Strong opening sets powered the Burnaby North Vikings to the Burnaby/New Westminster district girls' volleyball banner.
The regular-season champion Vikings defeated the Burnaby South Rebels 3-1 in the championship final at North on Thursday. But there were a few anxious moments.
After an opening 25-16 win, South, behind strong net play by Petra Markova and all-star Keana Li, took the second set 28-26 in a tightly played game.
But like in the opening set, North got back in rhythm, following an opening kill from all-star Layla Balooch.
North setter Cecelia Su served up a 7-0 start and Peitra Gant and Lauryn Manson contributed key kills in the third set en route to a 25-10 win.
The fourth set started much like the third with Balooch starting things off with one of her nine kills in the match, while Su served up a 9-0 start.
Markova made it close for South midway through the set with a couple of winning blocks, but North pulled away after that to take the match with a 25-14 finish.
"We always try to get the momentum, said Su, one of four Grade 11 starters on the Vikings' squad. "In the third set we really collected ourselves, and in the fourth, we came out with a killer attitude. We wanted that intensity."
That intensity is something the largely Grade 11 North team needs to find if it wants to find a way out of the 4A Lower Mainland playdowns, which start today (Wednesday) at Handsworth.
"Our goal is to make it to the provincials, but we have to come in the top four, and honestly, I think we can make it through," Su added. "Our advantage is team's underestimate us. We do well in rallies. We really put an effort out."
The Lower Mainland championship continues on into Friday and Saturday at Handsworth.
