The home court of city rivals Princess Margaret Secondary School was good to the Pen High Lakers.
The senior girls volleyball team went 5-1 in a tournament. The Lakers picked up wins against Valleyview, Grand Forks, Brookswood and Vernon in pool play. They beat Brookswood again in the semifinal before losing to Vernon in the final.
“It was a good start to the season, with all of the girls playing well,” said Lakers coach Robert Gunning. “Vernon just served a little tougher than us in the final and they were a little more aggressive on offense.”
Leading the Lakers attack was Janna Clarke with 23 kills. Kaylie Loewen led the way at the service line with 10 aces and added 20 kills. Georgia Hurry was dominant at the net with 16 stuff blocks.
On defense, it was Steffi Caron leading with 15 digs followed closely by Jo Gunning with 14. Hayden Craig performed very well in her first tournament as a setter, a difficult transition, said Gunning, from playing power last season.
“Overall, a good start to the season from a team that we expect to be very competitive all season long,” he said. “It is a fairly young team with seven grade 11's, and there is a lot of potential within this group.”
The Lakers open league play Wednesday when they host Mt. Boucherie before heading out to Trinity Western University this weekend.
The Lakers senior boys team played at a tournament hosted by Mennonite Educational Institute and went 1-4. Co-coach Paul Mend said the team had “moments of brilliance” in a tough pool. Their main problem was too many unforced errors.