A Richmond-based volleyball team is heading to nationals after rising from the bottom of the pack.
The U18 Gold girls team of the Air Attack Volleyball Club showed off their impressive determination and sportsmanship at the provincials held at the Richmond Olympic Oval last weekend.
The team, which competed in division two of the provincial championships, was originally ranked 16th but came out on top in the round-robin tournament on day one.
“It’s a little bit of a Cinderella story,” said head coach Yersin Tung.
The girls then went on to win against Kelowna’s KVC Crush (25-16 and 25-18) in the quarterfinals but lost in the semi-finals when they had to play a back-to-back match against Coquitlam’s Ducks Jack (22-25 and 21-25) due to unforeseen circumstances.
They ultimately made a comeback in the bronze medal match, winning KVC Crush two-to-one (25-20, 14-25 and 15-12).
The team’s victory was especially sweet considering the various hardships they had to overcome, Tung told the Richmond News.
“It’s been very hard of a year. The girls, although they’re called U18 Gold, we only have two kids on the team who are 18 (years old), the rest (are) all 17. So they’re pretty young,” he explained.
Not only is the team competing with older athletes, but they also experienced injuries and concussions that led to last-minute changes to the line-up.
MVPs include Christina Sofitikis, 18, a long-time Air Attack player who has demonstrated “tremendous leadership and playing capability,” and Isabella Villasenor, 18, who was also instrumental in leading the team to victory.
Power-hitter-turned-libero Andie Israel, 17, also impressed by stepping up to the plate and playing a position she had never tried before when she replaced the starting libero, who was sidelined due to a concussion.
“The team… really bonded well and peaked at the right time to play through adversity and trying situations but still (came) out on top,” said Tung.
The U18 team will be heading off to Alberta to compete in the nationals in two weeks.
