Abbotsford Christian Knights took top spot at the Kahunaverse Sports BC Volleyball Championships in 91原创 on the weekend, defeating the No. 1 George Elliot (Lake Country) Coyotes 3-1 in Saturday鈥檚 AA championship final at 91原创 Events Centre.
Fraser Valley teams have won seven straight and 12 of the past 13 AA championships but this marks the first at the AA level in the Knights history. The program did win a Single A banner earlier this decade.
In Saturday鈥檚 final, the teams split the first two sets with the Coyotes winning 28-26 while the Knights prevailed 25-23. George Elliot was up 8-2 and 13-7 in the third set but Abby Christian went on a run, taking the set 25-21 and then carrying that momentum to a 25-18 victory to capture the title.
鈥淚 told them it is not our day to quit playing no matter what because we have done that in the past (where) we have chose to stop playing,鈥� said Abbotsford Christian coach Anthony Jansen. 鈥淭his is an opportunity to not quit and keep fighting and that is what got us through the game.鈥�
鈥淭hey ran out of gas and got a little nervous. A couple of the key guys were not their regular selves. They were probably overthinking things a little bit rather than just letting themselves flow out there,鈥� said coach Chris Frehlick. 鈥淭hey have nothing to be ashamed of.鈥�
The victory caps off an up-and-down season for the Knights with the coach admitting the team has struggled both physically and emotionally.
And just before the provincial tournament, the Knights lost back-to-back games to finish fourth at the Fraser Valley championships.
鈥淥ur team has had a rough couple of weeks, so confidence has been a big issue for us,鈥� he said. 鈥淏eing healthy both physically and emotionally makes a world of difference.鈥�
Knights star Cole Brandsma 鈥� who was named most outstanding player 鈥� said his team needed to up its energy level and they were able to accomplish that.
鈥淚t has been a rollercoaster of a season and we realized it was our last chance and we were able to bring it,鈥� he said.
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In the bronze medal game earlier that day, 91原创 Christian defeated Prince George鈥檚 College Heights Cougars 3-0. The Knights defeated 91原创 Christian 3-1 in the semifinals the night before while the Coyotes outlasted the Cougars 3-2 in the other semifinal.
All-star awards
91原创 Christian鈥檚 Ethan Visscher was the top libero and College Heights was named the most sportsmanlike team.
The first team all-stars were Matthew Shand (College Heights), Jackson Klaassen (MEI), Roan McCarthy (George Elliot), Jonas Van Huizen (91原创 Christian), Caleb Kastelein (91原创 Christian) and Matthew Darley (George Elliot).
Chatwin Denton (Prince Charles), Jackson Campbell (Richmond Christian), Jackson Stephens (Surrey Christian), Dayton O鈥橬eill (College Heights), Connor Piers (Abbotsford Christian) and Brendan Visser (Abbotsford Christian) were named second team all-stars.
91原创 Christian鈥檚 Ethan Visscher was the top libero and College Heights was named the most sportsmanlike team.
