2022 HIGH SCHOOL BOY’S PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONS CROWNED
AAA PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
They finally got their chance to host and they didn’t disappoint.
The Kelowna Secondary School Owls have captured their second consecutive BCSS ‘AAA’ Boys Volleyball Provincial Championship.
Last year, KSS was supposed to host the championship, but because of November 2021’s catastrophic atmospheric river event, it was moved to the Lower Mainland. Despite having to fly out at the last minute to compete, they won their first title in 68 years.
On Saturday, they repeated as champs.
“It was great because of the way things worked out last year, the last couple years with COVID, weather and everything. So, it’s really sweet to do it at home,” said head coach Mike Sodaro.
He says the hometown crowds helped spur the team on.
KSS 2022 AAA GOLD BACK-TO-BACK
“Kelowna did amazing coming out to support us. It was nice to have it almost packed. It was great.”
The Owls faced Claremont Secondary School from the Victoria area in the final. The scores were 26-24, 25-18, 27-25 and 25-14.
“Everyone was good on our team so practices were very competitive. When we’re practising at that level I think it makes it a little bit easier to play at that level all year because every day at practice you’re competing against the best,” Sodaro explains.
The Owls didn’t lose a match all season. Sodaro has high hopes for next year’s team.
“I’ve got nine guys coming back so we’ll be competitive and strong. We’re looking forward to making another run at it and see what happens once we get to provincials.”
(KSS Owls win second consecutive ‘AAA’ Boys Volleyball Provincial Championship – Sports – Castanet.net)
KSS wins gold and celebrates on the court! PHOTO: Arnar Bernhardsson
AAA |
 |
| GOLD | KELOWNA |
| SILVER | CLAREMONT |
| BRONZE | ELGIN PARK |
| 4TH | OAK BAY |
| 5TH | McMATH |
| 6TH |
STEVESON-LONDON
|
| 7TH | KITSILANO |
| 8TH |
DAVID THOMPSON
|
| 9TH | SAHALI |
| 10TH | MT. BAKER |
| 11TH | MOSCROP |
| 12TH | DELTA |
| 13TH | OKM |
| 14TH |
BURNABY CENTRAL
|
| 15TH | YALE |
| 16TH |
NORTH PEACE
|
MOST SPORTSMANLIKE TEAM: MT. BAKER
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER: WALKER SODARO KELOWNA
Walker Sodaro wins MVP for 2022 AAA Provincials.
MOST OUTSTANDING LIBERO: KADEN NELSON STEVESTON-LONDON
AAA MOST OUTSTANDING LIBERO: KADEN NELSON STEVESTON-LONDON
FIRST TEAM ALL-STARS
2022 AAA First Team All-stars
KIAN BOSS- KELOWNA, NASH SEMENIUK – KELOWNA, OWEN MCPARLAND- KELOWNA, BENN CARR-ELGIN PARK
ZACK SAGODI-CLAREMONT,JUSTIN PENG-CLAREMONT
- KIAN BOSS KELOWNA
- NASH SEMENIUK KELOWNA
- OWEN MCPARLAND, KELOWNA
- BENN CARR ELGIN PARK
- ZACK SAGODI CLAREMONT
- JUSTIN PENG CLAREMONT
SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS
AAA 2nd Team ALL-STAR
Kasper Giesbrecht Oak Bay, Lynden Infanti Kelowna, Alex Coppard Claremont, Tyler Tran Mc Math, Dominic Sodaro Kelowna
- NIKO ROBLES David Thompson
- ISAAC JAMES STEVESTON-LONDON
- ETHAN CHANG MCMATH
- FRASER SCOTT MONCRIEFF OAK BAY
- TYLER VALUCK KELOWNA
- ANDY CARR ELGIN PARK
HONORABLE MENTION
- Kasper Giesbrecht Oak Bay
- Lynden Infanti Kelowna
- Alex Coppard Claremont
- Tyler Tran Mc Math
- Dominic Sodaro Kelowna
AA PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
LCS AA GOLD 2022
AA |
 |
| GOLD | Langley Christian |
| SILVER | MEI |
| BRONZE | Duchess Park |
| 4TH | Abbotsford Christian |
| 5TH | South Kamloops |
| 6TH | Pacific Christian |
| 7TH | Cariboo Hill |
| 8TH | Pacific Academy |
| 9TH | Richmond Christian |
| 10TH | Gladstone |
| 11TH | College Heights |
| 12TH | Victoria High |
| 13TH | Lambrick Park |
| 14TH | Kootenay River |
| 15TH | Sutherland |
| 16TH | Hazelton |
MOST SPORTSMANLIKE TEAM: MT. BAKER
AA ALL STARS
MOP- Williem Van Huizen(11) Langley Christian
MOL- Elijah Lindburg(16) Langley ChristianFirst Team
- Zack Hofer(10) Lside Langley Christian
- Ben Brandsma(9)L side MEI
- Noah Friesen(10) L side MEI
- Isaak Lank(1) R-sdie Duchess Park
- Hudson Brandsma(10) L side Abbotsford Christian
- Alex Howard(20) L side South Kamloops
Second Team
- Brett Kester(5) setter Duchess Park
- Finn Brandsma(9) R-side Abbotsford Christian
- Josh de Bruyn (5) setter Pacific Christian
- Joris Mika Knoll(13) L side Cariboo Hill
- Jared Sikma(13) L side Abbotsford Christian
- Anthony Muller(3) R-side Langley Christian
Honourable Mention
- Jeremy Weaver(7) L side Duchess Park
- Liam Richards(8) L-side Pacific Christian
- Cohen Peters(11) Setter Pacific Academy
- Joshua Laing (15) R side Richmond Christian
- Tory Ardell(8) R side MEI
- Gavin MacGregor (16) Setter South Kamloops
A PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Vancouver Christian the moment they win the A provincial championship. Photo by Todd Blumel
The host team, Duncan Christian School placed 13th in the Provincial Boys ‘A’ Volleyball Championship this past weekend, winning four of seven matches.
The tournament, which featured the top 16 ‘A’ tier schools from across the province, was held at both the DCS and Frances Kelsey gyms, with the bulk of the games happening at DCS.
“Provincials was a great experience and the only way it was possible was because of the wonderful staff working hard to make it the best it could be,” co-captain Zack Neudorf said.
DCS began the event on Dec. 1 by defeating White Rock Christian (25-19, 25-19) to open their tournament.
From there, the host school fell to Bulkley Valley Christian School 16-25, 25-20, 13-15) before beating Fernie Secondary 25-20, 25-18) to earn second place in their pool heading into the championship bracket.
VCS wins GOLD ‘A’. PHOTO: Todd Blumel
Their first game of the championship draw had them up against Cedars Christian School on Friday morning, Dec. 2.
DCS fell 25-18, 25-15, 25-17.
Later that day they faced, St. Ann’s and lost again, 18-25, 20-25.
On Saturday morning, Dec. 3, DCS had a rematch against Fernie and for the second time, DCS prevailed, (25-12, 25-21, 15-12). The win meant the home team moved on to play École Jules Vern for 13th/14th place. DCS won (25-21, 25-22) to take 13th overall in the 16-team tournament.
“Hosting the provincial championship has been a real community builder,” said DCS athletic director Tom Veenstra. “It’s been great to work with athletic director Adam Johnston from Frances Kelsey. Adam was keen right from the get go to get his school involved and support the tournament. The staff and students at Kelsey provided a top-notch second host site.”
The championship final featured Vancouver Christian versus Cedars Christian of Prince George.
Vancouver took the provincial ‘A’ title in an exciting game match that took four sets to decide.
The bleachers were jam-packed with enthusiastic supporters,” Veenstra noted. “The atmosphere was electric… Like a university finals match!” (story available at: Host DCS 13th at boys ‘A’ volleyball provincials – Cowichan Valley Citizen)
Cedar Christian grade 12 Dylan Buehler hitting against the VCS block. Photo: Todd Blumel
Vancouver Christian power hitter Calvin Hsu(#15) hitting a right side ball against Cedar Christian in the ‘A’ Provincial Final. Photo: Todd Blumel
| A |  |
| GOLD | Vancouver Christian |
| SILVER | Cedars Christian |
| BRONZE | Unity Christian |
| 4TH | Credo Christian |
| 5TH | Nanaimo Christian |
| 6TH | Bulkley Valley Christian |
| 7TH | Vernon Christian |
| 8TH | Brockton School |
| 9TH | Brookes Westshore |
| 10TH | Kelowna Christian |
| 11TH | St Ann’s Academy |
| 12TH | Maple Ridge Christian |
| 13TH | Duncan Christian |
| 14TH | École Jules Vern |
| 15TH | Fernie Secondary |
| 16TH | White Rock Christian |
Most Sportsmanlike Team- Maple Ridge Christian
A Provincial All-Stars
Most Valuable Player- Vancouver Christian, Brennan Wicke
Most Outstanding Libero- Vancouver Christian, Ethan Soon
1st Team All-Stars
- Bulkley Valley Christian, David Loki
- Vancouver Christian, Calvin Hsu
- Cedars Christian, John Jeong
- Nanaimo Christian, Calvin Vanderkooi
- Cedars Christian, Sam Nelson
- Unity Christian, Jay Smiens
2nd Team All-Stars
- Cedars Christian, Dylan Beuhler
- Vernon Christian, Asher Hovius
- Brockton School, Noah Kezin
- Unity Christian, Mason Bowman
- Credo Christian, Dylan Grim
- Vernon Christian, Jack Johnson
AA GOLD RETURNS TO THE EAGLES!
LANGLEY- By Derek Shuel
The stands were packed full of green, black, blue and gold! What a great atmosphere to finish up a successful BC Boys Provincial Championship!
AA MOP Tyson Ardell in the final. (Vancouver Sports Pictures)
The first set was a classic chess match between two grizzly veteran teams who have found themselves in many a gold medal match from the past. Tonight, in some early key highlights – LCS runs a successful yet difficult slide-overload with middle, Jordan Dickhof (#13), while MEI sticks with solid consistent serving and it’s quick paced offense through their second-team All-Star setter Micah Bucknam. Langley counters with all-star Nic Triemstra establishing himself this set as a force to be reckoned with. As the smoke settled, MEI wins the opening thriller 27-25.
In the second, the chess match continues well into the game having the set tied at 10-10. MEI continues it’s fast paced offense and finds some nice seams in the middle with Trey Smith (#15) and Levi Kropp (#5 ). Having some middle connection helps the Eagles pull away to a score of 19-13. At 24-16, LCS’ all-star left side Jonas Van Huizen (#8) rattles off a number of crowd pleasing spin serves to make it interesting, but MEI takes the set 25-19. Off to the third we go.
LCS’s Van Huizen hitting hard around the MEI block. (Vancouver Sports Pictures)
With two tape aces on the day for the Eagles’ middle Levi Kropp, MEI soared to an 8-3 start. But, the Lightning didn’t quit fighting as they battled back to 12-14. As we have heard many times in the past, these championships are so very difficult to win. Similar to that of the second set, late in the third set LCS’s Van Huizen spin serves some amazing tough serves and this time helps bring his team back to a tie game 23-23! The crowd is loud and the game is tied! With a few back and forth plays and one very important touch call off of MEI’s Tyson Ardell’s hit, MEI stuns everyone in the gym and quickly wins the Provincial Championship 25-23 and a direct 3-0 win.
At the completion of the game, Coach Olfert of the Eagles stated,
“the way we were able to close it out was very special. I’m really proud of them”.
He continued with,
“how proud I am with how the boys responded through adversity and how they supported each other over the past 4 days. It wasn’t any one player, it was a complete team effort.”
1st team All star Hunter Arul-pragasm making a great save in the AA final. (Vancouver Sports Pictures)
The 2019 edition of the BC Boys Volleyball Championship saw the MEI Eagles capture their AA boys division leading 11th gold medal while the Lightning has 3 gold, 3 silver and four bronze in the past 13 seasons. Needless to say, it was a battle for the ages and the capacity crowd at the LEC was not disappointed. GO EAGLES!
That first moment when they realize they have done it- MEI wins AA Gold.
MEI EAGLES 2019 AA GOLD (Vancouver Sports Pictures)
Langley Christian Plays Great in the Semi-Final and Headed to the AA Final.
LANGLEY- By DEAN WEISS
Langley Christian putting up a block in Semi Final Action against George Elliot’s Roan McGowan. (Vancouver Sports Pictures)
Langley Christian vs George Elliot – 3pm AA SEMI-FINAL
Right off the bat in this match it was evident that Langley Christian was going to very tough to beat. From the onset, Langley Christian served hard and difficult spots on the court and George Elliot seems to have trouble handling and adjusting to it. George Elliot had some unforced errors early but settled down and made it a game after being down 20-11 to come back to 20-18. However, a number of late GESS unforced errors in the set was too deep and Langley pulled away after a couple of late missed GESS serves to take it 25-20.
Set two started off with LCS’s power Van Huizen serving an ace near the back line. Despite the solid LCS serving, George Elliot is battling tough and blocking well- but again- Langley Christian got a couple more tough serves from Van Huizen mid match. Langley Christian kept serving tough and George Elliot tries to keep it close but can’t seem to find the answer to Langley Christian tonight. Langley wins set two 25-22. Langley’s setter Tyson Hofer looked solid as he is finding a way to get his players the ball where they can do something with it. Tyson Hofer on his take on the match,
Tyson Hofer, LCS setter
“I thought we played a great game and I thought we served tough throughout and sided out well. We wanted to spread the floor and then try to get Jonas and Nick open looks.”
Set 3 – Well did Hofer ever spread the offense out in the third set – as both sides started crushing balls. Every time George Elliot finds even a little bit of momentum with a great hit, Langley Christian has an answer with some dynamic offensive hitting. Both teams settle down and start to entertain with some great volleyball and some terrific plays. Unfortunate for GESS, the Langley Christian bus is moving too fast and running on all cylinders and George Elliot could not slow them down. Langley wins the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
Final thoughts from LCS Coach Brynden MacTavish after the match,
“We won tonight on the backs of Jonas and Tyson’s serving. Those guys served lights out!”
Serving truly seemed to be the difference between these two very strong hitting teams tonight. Langley Christian will now advance and face MEI in the AA FINAL @ 7pm on Saturday Night!
LCS’s Jonas Van Huizen serving tough during the AA Semi-FInal. (Vancouver Sports Pictures)
Final Seedings for the 2019 AA Boys High School Volleyball Championships
Final Seedings for the AA Boys High School Volleyball Championships, Nov 27-30 at Langley Event Centre:
Come out and support your team at the 2019 Provincial Championships at the LEC. Nov 27-Nov 30.
| Tournament SEED | Zone | |
| Pool A | ||
| 1 | Langley Christian | Eastern Valley 1 |
| 2 | MEI | Eastern Valley 2 |
| 3 | Abbotsford Chr. | Eastern Valley 3 |
| 4 | George Elliot | Okanagan-Thompson 1 |
| Pool B | ||
| 5 | College Heights | North Central 1 |
| 6 | Pacific Academy | South Fraser 1 |
| 7 | Pacific Christian | Vancouver Island 1 |
| 8 | Langley Fundamental | Eastern Valley 1 |
| Pool C | ||
| 9 | McRoberts | South Fraser 2 |
| 10 | Duchess | North Central 2 |
| 11 | Surrey Christian | South Fraser 3 |
| 12 | St. Michaels | Vancouver Island 2 |
| Pool D | ||
| 13 | Sir Charles Tupper | Vancouver Sea-to-Sky 1 |
| 14 | Alpha | Fraser North 1 |
| 15 | WL Seaton | Okanagan-Thompson 2 |
| 16 | Prince Charles | Kootenay 1 |
These are Power Pools on the first day.
Heading into Qualifying for BC Championships- Week 8 rankings
These are the ranking for BC High School Boys’ Volleyball AA and AAA tiers, heading into the Zone Championships week—the last step of qualifying for the BC Championships!
Earl Marriott’s Ben Francois (2) hitting a ball past the block. Photo by Vancouver Sports Pictures.
AAA (20 teams qualify for Provincials):
| 1 | Earl Marriott |
| 2 | Kelowna |
| 3 | Claremont |
| 4 | Oak Bay |
| 5 | Argyle |
| 6 | Mt Boucherie |
| 7 | Eric Hamber |
| 8 | Seaquam |
| 9 | Riverside |
| 10 | OKM |
| 11 | Delta |
| 12 | Fraser Heights |
| 13 | Steveston-London |
| 14 | Yale |
| 15 | New Westminster |
| 16 | Semiahmoo |
| 17 | Penticton |
| 18 | Van Tech |
| 20 | Burnaby Central |
AA (16 teams qualify for the Provincials)
| 1 | Langley Chr. |
| 2 | Abbotsford Chr. |
| 3 | MEI |
| 4 | George Elliot |
| 5 | Langley Fundamental |
| 6 | College Heights |
| 7 | Pacfic Academy |
| 8 | Pacific Christian |
| 9 | Duchess Park |
| 10 | Surrey Christian |
| 11 | McRoberts |
| 12 | Princess Margaret |
| 13 | Sa-Hali |
| 14 | St. Michael’s |
| 15 | WL Seaton |
| 16 | Highland |
A
