The Pen High Lakers senior boys volleyball team defeated the North Kamloops Saints 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-17, and 25-17) Wednesday night on the road.
While the Lakers played well, coach Rob Gunning was a bit let down by their serving. Kieren Loewen and Nathan Milligan were the bright spots in that area leading the way with two aces each, while Cam Gunning and Richard Xiang passed the ball well and allowed the offence good opportunities to mix it up.
Loewen also led with nine kill followed by Simon Paisley with eight. Noah Spence led with two stuff blocks while John Crofts and Austin Stephens did a nice job in the middle, slowing down NorKam’s offence.
"Overall, a decent match and a very important win," said Gunning, whose team is ranked seventh in AAA in the province. "We have a relatively young and inexperienced team, but the boys have played well thus far. We have passed the ball well and they play good defence."
Gunning said the team needs to improve its attacking efficiency and serve the ball more consistently.
Currently, the Lakers are dealing with injuries to Nathan Bendig, Brayden Wheeler and Mitch Head.
Their next game is Wednesday when they host the No.1 ranked Kelowna Secondary Owls at 6:15 p.m. The girls play at 5 p.m.
Field hockey
The Lakers girls field hockey team bowed to the South Kamloops Titans 2-0 on Tuesday.
Lakers coach Shaun Johnston said it was a hard-fought game and while the Titans held a territorial advantage in the first half, the game remained scoreless. The Lakers received strong play from goalie Maggie Harries, who made her debut in that position. The Titans secured the win with two late goals.
"We made good decisions about clearing the ball towards the sidelines and then moving it up to our forwards from there," said Johnston, who asked her players to focus on playing tight defence inside the 23 metre line and react quickly to the whistle.
"Once a free hit is awarded, the attacking team wants to take it quickly to gain an advantage," said Johnston.
The Lakers next action is Oct. 21 in Kelowna.