The Killarney Cougars pushed the senior boys volleyball championship to a decisive fifth set, but the Van Tech Talismen and their high-powered attack could not be denied.
Star striker Coltyn Liu, one of the top hitters in the province, had 22 kills in the 3-2 win to claim Van Tech’s second consecutive city title, playing at home Nov. 4.
The city championship point for Van Tech. Scored by who else? It's star player Coltyn Liu with his 22nd kill of the night. @VSB39 pic.twitter.com/foGzFd6Tw0
— Megan Stewart (@MHStewart) November 5, 2016
“It feels unreal. The guys fought really hard all throughout the game, so I feel we really earned it. It was a really good victory for the team,” said Liu, adding that Killarney has come far since the Talismen beat them 3-1 in league play. “Anything can happen in volleyball. We definitely can’t underestimate any team. The whole game was a fight.”
Van Tech won the first set 25-15 before Killarney recovered and pushed the second set to 27-25 to tie the match. Liu had seven kills in the second set, opening with a massive strike that he put straight down two feet from the net like he was boring a hole in the hardwood. But at the end of the set, Killarney went ahead when six-foot-five Cougar Kit Aviso-Mor stuffed Liu at the net. It was the first of two blocks he had in the match, the only times Liu was held back.
“That was my main goal of the whole game, really just trying to block him,” said Aviso-Mor. “Once you achieve it, it feels great. It’s scary but feels great when it hits you.”
Van Tech bounced back with decisive play from middle hitter Calvin Hong and libero Eric Truong to win the third set 25-20 but Killarney responded by winning the fourth set 25-23.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” said Killarney coach Jeremy Westereng, “When you put in the time as a coach, you want to see things like this happen — constant improvement and just that we were able to compete and entertain over five sets in front of a big crowd.”
Both Killarney and Van Tech advance to the senior boys AAA Lower Mainland volleyball tournament with a chance to advance to provincials in early December at the Langle Events Centre.
