North girls miss qualifying chance

Burnaby North came oh-so-close to qualifying for the B.C. high school 4A girls' volleyball championships.

The Viking girls took provincial qualifier West Vancouver to five games before dropping the tiebreaker 15-12 in a quarterfinal match at the Lower Mainland championships on Friday.

The following day, North then failed to get by Killarney by a 3-1 score in a consolation bracket match for fifth place at Handsworth Secondary on Saturday.

"The kids really peaked coming into this tournament. The difference is we don't have the competition," said North head coach Moyra Ditchfield. "But I have to be happy and proud when they play their best even if they do lose."

North won its pool, knocking off Argyle in the process.

"It just kind of shows that we're in there. I think losing comes from not hav-ing enough competition as a team," Ditchfield added.

However, against Killarney, North made too many unforced errors in the match, dropping a 27-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-23 scoreline to the shorter Vancouver lineup.

For North's Lauryn Manson, one of three graduating seniors off the Vikings this year, the competition was bittersweet.

"We were neck-andneck (against West Van). Our team fought really hard for that. Even when we were way behind we kept pushing," Manson said.

But Manson recognized a lack of communication against Killarney in the game that followed cost the Vikings a better placing at the Lower Mainland tournament.

"As a senior, I was so proud of our team this year," she added. "It's a little sad. It's something I'll take away with me. I'm never going to stop supporting this team."

Burnaby South and Burnaby Central both failed to make it out of pool play on Wednesday.