Tested and tired, the Moscrop Panthers refused to go quietly as the final spikes were delivered at last week’s B.C. Boys AAA Volleyball championships in Langley.
Completing a seven-game, 23 sets of play over four days, Moscrop continued to battle each point to its final flurry Saturday before falling 2-1 to Dover Bay in the bronze match.
Placing fourth out of 20 teams – and surviving the power pool to be one of the Final Four challengers – is more than just a feather in the cap for the 15-member squad from Burnaby.
Although Dover Bay, the top team from the Island, would prevail by scores of 18-25, 25-23 and 17-15, the whole journey was something that displayed true championship-like character, said the Panthers coach.
“Playing in a bronze match is always tough, as players recognize they were so close to being in the finals,” remarked Moscrop coach David Tam. “We spent some time talking to the team about enjoying the moment, and being proud of the position they were in.
“Playing for third place at (the) provincials is nothing to be ashamed of, and we were hoping that we had enough energy left to finish off that match.”
A day earlier, Mount Boucherie advanced to the final by stopping Moscrop 3-1 (19-25, 30-28, 25-18, 25-18) in a grueling series. It all came down to the second set, where the two teams pushed the envelope before the Kelowna school gained the upper hand.
“That (second) set definitely was a deflating set. The entire time, they had a lead, and we fought hard to close the gap and push the set to extra points. But having a set point and not being able to close it out definitely hurt our confidence,” noted Tam, who pointed to Mt. Boucherie’s two provincial-team players for playing a dominant roles.
Prior to that, the Panthers launched the playoffs with 3-1 wins over both Mount Baker and Lower Mainland rival Van Tech en route to the Final Four.
In power pool play, they finished with a 1-2 record and in a three-way tie for second behind undefeated Dover Bay. Due to a sets-won-and-lost ratio, Moscrop took second and a better seeding into the playoffs.
The start of the tourney featured a bout of nerves and tension, as the Burnaby program anticipated how it would measure up against some of the province’s best – despite entering the weekend ranked fourth in B.C.
“The boys were nervous, but also anxious. It was their first time at provincials, so they weren’t sure what to expect. We have a lot of respect for the programs that Kelowna, Dover Bay, and Mt Boucherie have. ... We felt we deserved to be ranked up there with them, and could compete with those teams.”
Earning a place on the first all-star team was setter Justin Yee, while outside hitter Jerry Yan was picked to the second squad.
“Both Justin and Jerry had terrific tournaments,” noted the coach. “Jerry, being our top hitter, was able to energize our team with some key kills. He also was able to help build up confidence in the rest of the team, particularly in the younger players.
“Justin did a fantastic job all week of delivering hittable balls to all of our hitters. Playing on the right side of the court, Justin also had to go up against the other team’s key hitters, and he did a great job blocking them and setting up our defence.”
Both Yan and Yee are part of the graduating class that includes Calvin Jung, Dasan Kim, Sandeep Moore, Tyler Murphy, Tatsuki Taylor and Tyler Williamson.
Also putting in standout performances over the four days were Moore and Grade 11 power Alex Ristic.
“(Ristic) was our best player against Kelowna, and he also lead the team in hitting for that match. He had some timely digs...,” said Tam.
“Moore also was very consistent. He probably has made the greatest strides out of all of our players this season.”
Summing it up, Tam felt his squad was more than equal to the task and can look back with pride.
“This was a special team that really grew closer over the course of the season, and played hard for each other,” he said.
