Lightning re-set, take AA bronze
Langley Christian’s #8 Caleb Kastelein ready to serve.
By Bob Carter
“He has been so good all year long, but he hasn’t gotten the recognition that others have,” Lightning coach Brynden MacTavish said. “I think he opened a lot of eyes.”
“They stayed the course, as they have all year,” he said. “This might be one of the stronger mental groups I’ve had. They realized the game is still a big deal. These kind of games show the immense character you need to play well in them.”
* EAGLES PLACE FIFTH: MEI grabbed fifth place in AA by beating Surrey Christian 2-0.
#8 Ethan Loewen of MEI brings the team together after a point.
The Eagles had lost a five-setter to Abby Christian in the quarterfinals (15-12), but worked their way back.
2018 Power Pools and Pre-tournament Rankings for AA, AAA
Below are the pools and power pool rankings for the BC Championships starting play on Nov 28th-Dec 1st.
Langley Christian’s Caleb Kastelein 14
AAA: There were 3 wildcard assigned, due to open berths (Northwest and North Central zones which will not send representative teams)
| Pool E | Zone | |
| 1 | Earl Marriott | Fraser Valley 1 |
| 2 | Vancouver Tech. | Lower Mainland 1 |
| 3 | Claremont | Vancouver Island 1 |
| 4 | Moscrop | Lower Mainland 2 |
| Pool F | ||
| 5 | Oak Bay | Vancouver Island 2 |
| 6 | Mt. Baker | Kootenay 1 |
| 7 | Delta | Fraser Valley 2 |
| 8 | Mt. Boucherie | Okanagan 1 |
| Pool G | ||
| 9 | Argyle | Lower Mainland 3 |
| 10 | OK Mission | Okanagan 2 |
| 11 | Dover Bay | Vancouver Island 3 |
| 12 | Kelowna | Okanagan 3 (WC) |
| Pool H | ||
| 13 | Elgin Park | Fraser Valley 3 |
| 14 | Penticton | Okanagan 4 (WC) |
| 15 | Burnaby Central | Lower Mainland 4 |
| 16 | Riverside | Fraser Valley 4 |
| Pool K | ||
| 17 | Reynolds | Vancouver Island 4 |
| 18 | Fleetwood | Fraser Valley 5 |
| 19 | Seaquam | Fraser Valley 6 (host) |
| 20 | Burnaby South | Lower Mainland 5 (WC) |
| Pool A | Zone | |
| 1 | George Elliott | Okanagan 1 |
| 2 | College Heights | North Central 1 |
| 3 | Langley Christian | Fraser Valley 1 |
| 4 | MEI | Fraser Valley 2 |
| Pool B | ||
| 5 | Surrey Christian | Fraser Valley 3 |
| 6 | Abbotsford Christian | Fraser Valley 4 |
| 7 | Kelly Road | North Central 2 |
| 8 | Richmond Christian | Lower Mainland 1 |
| Pool C | ||
| 9 | Lambrick Park | Vancouver Island 1 |
| 10 | Princess Margaret | Okanagan 2 |
| 11 | Prince Charles | Kootenay 1 |
| 12 | Revelstoke | Okanagan 3 |
| Pool D | ||
| 13 | PCS | Vancouver Island 2 |
| 14 | St. Michael’s | Vancouver Island 3 |
| 15 | Windermere | Lower Mainland 2 |
| 16 | Smithers | Northwest 1 |
2016 Awards
Awards:
AA
Most Outstanding Player
Brodie Hofer, Langley Christian
LCS Broder Hofer MOP
Most Outstanding Libero
Nick Hansen, College Heights
Most Outstanding Libero
Nick Hansen, College Heights
Most Sportsmanlike Team
Pacific Academy
AA First-Team All-Stars
Nathan Teasdale, Pacific Academy
Colton Loewen, MEI
Graham Walkey, College Heights
Reid Marriott, Langley Christian
Carson Bargen, MEI
Ben Shand, College Heights
AAA
Most Outstanding Player
Michael Dowhaniuk, Semiahmoo
Michael Dowhaniuk, Semiahmoo
Most Outstanding Libero
Nathan Ziemanski, Dover Bay
Most Outstanding Libero
Nathan Ziemanski, Dover Bay
Most Sportsmanlike Team
Van Tech
AAA First-Team All-Stars
Malachi McMullin, Earl Marriott
Isaac Bevis, Dover Bay
Justin Peleshytyk, Kelowna
Adam Paige, Semiahmoo
Spencer Doody, Kelowna
Grayson McMillan, Kelowna
AAA First-Team All-Stars
Malachi McMullin, Earl Marriott
Isaac Bevis, Dover Bay
Justin Peleshytyk, Kelowna
Adam Paige, Semiahmoo
Spencer Doody, Kelowna
Grayson McMillan, Kelowna
AA Second-Team All-Stars
Fynn McCarthy, George Elliot
Jeff Lam, Hugh McRoberts
Phil Stahl, Langley Fundamental
Cody Boulding, Duchess Park
Zechariah Johnson, Langley Fundamental
Jordan Schnitzer, Pacific Academy
AAA Second-Team All-Stars
Brett Christensen, Walnut Grove
Coltyn Liu, Van Tech
Elijah St. Germain, Seaquam
Thomas Wright, Dover Bay
Kurt Ruffini, Seaquam
Justin Mo, Killarney
Teams’ Finish
AA
LCS 2016 AA Champions
Gold: Langley Christian
Silver: College Heights
Bronze: MEI
- Pacific Academy
- Langley Fundamental
- Duchess Park
- George Elliot
- Hugh McRoberts
- Pacific Christian
- Prince Charles
T-11. Mark Isfeld
T-11. Clarence Fulton
- Lambrick Park
- Richmond
T-15. Smithers
T-15. WL Seaton
AAA
Semiahmoo Totems AAA 2016 Champions
Gold: Semiahmoo
Silver: Kelowna
Bronze: Dover Bay
- Seaquam
- Earl Marriott
- Walnut Grove
- Killarney
- Reynolds
- Van Tech
- Delta
T-11. Fraser Heights
T-11. Mount Baker
- Centennial
- Oak Bay
T-15. Mount Boucherie
T-15: Moscrop
- Elgin Park
- Penticton
- Claremont
- David Thompson
“Just a special thank you to Paul Yates from Vancouver Sports Pictures. You are a gentleman and a scholar. Your photos are terrific and a joy to go through.” – Dean Weiss
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Langley Christian takes AA crown
By Bob Carter
#4 Reid Marriott hammers a ball for LCS. PHOTO: Paul Yates, Vancouver Sports Pictures.
Langley — The Langley Christian team had seen College Heights’ defensive prowess earlier in the Big Kahuna BC Volleyball Championships.
The Lightning knew they had to beat that defence to win the AA title match on Saturday night. And they did, claiming the championship in four sets.
LCS started slowly, dropping the first set 25-19 to a College Heights team that had knocked off Langley Fundamental and Pacific Academy, the top seed, to reach the final.
“We had a little bit of jitters,” said AA tournament MVP Brodie Hofer, the son of coach Carol Hofer. “But we got out of it pretty quickly.”
The Lightning came on strong late in the second to win that set 25-22, took a close third 25-23 and pulled away in the fourth for a closing 25-18 victory.
Christian Christie looks around after winning Gold. PHOTO: Paul Yates, Vancouver Sports Pictures.
“This is a team that plays good defence,” Brodie Hofer said of College Heights, “but we eventually broke them down.”
Hofer’s power hitting had the most to do with that, and he got help from other hitters like first-team all-star Reid Marriott, Parker Heppell and Christian Christie.
Brody Hofer celebrates. PHOTO: Paul Yates, Vancouver Sports Pictures.
The Lightning rode their team slogan, “90 Days,” all the way to their second BC title in five seasons. The 90 days represented the time span of the first practise up to Dec. 3, championship night.
“We counted down every day,” Brodie Hofer said. “We promised each other we’d do whatever it took to get there.”
The promise wasn’t broken.
Award winners: Nick Hansen of College Heights was a repeat winner, earning the AA Outstanding Libero award. Michael Dowhaniuk was the AAA Most Outstanding player, and Nathan Ziemanski of Dover Bay was the AAA’s top libero.
College Heights’ Ben Shand and setter Graham Walkey were first-team all-stars.
