After a long hiatus, Salmon Arm Secondary has a senior boys’ volleyball team once again competing for the school in the Okanagan Valley AAA Senior Boys’ Volleyball League. Many of the boys who make up the 10-player roster for SAS started playing together in 2012 as Grade 6 students at Shuswap Middle School.
This past weekend, the team competed in the Best in the West Senior Boys’ Volleyball Tournament in Kelowna. In round-robin play on Friday, the Golds dropped two straight sets to Grand Forks in their first match of the tournament.
The Golds then defeated Fleetwood from Surrey two sets to one in their second match, and in their third and final match in round-robin play, Salmon Arm lost to Summerland one set to two.
The Salmon Arm boys finished third out of four teams in pool play.
In the first round of the playoffs, which took place late Friday night, Salmon Arm lost an exciting and hard fought three-game match to Princess Margaret from Penticton. The Golds won 25-23 in the first game, lost 22-25 in the second game, and then lost 11-15 in the third and deciding game.
The loss to Princess Margaret put the Golds on the consolation side of the black pool playoff bracket.
On Saturday, the Golds lost their first match against Clayton Heights from Surrey in two straight sets. After a poor performance in their early morning match, the Golds had the Consolation Final still in their sights.
In their second match on Saturday, Salmon Arm defeated Rutland from Kelowna two games to one and found themselves in the consolation final against Clayton Heights once again.
Determined to make amends for their early morning defeat, the Golds came together to play some outstanding volleyball as they downed the team from Surrey 25-23 and 25 -21 to win their final match of the tournament and take the consolation prize.
Next up for the Senior Golds’ Volleyball Team is a league match up against first place Okanagan Mission in Kelowna on Wednesday night.
The Golds will compete in their second tournament of the season next Friday and Saturday as they travel to Kamloops to compete in the Howler Tournament at Thompson Rivers University.
The Golds’ next home game is on Wednesday, October 25, as they play host to Rutland Secondary from Kelowna in league play. The Golds are hoping to draw a big crowd for that game as it will be an important league match up for the young squad.