The city’s volleyball programs were right up against the net, the past couple of weeks. The boys’ teams and girls’ teams all had their seasons reach their match points.
Dean Morrow, principal of Lakeview Elementary School and head of School District 28’s elementary school volleyball program, explained that coaches are free to organize fun games as they wish throughout the season, but it comes to a culmination together at the end.
The boys had their playoffs Nov. 21-22 and the girls held their playoffs Nov 28-29. Both programs’ playoffs were held at Quesnel Junior School in QJS’s brand new gym.
Lakeview Elementary won first in the district, on the boys’ side, with Carson Elementary coming second and Ecole Red Bluff/Lhtako Elementary coming third. Dragon Lake Elementary came fourth.
“That bronze medal game was exciting,” said Morrow. “It was back and forth, close, needed three games. There was a comeback involved in the second game to force the third. It was good.”
In the gold medal game, “that was close as well. It didn’t go to a third game but there were lots of good rallies, a few spikes which aren’t always common in elementary volleyball, and it was exciting.”
On the girls’ side, Lakeview came away with the bronze over Carson, in a close three-game series.
In the gold-silver game, it was “between Ecole Red Bluff/Lhtako and Dragon Lake,” Morrow said. “Red Bluff went undefeated in the round robin but lost to Dragon Lake in the finals. This game also went to three games and had some nice rallies.”
Morrow said the young athletes had a terrific experience getting to play in the QJS gymnasium.
“It’s a lovely facility, and it was great of them to host because they aren’t part of the elementary program, but we got to use their world-class facility. It gives the players a little introduction to where they’ll maybe be going to school down the road.”
He also said the kids were treated to a full complement of on-court officials, which is a step higher than most elementary school games. They were members of the QJS Physical Education department. “That was kind of neat to have future teachers, knowledgeable people, volunteering their time.”
Morrow thanks all the coaches who stepped forward at each participating school to give these aspiring athletes a chance to learn volleyball and participate in a community activity that can keep them engaged and active potentially for life.
School District 28 now takes a hiatus from organized sports until after the holiday break, at which point attention switches to basketball.
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