The Douglas College Royals moved into sole possession of third place with a weekend sweep in PacWest men’s volleyball.
The Royals dumped the College of the Rockies following a pair of 3-1 wins over the visiting Avalanche.
Douglas dropped the opening set to Kootenay college before rebounding with games of 25-18, 25-20 and 27-25 on Saturday.
On Sunday, the Royals won 25-20, 25-11, 23-25 and 25-18.
The wins came a day after COTR split a two-game series with fourth-place Capilano Blues, taking Friday’s contest by a 3-2 score.
The win tied the Avs with Vancouver Island University for the final two playoff berths.
Columbia Bible College is currently in top spot with a 15-7 record, four points up on Camosun College.
The loss kept the Caps a win behind the 12-10 Royals with both teams meeting in the final regular season game in North Vancouver this weekend.
While Douglas still remembers Capilano’s upset win over them at last year’s provincials, the competitiveness of the league this season is enough to keep the focus on taking one game at a time, said Douglas head coach Brad Hudson.
A stumble in the final weekend of league play could radically change the PacWest standings from second to sixth place.
“These guys, to their credit, are continuing to grow and learn. It’s so competitive anything is possible,” Hudson said.
Preston Wong from Burnaby North made just his third start of the season for the Royals and performed well, said Hudson.
The Royals take on the Blues at Capilano University at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
