Moscrop senior boys' pulled off a school first, winning its fifth consecutive district volleyball banner following a three-game sweep over Burnaby North in the title game on Wednesday.
Seven Moscrop seniors have been part of the five-year Panthers' volleyball dynasty, including Brian Pae, Jonathan Kum, Ricky Sun, Joey Wong, Marcus Jung, Nick Ngo and setter Zachary Or.
"It shows how much we've grown. I feel like it's changed my life," said Jung, the Moscrop libero.
The Panthers pulled away from North after a close opening set, nailing down the No. 1 district seed with a 25-17, 25-16, 25-17 victory.
Grade 11 power J.J. Cross was a huge factor in the Moscrop win, scoring nearly 20 kills in the three-game sweep.
Moscrop will host the Lower Mainland qualifying tournament, beginning Tuesday, Nov. 13.
Last year, Moscrop had an opportunity to win its first zone title, but lost to Eric Hamber in the Mainland final.
"We can make Moscrop history again," said Jung, looking forward to the Lower Mainland championships. "We went to the provincials for the first time last year. If we could win (Mainlands), it would mean so much. We want to come back next year and see that banner on the wall and know what it represents."
The Burnaby North Vikings won the No. 1 seeding into the girls' Lower Mainland provincial qualifying tournament.
The Vikings avenged its only regular-season loss to Burnaby South, beating the Rebel girls 25-21, 25-11, 16-25, 25-15 in the district final at North.
The Mainland girls' qualifying tournament will be held next week at a site to be determined in either Richmond or the North Shore.
"I'm really, really excited. I have a lot of confidence my team could go to the provincials," said all-star North power Layla Balooch. "I hope we communicate, play as a unit, and play like we can."
In junior girls' volleyball, Moscrop won a third straight district banner, knocking off both semifinalist Alpha and runner-up Burnaby Mountain in straight sets.
North also won the district junior boys' title in straight sets over Byrne Creek.
With the win, North earned a berth into the invitational provincials in Abbotsford Nov. 22 to 24.
Next week, North and Byrne are entered in the V&D's in Richmond.
