover will be heading over to North Vancouver, Nanaimo District will play in Parksville and Cedar has to travel to Prince George.
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