'AA' Girls
The Brentwood senior girls captured the 2024-25 'AA' Island volleyball title in Comox on Saturday, Nov. 16 with a straight-set victory over St. Michael's University School in the gold medal game. The win propelled them into the provincial 'AA' finals which they hosted at the Brentwood College School campus Nov. 28-29.
Brentwood kicked off pool play on Nov. 28 against Holy Cross but fell two sets to none (13-25, 14-25). A match against Abbotsford Christian was their next Pool A game, and they fell two sets to one (26-24, 14-25, 12-15). Brentwood wrapped up pool play against Notre Dame, also losing two sets to one (18-25, 31-21, 9-15).
Losers in their pool, Brentwood faced Pacific Christian School in the Round of 16. It was a close match but Brentwood managed to oust PCS in straight sets (25-14, 27-25, 25-17) to advance to the quarterfinals where they met Kalamalka.
Kalamalka had the upper hand, winning in straight sets to send Brentwood to the consolation bracket, where they beat Richmond Christian School two sets to one (26-24, 27-25, 15-11) and then Langley Christian School in straight sets (25-23, 28-26) to place fifth overall.
"Our athletes have played their hearts out and seen strong support from a crowd of friends and family," said the school's Facebook page.
'A' Boys
The Duncan Christian School senior boys won the Island title to advance to the provincial tournament.
In Pool C play on Nov. 28, the Chargers met Cedars Christian first, falling in straight sets (23-25, 15-25). From there they went on to play John Knox Christian and lost in three sets (21-25, 25-19, 14-16), and St. John Brebeuf, who they fell two sets to one (19-25, 22-25, 5-15).
Their pool position meant they would face off against Kelowna Christian in the Round of 16. It didn't quite go how Duncan Christian School wanted against Kelowna, as the Chargers won the first set (25-17) but fell in the next three sets (19-25, 23-25, 17-25) forcing them over to the consolation bracket to play against Unity Christian. Unity Christian won two sets to one (20-25, 25-16, and 15-13).
Up next, Duncan Christian faced Elkford and beat them two sets to one (25-14, 27-29, 15-4) and then John Knox Christian two sets to one (18-25, 25-20, 15-11) to place 13th overall.
"The camaraderie and support our boys continue to show for one another is inspiring. Our coaches couldn't be prouder of these young athletes," said the coaches on Facebook.
'A' Girls
Lake Cowichan senior girls placed third at Islands to secure a provincial 'A' final berth. On Nov. 28, their provincials kicked off with Pool D games against Meadowridge, Stratford Hall and McBride.
The Lakers came out on top against Meadowridge, winning two sets to none (25-21, 25-18). From there they lost in straight sets to Stratford Hall (22-25, 19-25) but beat McBride in two sets (25-17, 25-23) to finish first in Pool D.
On Nov. 29, Lake Cowichan met Vernon Christian in the Round of 16 but lost every set in the three-set match (25-22, 25-17, 25-14) to drop out of medal contention and into the consolation round where they faced Ebenezer. The Lakers made quick work of Ebenezer (25, 19, 25-18) for the chance at redemption against Stratford Hall, the only team that beat Lake Cowichan in pool play.
Redemption was sweet as the Lakers won in two sets (25-22, 25-18). It was also sweet for their next opponent, Meadowridge, however, as the Lakers had beaten them in pool play. Meadowridge beat Lake Cowichan two sets to one (25-22, 27-25, 15-9) to give the Lakers 14th place overall. To put things into perspective, however, there were 73 senior girls 'A' teams in the province and just three public school teams in the final 16.
"They have committed body, soul, time, effort, and most of all heart," said Noni Batty, coach of the team. "They have won and lost with grace and kindness to other teams and themselves and fought for every point. They have grown as athletes and humans. Making the top 16 teams in the province and finishing 14th with some hard fought games is awesome. We couldn't be prouder."
