The EKVC has wrapped up its season with appearances at separate national tournaments, with two out of five teams earning medals for their performances on the court.
The U16 Boys team, coached by Herb Tepper, slogged through three days of volleyball action to capture a bronze medal in Division Two — Tier One, while the U16 girls burned through all their competition to earn a gold medal in Division Three — Tier Two at a tournament in Calgary.
Two other teams playing in the U15 age category travelled to nationals in Regina, where they both finished in fifth place in their respective divisions.
The Calgary event featured over 160 volleyball teams from all across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, which was hosted by the Olympic Oval at the University of Calgary.
The boys team won their pool on the first day of the tournament, and were repooled into another group the following day, which ended with the same result.
Their success gave them a bye into the semifinals and they faced a team from Prince George, but lost in a couple of tight games, said Tepper.
That put them into the bronze medal match, where they beat a team from the Yukon in two straight sets.
“It was definitely a good conclusion to the year,” said Tepper.
The girls team, coached by John Kendal, had even more success on the court, battling their way to a gold medal in Division Three — Tier Two.
The first day of the tournament, the girls finished in second place in their pool after three matches. The second day, the team finished in third place in their pool, after playing the same amount of matches as the day before.
They won their first game of the playoff round, which put them into a semifinal where they played a tough team that went to three sets. However, the EKVC prevailed and went into the gold medal match, which they won in straight sets.
“It was the end of a pretty good season for the U16 girls,” said Kendal. “It’s the start of true competitive volleyball for them, so it’s a big learning curve for them at this age.”
The EKVC has attended national volleyball tournaments for many years, which usually marks the end of the club season, said Kendal.