The Riverside Rapids punched their ticket to the AAAA girls provincial volleyball championships.
Riverside lost 3-1 to top-ranked South Delta in Monday's gold medal match at the Fraser Valley championships.
"The team is excited about the opportunity to compete at the provincials," said Riverside coach Bryan Gee. "The team is competing hard and playing as one unit, exactly what we wanted at this point in the season"
Riverside knocked off Earl Marriott in a marathon five-set match to advance to Monday's final.
"The girls demonstrated maturity and confidence, and were able to compete hard throughout the five-set match. The team is learning how to stay positive and focussed during the most intense times in the match," said Gee.
Pinetree fell 3-0 to Elgin Park in the bronze medal match.
"I'm extremely proud of how they've all learned to work together, as that has been a huge factor in their success over the last few weeks," said Pinetree coach Serene Lau.
Chirstine Anderson and Taryn Toscani of Riverside and Pinetree's Emily Maglio were named tournament all-stars.
Riverside and Pinetree will both advance to the provincials set for Nov. 28-30 in Penticton. Heritage Woods finished seventh in the Valleys and play in a tournament this weekend to earn a back-door entry to the provincials.
On the boys' side, Centennial fell to Sequam in the match for fifth place and the final provincial berth.
The Riverside junior girls earned a spot in this weekend's provincial championships with a second place showing at the Fraser Valley championships.
Riverside were defeated in straight sets by Pacific Academy in the finals.
"It was disappointing to be unable to put up more of a fight but it was a learning experience for us," said coach Alym Makhani. "Every time we play them we learn from it and get better. Hopefully the lessons we learn from this loss will help us when we see them a the provincials."
Power hitter Josie Mrak was chosen as a tournament all-star.
