Princess Margaret Mustangs senior boys started provincials week on a slippery slope and ended it with the AA third-place trophy.
The Penticton team rallied to beat Woodlands in five sets Saturday, punctuating a week that began in scary fashion. On Tuesday, the team's bus slid into a snowy ditch near Princeton, injuring no one but leaving the team wondering if they would make it to the championships in Langley.
The Mustangs got another bus and arrived late on Wednesday, forfeiting one of their three scheduled matches that day. They finished the week with three straight five-setters, the last a come-from-behind victory over Woodlands.
"They showed perseverance all week," said co-coach Andrew Sexton, "and they had a lot of fun."
Sexton said Spencer Kingzett and Kohl Linder played well In the finale.
The Mustangs senior girls team finished 12th after losing to St. Pats 25-18 and 25-23.
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Clarence Fulton got pressured hard again by Princess Margaret, but outlasted the Mustangs Friday night to advance to Saturday night's AA championship match against No. 1 MEI.
Fulton, the second seed, took the first two sets, then lost the next two before winning 16-14 in the fifth. It was Fulton's fifth victory in the teams' five meetings this season, including a 15-13, fifth-set decision in the zone final.
Friday night, the Maroons trailed 12-10 in the fifth when coach Richard Bedard called a time-out.
"I wanted them to just focus on the pass, getting the side-out," Bedard said. "I told them to stay calm in the moment and give it everything. It's all you can do."
Fulton then won six of the next eight points to claim a rematch with MEI, which beat the Maroons in a regular-season tournament and in Wednesday's pool play at the LEC.
The Mustangs will face Woodlands Secondary at 2 p.m today for the bronze medal.
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The Mustangs have advanced to the semifinals after they defeated College Heights (3-2) 26-24, 15-25, 25-17, 25-27 and 15-12.
The Mustangs will face Vernon's Clarence Fulton in the semifinal tonight at 5 p.m. The Maroons defeated Surrey Christian (3-2) 20-25, 25-16, 22-25, 25-14 and 15-13. They also defeated Ballenas.
Mustangs senior girls
The Mustangs went 0-3 in pool play in the AA provincials at Brentwood College in Cowichan Valley. The Mustangs opened against York and lost 25-22 and 25-17. Against Elphinstone, the Mustangs won the first 25-17 then lost 25-15 and 15-11. In their final match they lost close matches to Langley Fundamental 25-21 and 25-23.
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The Princess Margaret Mustangs senior boys volleyball team have advanced into the quarter-finals of the AA Big Kahuna BC High School Boys Championships Thursday at Langley Events Centre.
The Mustangs bus slid into a snowy ditch on Tuesday and arrived late for its matches on Wednesday, forcing a forfeit to MEI. However, the Mustangs got one win over Woodlands that day in two matches and another big one over Smithers 25-19 and 25-14 twice on Thursday in the playoffs. That win earned them a meeting with sixth seed College Heights later at night.
Form held up with the other AA best-of-5 matches.
College Heights swept past Selkirk in three sets, second seed Fulton beat Ballenas in three and Surrey Christian, the seventh seed, defeated OKM in four sets.
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The Princess Margaret Mustangs boys volleyball team escaped injury after the team bus crashed in a ditch near Princeton.
The Mustangs were traveling to Langley for the AA Big Kahuna BC High School Boys Championships on Tuesday when the incident occurred. An email notifying media outlets with volleyball results reported the crash stating no one was hurt.
The team had to spend Tuesday night in a Princeton hotel and couldn't leave until Wednesday morning. The Mustangs forfeited their first match against top seed Mennonite Educational Institute and was scheduled to play two matches later in the day.