The Elphinstone Secondary School junior girls' volleyball team showed why they have been a dominant force this season with an impressive showing last weekend.
Elphi was clearly the class of the field at Chatelech Secondary School's First Sign of Frost tournament.
The Elphi squad didn't lose a single set all tournament en route to its second tournament championship in as many events.
Kyla Richey was a dominant force at the net for Elphi in leading her team to the tournament title.
Chat's Grade 9 team also had a solid weekend, finishing in third place. After a slow start on Friday, outstanding performances from Jillian Saunders and Aliza Brown led Chat to a strong finish in the playoffs.
Chat's Grade 10 team also played well and finished fourth.
Karlei Diening-Verge and Kelly Gibsons led the way for Chat, that played its best volleyball of the season during the weekend, according to coach Quinn Campbell.
"This excellent showing by our local teams at this season-ending tournament is yet another sign of the tremendous talent being developed by a number of very strong volleyball programs on the Sunshine Coast," said Campbell. "Although the high school volleyball season is nearly finished, we can look forward to another strong season of club volleyball when the Sunshine Coast Volleyball Club resumes play in the New Year."
The tournament brought together eight teams from Elphi, Chat, Squamish, Whistler and North Vancouver for the two-day event, which had round robin pool play on Friday and a double elimination playoff on Saturday.
In league playoff play, Elphi wrapped up third place on the North Shore with a five-game win over Collingwood last Wednesday.
Elphi finished behind Handsworth and Argyle, both AAA schools in the standings. The squad followed that up with a win over Hugh Boyd of Richmond in four games on Tuesday night to secure a berth in the Vancouver and District play downs.
Action started Wednesday with Elphi playing Cambie, Handsworth and Burnaby Mountain. Results were not available at press time.
