It took absences from a set of the team’s top players to finally knock the Belmont senior girls volleyball team down a notch.
The girls still managed a solid second place in a Belmont-hosted tournament despite missing stars Savannah Purdy and Miranda Cyr, who were both in Vancouver for a Team BC training camp. They lost starter Olivia Godek to an injured shoulder after what head coach Mike Toakley called a “spectacular diving defensive save.”
The tournament saw 16 teams competing at both Belmont and Spencer middle school on Nov. 4 and 5.
Belmont opened their run with a win over Campbell River in front of 200 enthusiastic middle schoolers.
A match with a strong squad from Rundle College out of Calgary gave them a good test in the semifinals, but the ’Dogs advanced to take on Mt. Douglas in the finals, who came into the weekend ranked number four in the province.
The Bulldogs fell in a close contest that went to a tie-breaker set.
Hannah May was named a tournament all-star for Belmont.
Also competing were the Belmont secondary junior girls, who impressed with a 2-3 record and a 13th place finish against senior competition.
Belmont now gears up for the Island AAAA championships, on Nov. 18 and 19 at Mount Doug.
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