The Charles Hays Secondary School (CHSS) senior boys’ volleyball team took part in the Big Kahuna BC Volleyball Provincial Championships this weekend in Langley and ended up finishing 15th in a challenging tourney.
The Rainmakers opened the tournament up against Woodlands Secondary School from Nanaimo.
With the long travel, it was normal for teams to come out a bit slow, as the Rainmakers unfortunately dropped the first set 12-25.
All of the matches were best-of-three sets. With this, the athletes knew they were in tough and showed a lot of heart, but couldn’t come back, losing the second set 21-25.
In their next match, the Rainmakers matched up against Prince Charles Secondary from Creston.
After dropping the first set 19-25, the Rainmakers rebounded, winning the second set 25-19.
The match went down to the wire with the final set being played first-to-15, but having to win by two points.
After intense play, the ‘Makers couldn’t quite finish the rally and lost 16-14.
Still a very strong showing from the team, the squad showed integrity and grit all over the court by the athletes - a real testament to the athletes’ will to win.
The final match-up for the Rainmakers was against Sa-Hali High, from Kamloops.
The players from Prince Rupert, knowing their hopes of advancing to the knockout round was over, still put up a great fight.
After dropping the first set 14-25, and there was very little room for error and when the pressure is on, that’s when mistakes are made.
Prince Rupert lost the second set 17-25, and the match. This is okay, as the experience from playing in a high pressure tournament will no doubt help the athletes in all facets of life in the future.
The Rainmakers finished 15th in the tournament, losing all 3 games. That being said, it was still an impressive display of teamsmanship.
The quality teams and players the Rainmakers met gave the athletes a taste of the level of competition that each individual will have to be at if they hope to go forward with volleyball at the post-secondary level.
There is a lot of potential from these young men to do big things on an even bigger stage. They should be grateful for this opportunity, and for the memories that these tournaments create.
As well, the lifelong friendships that come out of playing in team sport is just another excellent biproduct of being able to play for the Rainmakers. This wouldn’t be possible without the countless hours from the coaches, teachers and parents that volunteer their time.
The team is set to lose the majority of their players through graduation, as most of the athletes on the squad are in Grade 12 and in their last year of eligibility.
The high school schedule now transitions into the winter season, with basketball taking the main spotlight in the coming weeks.