Belmont boats a 50 per cent success rate after all four Belmont secondary volleyball teams competed in Island championships las weekend.
The junior girls and senior boys teams are moving on to volley for best in B.C.
The junior girls placed fourth at Islands and will head to Delta for provincials Nov. 22 to 24.
“After we won the quarter finals, all the pressure was off,” said coach Ken Lowe.
In the semi-finals, middle blocker Jess Thomsen suffered a knee injury that took her out for the rest of the weekend. The Bulldogs team lost the rest of its games by only two or three points.
“Making the Islands was a goal of ours. Making top four is impressive for a relatively inexperienced team,” Lowe said.
The junior girls placed first in city championships earlier this month. They won a tough tiebreaker against Oak Bay then faced off Claremont in the finals. Plagued with injuries and short players, the Bulldogs persevered for a second tiebreaker win.
“The team has gotten better and better, we didn’t expect this,” said Lowe. “Our kids buy into a system of how to play volleyball. They know what to do and are able to stay composed in different situations. We play more of a team game.”
The senior boys finished fifth at Island’s and nabbed a spot in the provincial championships in Kamploops Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 after the fourth place team dropped out.
The team placed third in city championships.
“That was a disappointment for them, they were ranked second before going to the city’s,” Lowe said.
The senior boys team consists of a lot of Grade 11 students who will be returning to play next year.
“That team is going to be a very strong team,” said Mike Toakley, Belmont teacher and senior girls coach. “The senior boys’ team is going to be the team to beat next year.”
The senior girls team placed third in Island championships narrowly missing a chance to compete in provincials.
“Unfortunately not good enough to get to the provincials, only the top two teams made it,” Lowe said.
The team is still celebrating its first place win at the city championships.
The senior girls’ team also had a couple tense games city’s, both ending with tiebreakers defeating Mount Doug in the semi-final and Oak Bay in the final.
“It was a close as you can get 16-14, you have to win by two points, it was a nail-biter,” said Toakley.
The junior boys Bulldogs finished fourth in Islands last weekend; only the top two teams move on to provincials.
The team placed third in city playoffs in a tense final game against Claremont. They took third place in a tiebreaker.
“The jr. boys had the toughest match to win,” Lowe said.
The top three teams went to Islands.