Cats face uphill battle to repeat at zone champs
By The Nelson Daily Sports
By Bruce Fuhr,
The Nelson Daily Sports
In past years the Kootenay High School A Girl’s Volleyball Zone Championships was simply a small speed bump en route to the provincial tournament for the Mount Sentinel Wildcats.
However this year is very different, as the defending zone champs must overcome a very huge hurdle to make another return to the Big Show.
“For the first time in a very long Mount Sentinel is entering the tournament as not the number one seed,” said tournament organizer and skipper of the Cats, Joe Moreira. “Selkirk (Storm of Kimberley) is now compete at the A level and they are the top seed.”
Ten teams from throughout the Kootenays are entered in the two-day tournament beginning today at Castlegar’s Selkirk College.
The Cats, ranked 10th in the provinces, are slotted into Pool A with Lucerne of New Denver, Salmo Falcons, Sparwood and top-seeded Selkirk.
The Storm holds down the seventh-place ranking in the A Girl’s provincial poll.
Boundary Central of Midway, Kaslo’s J.V. Humphries, Nakusp, Elkford and Fernie make up Pool B.
Teams play a round-robin format Sunday before shifting to the playoff round Saturday. The final is set for 2 p.m.
The winner advances to the B.C. High School A Girl’s Volleyball Championships December 1-4 in Abbotsford.
The Mount Sentinel Wildcats have an easier trip to the B.C. High School AA Boy’s Volleyball Championships in Kelowna.
The Cats have no one to play to advance to the 16-team tournament.
While the girl’s have one berth for the Kootenay Zone, the boy’s earn two berths to the championships November 30 to December 4 at UBC/O in Kelowna.
sports@thenelsondaily.com
