Oak Bay pulls off upset in AAAA girls’ volleyball

Oak Bay upset the ball cart Friday night.

As a result, the second- and third-ranked teams in the province will meet in the semifinals today at noon in the Island AAAA high school girls’ volleyball championships.

Oak Bay’s upset of host Mount Douglas in pool play propelled the Bays (3-0 in pool) into a semifinal against the Dover Bay Dolphins (2-1).

The host Mount Douglas Rams (2-1), ranked No. 2 in B.C., will meet the Belmont Bulldogs (3-0), ranked No. 3 in the province, in the other semifinal game at noon.

Belmont was ranked No. 1 in B.C. throughout most of the season before losing a league game to Mount Douglas last week.

“We’re going to have to bring lots of energy against Mount Douglas in the semifinal [today],” said Belmont power- hitter Savannah Purdy, among the eight Grade 11 players on the young but explosive Bulldogs squad.

The Island championship game is at 3 this afternoon in the Mount Douglas gym, with both finalists advancing to the B.C. championships.

The semifinal losers will go through an at-large, back-door tournament scheduled next week for the Fraser Valley in order to win a spot in the provincial tournament Dec. 1-3 in North Vancouver.

Meanwhile, the girls’ AAA championships conclude today with the semifinals and final at St. Michaels University School.

Brooks of Powell River is ranked No. 1 in the province, Timberline of Campbell River No. 2, Nanaimo District at No. 8, Carihi No. 9 and Mark Isfeld No. 10.

The boys’ AAA championships are taking place in Dover Bay with the host Dolphins ranked No. 5 in B.C., the Reynolds Roadrunners No. 9 and Oak Bay No. 10. The final is today.