Both Burnaby/New Westminster seeds will have their work cut out for them at the Lower Mainland AAA boys’ volleyball championships.
BNW champion Burnaby North Vikings finished third in Pool A and playoff runner-up Moscrop Panthers were also third in Pool B following the opening day of qualifying at Steveston-London Secondary School on Wednesday.
The Vikings dropped their pool opener 16-14 in a three-set tiebreaker to the host school. North also let slip an opportunity to finish second in its group following a 15-13 loss in the the third and final set against Vancouver No. 2 Vancouver Technical.
Moscrop was equally unlucky, dropping a three-setter to Vancouver No. 3 David Thompson and then playing Vancouver playoff champion Gladstone tight in a two-set loss 25-22, 25-18 in the final match of the evening.
Gladstone and Vancouver Tech topped their pools and earned automatic berths into the upcoming provincials.
Moscrop and North must both win a quarter-final match on Thursday (after NOWdeadlines) to earn one of the four available Mainland berths into the upcoming B.C.s.
“We’re a very young team,” said Moscrop coach David Tam, who has five Grade 11 starters in the Panthers’ lineup. “They haven’t gone through that adversity yet. The important thing is seeing them grow and prepare for next year as well.”
North coach Allen Tsang believes the Vikings match up well with quarter-final foe David Thompson.
“We have height which we could use to our advantage. Maybe we could serve a little better, too,” he said.
