In junior girls volleyball action, the host Whalers left it all on the court but came up short in their bid for a berth in the BCs.
Ballenas went into the eight-team Island finals as hosts and seeded fourth out of the North. The Whaler girls went 2-1 to finish second in their pool.
The other side of the draw saw a number of upsets which meant Ballenas faced their rivals the Cedar Spartans in the first match of the playoffs winning the best of three 25-20, 22-25,15-4 to advance to the semi-finals.
“They came out smokin’,” BSS coach Daryl Britz said of his squad, pointing out the locals served aggressively and had a couple big kills from Shae Peachey in the middle, big blocks by Brittany Britz and clutch serves by Kaila Parhar to nail down the win.
Against the No. 1 from the South, Lambrick Park Lions, with the winner earning an automatic berth, the Whalers lost 25-23, 25-23.
“They competed the whole way, it was back and forth. Our defence was fantastic, it was just one of those matches where they basically just got a few extra breaks both sets.”
Back at it an hour later in the bronze medal game against Claremont, the locals lost 25-23, 25-22.
The Whalers finished the season 46-12 overall.
Seven of the girls move up to the senior team next year, which, for Ballenas girls volleyball Britz points out, is all part of the process.
“It’s a strong program, and although (the Jr. Girls) are disappointed now, there are big things ahead, for sure.”