A stellar season for the Nelson Volleyball 17U Club has come to an end.
A month after winning the Division Two Provincial Championships in Richmond, the team of West Kootenay teens competed in the 200-team Seattle Evergreen Classic May 24-26, finishing in the middle of the pack of 28 teams in their division.
Nelson played eight close games with teams from U.S. cities including Tacoma, Wash., Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Seattle.
Coach Sara Smith says the Nelson Club has come a long ways, languishing in Division Five only two seasons ago, but now among the best teams in B.C.
"The arc of the team was perfect," says Smith. “They peaked in provincials, they came together and excelled at just the right time.”
The Richmond finals were the culmination of the Volleyball BC Super Series, with tournaments in Langley and Vernon as well.
"All the girls came in as athletes but left as real teammates,” says NVC captain Gianna Davidson. "We learned how to play as one, not just for ourselves."
Davidson is one of four Grade 12s leaving the team, along with New Denver’s Ria Kosling, Nelson’s Paityn Lake and Crawford Bay’s Georgia Shuel.
Graduating player and NVC alumni Kara Strong, who moved to join the Fraser Valley’s legendary Rain City club in January, was selected to the national U17 All Star Team, making her one of the top six U17 players in Canada. Strong went on to lead Rain City to a national club championship.
Smith, a former college player and mom of three who returned to club and school coaching for the last six seasons, says NVC has a promising year ahead.
“We’ve got a lot of girls coming up for next year and we’re going to field a U18 team,” says Smith. “We’ll see if we can break into the top 12 teams in the province.”
