IN FRONT OF a packed Pen High gym

IN FRONT OF a packed Pen High gym

Sun Devils hang on to B.C. title

South Delta squad the top senior girls' volleyball team in the province for second year in a row

Winning the 2013 AAAA B.C. High School senior girls volleyball provincial championship is better than the first time for South Delta Sun Devils coach Dan Burgess.

ā€œThis year we appreciate it a lot more because you really realize how hard it is to repeat,ā€ said Burgess, who watched his team win three straight sets against the Earl Marriott Mariners after losing the first set to Pen High.

ā€œIt really is.

ā€œThere is a lot of luck involved. You have to stay away from injuries.

ā€œEverything has to come together at the right time.

ā€œI’m ecstatic, but I think this one is a little bit sweeter than last year.ā€

Tournament most valuable player Nicole McNamara said it was an incredible feeling to win as the team worked so hard.

ā€œI’m just so happy this is how we finished off the season,ā€ said McNamara, who helped the Sun Devils win 25-23, 25-19 and 25-19 in front of a packed gym that included the host Lakers and other competing schools.

McNamara said the challenge, facing their Fraser Valley rivals, was mental.

ā€œWe play them all the time. Usually it can go either way,ā€ said McNamara.

The turning point in her opinion came after the first set, which she said they were really nervous about.

ā€œWe kept calm in the second set. We cleaned it up a bit,ā€ said McNamara.

ā€œAfter the second set we were pretty confident that we could do it.ā€

Burgess said the Mariners were incredible.

ā€œWe played them three or four times this year. Tonight was by far the best I had ever seen them play,ā€ said Burgess, who praised the performance of Mariner Christie Faester, who he said was incredible defensively. ā€œWe had to change our lineup a little bit. After the first game, we had to switch a few things around.

ā€œThe usual combination for unlocking Earl Marriott wasn’t working. We had to work a little harder.ā€

Burgess was impressed with the quality of teams.

ā€œLast year if you asked any coach, you could pick out the top four teams pretty easily,ā€ he said.

ā€œThis year, I think it was eight or nine teams that legitimately had a shot at winning this thing.

ā€œIt was a very deep field this year. We were lucky to come out on top in a lot of ways.ā€

As for the play of his MVP, Burgess said McNamara, who he described as an amazing player, was awesome. He relied on her to get things going on the right side.

ā€œThat’s Nicole’s specialty,ā€ he said of the left-hander. ā€œShe puts the ball away when it matters.ā€

When asked about her MVP selection, McNamara said everyone on the team played well and could have easily been named MVP.

ā€œI’m just so happy I got it,ā€ she said.

Burgess said the Sun Devils loved their time in Penticton.

They were impressed with the hospitality and enjoyed some unexpected support.

ā€œThe girls were laughing because they would be walking down the street or walking through the mall and total strangers would say, ā€˜Go South Delta,ā€™ā€ he said.

ā€œWe don’t even get that at home. They have their sweaters, they are getting fan support. They loved it.ā€

Burgess praised the work that Lakers coach Rob Gunning put in to organizing and said it highlighted the beautiful school.

ā€œPenticton is a great town to host any kind of championship,ā€ said Burgess.

ā€œFrom the hotels to the restaurants, we really felt welcomed.ā€

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