Terrace’s 14U select volleyball team showed strong at the Volleyball BC Club Provincials at the Tradex Centre in Abbotsford late last month.
The Six Packs finished fourth in their division – the tournament featured four divisions with 16 teams each, with the top eight teams in each division marked Tier 1 and the bottom eight teams marked Tier 2. Terrace competed in Division 2, Tier 1 as a result of their strong showing at regionals.
Terrace won their first round robin match April 25 against the Burnaby Action Club in two straight sets. The first set stayed close but by the middle of the set Terrace was able to keep a small lead with tight serves and defense to win 25-20. In the second set, Terrace pulled out to an early lead which then grew to 12 before Burnaby came back strong with solid serves and net play to close the gap. With the score 23-22 for Terrace, Terrace called a timeout before coming back to finish the set with a 25-23 win.
In the first set of game two against the Richmond Air Attack Terrace pulled out to a lead and never looked back winning 25-11. In the second set, Delaney Kitchen went on an impressive serving streak of 15 straight serves and then Jayde Gingles followed with a six straight serve streak to win the set 25-9.
Friday’s final round robin match was against the Victoria Chargers. While they were a good passing team, Terrace kept the pressure on to win 25-18 and 25-22.
At 3-0 in round robin play, first in their pool, and having not lost a single set, Terrace advanced to the Division 2, Tier 1 playoffs, beginning with a quarterfinal match against Langley Rain City, who had a 2 – 1 record. Terrace struggled in the first set with long rallies and poor defense and lost 18-25. In the second set, the lead went back and fourth, with Terrace able to steal the win 26-24 forcing a third set. The score stayed close and both teams played cautiously until finally Seyenna Lee finished with two strong serves to end the match 15-12 in favor of Terrace.
This win set up a semi-final match versus the also undefeated Coquitlam Ducks, who proved to be a very tough opponent for Terrace as Coquitlam took the lead early with strong attacks and blocking at the net as well as tipping to open areas. Coquitlam defeated Terrace in two straight sets 18-25 and 17-25.
This loss led to a bronze medal match against the Burnaby Action club, who they’d defeated in round robin play. The close match was very tense and tight right to the end, with Terrace winning the first set 26-24. In the second set, Burnaby came out strong and took the lead. Terrace trailed by a small margin but was able to catch up and tie it at 23 before facing difficulty with a couple of passes. Terrace’s 27-25 loss forced a third deciding set, which saw Burnaby take a small lead and Terrace struggle to finish plays, leading to long rallies. In the end, Terrace lost this set 15-13, giving the Terrace Six Packs a fourth place finish in Division 2, Tier 1 at the 14U 2014 Volleyball Club Provincials, 20th overall.
The provincials proved to be an amazing experience for the team and the players have a lot to be proud of, said assistant coach Frank Marrelli, noting that Terrace finished ahead of the two Prince George teams, the only other northern teams to compete.
Next up, many of the players get ready for BC Summer Games tryouts.
The coaches, Mark Neid and Frank Marrelli, said they would like to thank all the parents for their support and commitment, all the players for their hard work and dedication, and the community for their support through fundraising events.