The Elgin Park Secondary senior boys’ volleyball team won bronze at provincial championships in Kelowna on the weekend.
Despite dodgy weather conditions on the way up, most of the team made it to the provincial contest, which saw Orca player Andy Carr earn a second team all-star and Ben Carr earn a first team all-star.
“It was a roller coaster ride, actually,” said assistant coach Melissa Bonn, noting Ben Carr notched a lot of kills with his wicked serve.
“We had to battle each and every game.”
Going into a set against Kitsilano, Bonn was heartbroken to find she had missed putting a player’s name on the team’s sheet label, which meant they had to forfeit a game to the Kits team, 25-0.
“I was beside myself, sick. This is my mistake. I was bawling,” Bonn said.
With Kitsilano having one win and Elgin battling to win another, it came down to the third game of the set.
Her team, upset about the forfeit but supportive of their coach, knew they had to rally behind Bonn.
“We knew we had to win it,” Ben Carr said.
And they did.
“They just played absolutely lights out,” Bonn said. “It was a bit of a momentum shift that was ugly for me, but turned out to be good in the end.”
Coming into the tournament ranked sixth, the team was ranked fourth after pool play, and clawed their way to third after beating Oak Bay – in four sets – for the bronze.
Bonn credited head coach Matt Ekholm for doing an amazing job, especially with preparing and motivating the players, noting the many hours of game tapes he pores over each week, calling him a driving force.
“We’re so proud. They played so well.”
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tricia.weel@peacearchnews.com
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