Lady Lakers looking to end on high
Tough KSS team stands in the way
Coming off a solid performance at the Kelowna Secondary tournament on the weekend, the Pen-Hi Lakers senior girls’ volleyball team look to keep it going in their final home league match tonight.
The Lakers, in third place in the Valley 3A league, take on the first-place Kelowna Owls today at 5 p.m.
“We’re going to have to play real well to beat them,” said Lakers head coach Rob Gunning, noting the Owls have been among the top-ranked teams in the province all season.
The Lakers have lost to KSS and Mount Boucherie and beat Rutland in their previous league matches. Pen-Hi finishes up with road matches at Rutland Oct. 24 and Boucherie Nov. 1.
Gunning said the Lakers have a good blend of Grade 11 and 12 players who have formed terrific team chemistry.
“It’s a nice group to work with,” said Gunning. “We’re not very big and that puts the onus on serving and passing well, and finding ways to block and defend.”
The Lakers opened the season by winning the TRU tournament in Kamloops. Last weekend, PenHi won four of six matches at KSS tourney before falling to the No. 2 ranked MEI Eagles in the crossover playoffs.
“We played pretty well, beat the teams we should beat,” said Gunning. “We’re making good progress.”
Pen-Hi is led by Grade 12 power hitter Chloe Brydon, who is one of the top players in the province. Fellow left side player Britney Young and Clara Crowley, as well as Grade 11s such as setter Kalli Loewen and middle blocker Jayden Schneider have been key for the Lakers.
“Jayden has been a nice surprise in the middle,” said Gunning.
The Lakers have one more tournament at George Elliot on Oct. 27-28 before the Valley championships – which Pen-Hi hosts Nov. 18.
“As it stands right now, we’ll likely be facing Boucherie in the semifinal,” said Gunning, noting KSS would take on the winner of a play-in game between Rutland and Salmon Arm, the latter of which does not play in the league schedule.
Gunning is hoping the Lakers can qualify for the provincial championships that will be held in conjunction with the senior boys’ provincials Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 at the Langley Event Centre.
He noted only the first-place Valley team gets the automatic berth to the 16-team senior girls’ provincials.
Last year, the second- and third-place teams earned berths to a provincial wild-card tournament. However, there is also a chance only the second-place team could get a berth this year.
From a provincial standpoint, Gunning said Belmont (Vancouver Island) is the clear No. 1 team, but it’s wide open after that.
“If you play well at the right time, catch a few breaks, you can definitely get on a run and do something,” said Gunning. “We’ll need to be playing our best at the Valleys to give ourselves a chance of extending the season.”
Andy Botero and Robyn Richter are helping Gunning coach the senior girls’ squad.