Nice guys don’t always finish last.
The Moscrop Panthers found a way to win on the final day of the B.C. high school quad A girls’ volleyball championships in Penticton last week.
The Lower Mainland No. 2 seed won the most sporting team award, while finishing 13th overall following a couple of straight-set wins over Mt. Baker and North Peace at the weekend provincials.
“Everything was clicking on the final day,” said Moscrop head coach Kim Or. “We were digging everything up.”
But playing with an injury to outstanding middle blocker Ernestine Tiamzon limited the effectiveness of the Panthers throughout the three-day competition.
Moscrop started the provincials fourth in its pool despite solid outings against group opponents Riverside and Handsworth.
The Panthers forced the Port Coquitlam school to three sets and the eventual fourth-place finishing North Shore girls to 25-23 in the first set before going down to defeat.
In the championship crossover round, Moscrop was defeated in three sets by eventual runner-up Earl Marriott. The BNW district champs then lost to Pinetree following a 26-24 final set.
“We went down swinging,” said Moscrop coach Kim Or. “The girls were very positive. I didn’t lose the ship.”
In fact, through the adversity, the first-year senior girls showed their determination and attitude by winning the most sporting team award – the same honour the Moscrop boys won under Or at last year’s provincial championships.
At the junior boys’ provincial championships this weekend, Moscrop finished 12th while also coming home with the most sportsmanlike award.
“It’s the Moscrop way,” said Or.
