In a battle of the top two seeds 鈥� and a rematch of last year鈥檚 championship final, the defending champion Belmont Bulldogs were clinical, carving up the Handsworth Royals for a repeat victory.
The Royals scored the first two points of the BC high school volleyball girls AAAA gold-medal game on Saturday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre, but it was all Bulldogs the rest of the way.
Belmont, the Island champions, won 3-0, taking the first set 25-12 and then winning by identical 25-16 scores in sets two and three.
Winning point for
鈥� Gary Ahuja (@garyahuja1)
The relatively easy victory came as a surprise to Belmont coach Mike Toakley.
鈥淏ut maybe we shouldn鈥檛 be surprised after the match they went through with Earl Marriott,鈥� he said, taking about Handsworth鈥檚 five-set victory over the Mariners earlier that day.
Belmont defeated Semiahmoo 3-0 in the other semifinal.
鈥淕oing to five sets takes a lot out of you. I think from the get-go, it was obvious they were not as strong as they normally would be 鈥� we played them earlier this year and we know how good they are when they are fresh.
Not only did the Bulldogs win every match at provincials, but they also only dropped one set the entire way.
After going 3-0 on Thursday in pool play, Belmont faced the Lord Tweedsmuir Panthers in the round of 16 on Friday morning and while the Panthers lost the match, they did manage to win a set off the Bulldogs.
Toakley said the team鈥檚 championship experience from last year came in handy during that match.
鈥淲e had a really tough team 鈥� in the round of 16 and they gave us all they could handle,鈥� he explained. 鈥淲e knew from the past experience that you can never take any round for granted and that was the time when their experience kicked in the most.鈥�
The Bulldogs were led by Grade 12 star Savannah Purdy, who picked up her second consecutive most outstanding player award.
She said last year鈥檚 experience really helped.
鈥淚t was huge being in the provincial final last year, just knowing what to expect and what it takes, I think just helped us prepare and compete this weekend,鈥� Purdy said.
鈥淚t is really cool to be recognized but everyone on our team played extremely well so I couldn鈥檛 have done that without them,鈥� she said.
Purdy said the team鈥檚 familiarity with one another 鈥� the majority of the team has played together since Grade 8 and they also play club volleyball together 鈥� is a big factor in their success.
鈥淲e have been playing together for a really long time so we are good at calming each other down when we are on the court and playing as a team,鈥� she said.
鈥淎nd we are really good friends off the court so I think the chemistry really transfers when you are playing, just knowing they are there for you is huge.鈥�
Belmont鈥檚 Grace May was a second team all-star while Taylee Pomponio and Miranda Cry were first team all-stars.
Handsworth鈥檚 Courtney Steele was named the tournament鈥檚 most outstanding libero while the Royals鈥� Kayla Oxland was a first team all-star.
Toakley said his team keyed on Oxland.
鈥淪he is the straw that stirs the drink for sure,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he is so fast and so athletic, anything you can do to get her off the game is going to help you.鈥�
In the bronze-medal game, it was Earl Marriott defeating Semiahmoo 2-0 to place third.
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