Skip to content

Strikers taking momentum to Vernon

McRoberts girls and boys teams capture Lower Mainland tourneys while McMath is headed to boys AAA provincials
volleyball
McRoberts Strikers were the class of last week's Lower Mainland AAA Volleyball Championships and will be a serious medal threat at the upcoming provincials in Vernon
Five Richmond teams are destined for different regions in the province next week to compete in their respective tiers at the B.C. High School Volleyball Championships.
The recently crowned city champion McRoberts Strikers senior girls and boys teams continued their superb play last week to capture Lower Mainland titles.
The Strikers proved to be the class of the Lower Mainland AAA girls event at Little Flower Academy in Vancouver, not dropping a single set in route to the championship. 
McRoberts completed the dominating week with a 3-0 win over Windsor in the final and will be no worse than the fourth seed at next week’s 16-team tourney in Vernon. Perhaps, the most encouraging sign is they haven’t even been in peak form over the past couple of weeks.
“We’re not even playing our best volleyball of the season,” said coach Trish Nicholson. “That was probably last month at the Timberline tournament when the girls were really rolling. 
“Coming off the Richmond playoffs, they were tired and, by the end, it was a really long week for them. Hopefully, they can get back to (that top) level next week.”

With a provincial medal within reach for the Strikers for the first time in about a decade, Nicholson only wants to focus on reaching the quarter-finals, then take her chances in a tournament that features a number of unfamiliar opponents.
The latest provincial rankings had Prince George schools Duchess Park and College Heights sitting No. 1 and No. 2, followed by Sa-Hali of Kamloops. Host Vernon also could be a serious medal contender.
Meanwhile, the Strikers boys team made short work of its opponents as hosts of the Lower Mainland AA tourney. McRoberts rolled to straight set (3-0) wins over Alpha and city rivals Richmond High and Burnett to take top honours.
They now are headed to the Langley Events Centre next week and will face WL Seaton, DP Todd and Lambrick Park in pool play, starting on Wednesday.
It will be a busy week for head coach Daniel Wong and he doesn’t mind one bit as his other team is also headed to Langley for the AAA provincial tourney.
The McMath Wildcats grabbed the fourth and final spot at last week’s Mainland Championships in Burnaby.
The fifth seeded Wildcats came through with a clutch five set quarter-final win over No. 4 Gladstone. After falling to eventual champion Moscrop (3-0), McMath clinched a B.C. berth with a 3-0 triumph against Burnaby North, before closing out the tourney with a loss to David Thompson in the third place game.
McMath is in a power pool group that includes Delta, Reynolds and Mt. Baker.