Correlieu Secondary hosted the Senior Girls Volleyball Zone Championships Nov. 17-18, with teams from Prince George, Dawson Creek and Williams Lake travelling to play in Quesnel.
The games began Friday, with Correlieu starting out strong against Dawson Creek; the Quesnel girls took the first set 25-17. They lost their footing and were defeated in the second and third sets, to lose the match overall to the northern team.
The team played again a few hours later, this time against Kelly Road, and again beat its rivals in the first set, 25-18, only to lose the second and third sets.
Correlieu played Prince George Secondary School (PGSS) on Friday evening, and their loss unfortunately dashed their hopes to attend Provincials.
Correlieu coach Scott Klassen says the losses disappointed his team, but the girls bounced back in their match against Williams Lake on Saturday.
“[Correlieu’s girls] rebounded from the disappointment and ended the 2017 volleyball season with a thunderous victory over Williams Lake,” comments Klassen.
Correlieu’s Hannah Doucette and Aleesha Bautista were named first and second team All-Stars for the tournament.
“And as per tradition, Hannah Doucette and Kalisse Sales were given a single rose to honour their time in this sport and to officially send them off, as they will be graduating from Correlieu this year,” Klassen continues.
“Their absence creates a huge void and they both will be greatly missed by the players and coaching staff.”
Going into the tournament, Prince George’s Duchess Park and PGSS were the favourites to take top spots, as they rank high in provincial standings, but Correlieu athletics director Rob McGregor said there were some surprises on Friday.
“Duchess Park and PGSS were expected to move on to provincials after these zones, but there was a major upset as the teams both took losses early on.
“It means we will see some other teams from our zone move on to the next stage,” McGregor says.
The final results of the tournament saw Dawson Creek and Kelly Road take first and second places, sending the teams on to Provincials.
Correlieu senior girls placed fifth overall.