Dover Bay, PA snare bronze
By Bob Carter
Josie Webb celebrates with Dover Bay as they win the Bronze medal.
An emotional Josie Webb turned to a well-wisher Saturday at the Langley Events Centre, pumped her fist and screamed “Dover Bay history!”
If that sounds strange after winning a third-place match, the scene requires some perspective.
Webb, the Dover Bay coach, had just seen her top-seeded team win a AAA bronze medal with a three-set win over a talented Moscrop squad and gain the highest finish in school history.
Jeff Webb, her son, had just played his last high school match, finishing with a flourish.
And the Dolphins had done it in their unimitable style, surviving when it looked like they couldn’t.
Down 8-1 in the deciding third set, Dover rallied.
“I told them what I always do,” Webb said. “You’ve been through this a million times. You can do it one more time.”
And they did.
“The passing started happening,” she said. “We were able to get the ball out to Jeff a lot. Moscrop was hitting deep, and I had my powers playing back, where they could pass better. And Quinn Mirau also had some crucial hits.”
The Dolphins closed the gap, took the final three points and won it 18-25, 25-23, 17-15.
AA: Pacific Academy rebounded from an upset loss to Langley Fundamental in Friday’s semifinals and defeated Clarence Fulton for third place, 25-11, 25-20.
“I just told the boys to forget about it,” PA coach Daniel Vissia said, “told them they were a better team than they showed yesterday, to just come out and play like they can. And we had to focus on their big guy (Danny Aspenlieder).”
The second-seeded Breakers grabbed control early in the first set and pulled away late in the second. Setter Andrew Kim, libero Danny Kott and outside hitter Nate Teasdale were big contributors.
Vissia was pleased with his team’s overall performance in the BC’s.
“We played like we know how, except for one game,” said Vissia, whose team fell in four sets to Fundamental. “They were prepared.”
