SPORTSINBRIEF

VOLLEYBALL

The Pen-Hi Lakers settled for 18th place out of 20 teams at the Big Kahuna B.C. Senior Boys’ High School 3A Volleyball Championship in Langley on the weekend.

The Lakers fell 25-20, 25-14 to Elgin Park in the 17th-place matchup after defeating David Thompson 25-21, 25-22 earlier on Friday.

Pen-Hi, which came into the event seeded 16th, ended up winning two of their six matches.

There was heartbreak for another Valley team as the No. 1 seed Kelowna Owls fell in the gold-medal match to No. 2 Semiahmoo in a five-set thriller — 25-13, 21-25, 25-18, 18-25, 16-14. Dover Bay beat Seaquam for the bronze medal. Mount Boucherie Bears (West Kelowna) finished 16th overall.

In the 2A final, Langley Christian defeated College Heights in four sets to win gold. George Elliot (Winfield) placed seventh.

BASEBALL

OXON HILL, Md. — Albeit too late to save them this year, the San Francisco Giants got their closer.

All-Star righty Mark Melancon and the Giants reached agreement on a $62 million, four-year contract Monday. As baseball’s winter meetings heated up, lefty Rich Hill re-signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $48 million over three years.

Chris Sale was still with the White Sox, for now. But the Washington Nationals were trying to put together a deal for the lefty ace.

Nothing yet on the other top trade targets — Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and possibly two Detroit fixtures, slugger Miguel Cabrera and pitcher Justin Verlander. A couple smaller deals also developed. The Toronto Blue Jays signed versatile Steve Pearce and Philadelphia added reliever Joaquin Benoit.

And the New York Yankees confirmed they’re trying to boost their bullpen with major free-agent talent.

“We have been pursuing Aroldis Chapman. We also have been talking to Kenley Jansen. We also had talked with Melancon,”Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.