The Okanagan Valley Championship for junior girls did not go as hoped for Pen High Lakers coach Scott Harkness.
“They are a good team and can beat any team in the tournament, but their downfall was consistency,” said Harkness, of his team after they ended the championship the weekend of Nov. 18 with a three-set loss to the Vernon Secondary Panthers in the consolation side.
In round robin, the Lakers placed fourth after losing in three sets to the George Elliot Coyotes, in two sets to the Westsyde Whundas and Vernon’s Seaton Sonics.
“We played quite well and the strong hitting by Mackenzie Dunham was not enough beat the strong defensive team,” said Harkness of the loss to the Whundas.
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The Lakers lost to the No. 1 seeded Kelowna Secondary Owls, who went on to win the championship. Against the Panthers, a team they played before and won handily went three sets, the Lakers fell behind 9-1 in the third set.
“To the girls credit, they didn’t give up and with the help of excellent serving from Brooke Boerner, they pulled to within one (14-13) before ultimately falling 15-13,” said Harkness. “The girls have a strong skill base, but they need to play more to get more consistent. They will have a very strong team next year when they join the grade 11s on the senior team.”