The Langley Fundamental Middle & Secondary School’s junior boys volleyball team has capped a fantastic season with a B.C. title victory.
In an all-Langley final, the Titans defeated the Langley Christian Lightning in four sets to win the provincial tournament in West Kelowna this past weekend (Nov. 20-22).
Scores in the title game were 25-14, 25-23, 16-25, and 25-19.
To get to Saturday’s final at Mount Boucherie Secondary, the Titans swept Abbotsford’s MEI Eagles in two sets, in one of two semifinals played earlier that day.
Langley Christian downed Delta’s Seaquam in two sets in the other semifinal.
Winning the B.C. championship was the pinnacle of a season that saw the Titans win the Fraser Valley championship at Earl Marriot Secondary in Surrey, with a two-set victory over Pacific Academy in the championship contest.
Middle Phil Stahl made his biggest impact in the provincial semifinal and final games, and was named tournament MVP.
“He was very dominant in the semis and in the final,†Titans head coach Dan Johnson said.
Also having strong B.C. tournaments were left side/power Max Heppell and centre Zech Johnson, both of whom were named named first team all-stars.
“They played very, very well throughout the tournament,†Johnson said, of Heppell and Johnson.
For Langley Christian, Parker Heppell was a first team all-star.
His Lightning teammate Brodie Hofer earned a second all-star team selection.
Langley Christian’s Brandon Visscher got the nod as the tournament’s Most Valuable Libero.
Momentum built up for the Titans going into the B.C. championships.
They had won the M.E.I. tournament and captured the Langley district title (beating Langley Christian) heading into the Fraser Valleys.
Helping ease the pressure going into the B.C. championships was the fact that the Titans lost to MEI in the provincial semifinals last year.
“That experience, I think they drew from,†Johnson said. “Yes we were tight with anticipation but we were not too nervous.â€
The Titans had to battle past an extremely strong Langley Christian squad to capture the championship, Johnson added.