Best friends on and off the court, Charlie Holborn and Savannah Purdy have more riding on their next match than ever before.
The girls recently took home the gold in the U14 division at the Island Championships in Parksville, July 20 and 21, and are off to provincials in August.
Holborn and her family are moving to Ottawa and after provincials the dynamic duo will have to part ways.
"I just want to go there and experience it, it's our passion. We've been training for two years for this," said Holborn.
The two 13 year olds have been competing against older players for most of their competitions because there weren't any U12 or U13 teams locally. At provincials they will compete against other players their age.
"I am excited to actually compete against girls in our age group," said Purdy adding it's harder playing against older, more experienced players.
Neither girl wants to give up the sport, but both sound wary of having to find a new partner.
"It'll be really hard to replace her," said Purdy, who lives in Highlands.
Both girls began competing in competitive club volleyball in Grade 6 and not long after they shifted to beach volleyball.
"You get more court time, but it's hard because the sand gets rid of your momentum," Holborn said.
"I like beach volleyball because you get to play the whole time and you get to pretty much touch the ball every time," Purdy said.
Gearing up for their final time on the court together the two girls practise five days a week.
Aside from developing skills the two built a strong friendship and have grown as people.
"We used to be really shy, but we've really gotten out of shell as we've gotten to know each other," said Holborn, a Langford resident.
The two girls will compete at provincials in Parksville, Aug. 10 and 11 and hope to earn gold before Holborn moves.