Earl Marriott Secondary’s Junior girls volleyball team remain undefeated in every tournament competed this season, rounding out the school’s volleyball program wins in last week’s Surrey championships.
Schools throughout Surrey competed in the Surrey Girls Volleyball Championships that took place at Lord Tweedsmuir on Thursday, Nov. 3, including winning teams of Grade 8 and Junior girls Earl Marriott Mariners.
After the Junior team’s banner win, they will be entering South Fraser Valley Championships this week in Delta with a record of 36-1.
Earl Marriott’s Junior girls team defeated Holy Cross 2-1 (25-15, 15-25, 15-8) in the final match for the Surrey Championships banner.
“Holy Cross is well coached and played extremely well. Their hitting was strong and they played excellent defense against our attacks,” said Rob Stevens, coach of the Junior girls volleyball team.
In the bronze medal match, Lord Tweedsmuir defeated Pacific Academy 2-0.
The Mariners’ Junior team is enjoying an impressive season with their record-wins. The team has won all four tournaments in which it participated this season, including a big win over the Kelowna Owls in the finals of the South Delta Secondary tournament last weekend.
Stevens praised his team for showing what he called “great fortitude and toughness” in coming back strong after experiencing periodic setbacks, not only in the Surrey Championship finals, but throughout the season.
The Mariners Grade 8 girls team also won gold for their game at the Surrey Grade 8 Championships held at Earl Marriott Secondary on Thursday night, where they defeated Holy Cross 2-0 (25-12, 25-16).
Mariners defeated Grandview Heights 2-0 (25-16, 25-22) in the semi-finals while Holy Cross knocked off the Semiahmoo Thunderbirds 2-1 in a 16-14 third set victory. In the bronze medal match, Grandview Heights defeated Semiahmoo 2-0 (25-16, 25-23) to finish third.
Teams now move on to the South Fraser Valley Grade 8 Championships held later this week in Richmond and Delta.
The Grade 8 Mariners’ effort was led by All-stars Kennedy Braun, Arwynn Houchen and tournament MVP Brooklyn Boldt. Earl Marriott also got strong contributions by setter Adelyn Fure, hitters Ashton Hagel, Shania Beliveau and Abi Roberts as well as Libero Morgan Cavezza.
For the Junior tournaments, five Surrey teams — Earl Marriott, Holy Cross, Lord Tweedsmuir, Pacific Academy and Salish — have now qualified to compete in the South Fraser Valley Junior Championships this upcoming week in Delta.
From there, three junior girls teams from the South Fraser Valley region will qualify to compete in the Provincial Championships on Friday, Nov. 25 and Saturday, Nov. 26.
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