The Highland Raiders senior girls volleyball team is hoping to parlay Island silver into provincial gold.
The Raiders took silver in the Vancouver Island championships, held Nov. 18-19 at Woodlands Secondary School in Nanaimo, and now have their sights set on the AA Provincials in Vancouver, Dec. 1-3.
At the Islands, the match of the weekend for the girls was the semifinal against Brentwood College. Brentwood started off the match just hammering away and before the Raiders knew it they were down 2-0. The third set was the turnaround, with Highland defeating Brentwood 25-21, then again 25 -20 in the fourth set.
The fifth and final set was the most emotional-filled match witnessed and played in a long time for the Highland girls, said coach Jake Plante. The match was a see-saw battle to the very end, with Brentwood sneaking away to put the set at 14-11. With a time out remaining, Highland regrouped and tied the set at 14.
Brentwood then went ahead 15-14 and Highland came back and tied the set once again. With the game at 15-15, two very well-placed serves and a huge kill sealed the deal, as Highland pulled off a 17-15 victory.
"A total team effort, filled with emotion, character and determination made the experience very enjoyable and I would be lying if I said 'not very stressful' as well," said Plante.
"To pick any highlight would be unfair since it was a team effort during the whole tournament. So now on to the Provincials in Vancouver." Mychaela Roelants and Hilary McLoughlin were selected to the tournament all-star team.