The Princess Margaret Mustangs are positioned for success in the AA senior boys volleyball provincials in Langley starting Wednesday.
Mustangs coach Shawn Lum feels this way because they are in the power pool with the top four teams.
“Very excited about this,” said Lum, adding that they beat the third ranked team, Nanaimo’s Woodlands Secondary Eagles in a tournament at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. “It’s very close within our pool and between the rankings.”
With the pool that competitive, the Mustangs are eager to get going.
“The boys love competition, so they are very excited about playing against tough teams,” said Lum, adding that his team plays its best against other talented teams.
The Mustangs are in the A pool with Menonnite Educational Institute Eagles, Clarence Fulton Maroons and Woodlands Secondary Eagles. The teams competing in the other three pools are Surrey Christian, Langley Christian, DP Todd, College Heights, Selkirk, Okanagan Mission, WL Seaton, Pacific Academy, Richmond Christian, Ballenas, Smithers and Parkland.
“It is not going to be an easy tournament, but it should make for a fun one,” said Lum.
The Mustangs had four practices to work out any kinks and improve on what they have been doing well. Lum and co-coach Andrew Sexton had the players focus on their transition from digging to attacking.
“We have been very successful this entire year and to maintain that we need to ensure that we keep our level of communication on the court and have fun out there,” said Lum.
The Mustangs lost the Okanagan Valley championship to the Maroons in five sets. What they learned from that was to be smart hitters.
“Knowing where to hit and what kinds of shots to implement. I feel we are a better team now than when we went into valleys,” he said.
On the senior girls side, the Mustangs are in Cowichan Valley at Brentwood College School Nov. 27 to 29. The Mustangs are ranked eighth in the provincial championship and are matched up in a pool with Vancouver’s York House Tigers, Gibson’s Elphinstone Cougars and the Langley Fundamental Titans. Live streaming of the provincial championship can be seen at http://aavolleyball.brentwood.bc.ca. Mustangs coach Tim Haberstock couldn’t be reached for comment.
Mustang junior boys place 14th
The Princess Margaret Mustangs junior boys volleyball squad finished 14th at provincials in West Kelowna over the weekend.
The Mustangs wrapped up the championship with a rematch against the Prince of Wales Walesmen and lost 25-16 and 25-22 in the match for 13th place.
In pool play, the Mustangs lost its first match to the No. 4 ranked MEI Eagles in two sets, then faced Vancouver’s Prince of Wales and lost the opening set 25-21. In the second set after trailing, 21-14, the Mustangs fought back to win 25-21 and 15-11. In the final pool match, the Mustangs defeated Prince George’s DP Todd 25-21 and 25-20. Reece Haberstock, Todd Corrie and Graedon Freeman were chosen as game all-stars in pool play.
The Mustangs’ 2-1 record put them in the top 16 out of 24 teams. The Mustangs defeated Pen High to advance to the consolation final.
Hunter Linder led the team in kills against.