The weather of late is for the Ducks but it's nothing compared with the storm they inflicted on their opponents at the girls Under-14 B.C. provincial girls club volleyball championships last week in Kelowna.
Coquitlam Ducks swamped Seaside from White Rock 25-22, 25-22 in straight sets to claim the championship and earn a berth in this weekend's national finals in Saskatoon.
The Ducks out-lasted Sunshine Coast 25-19, 19-25, 15-9 in the provincial semifinals, while they blitzed Vancouver's Thunder Boom 25-20, 25-19 in the quarters. The win over No. 1-ranked Sunshine Coast was huge, as the Ducks had lost to them in their previous three meetings this season.
"In all of the matches, the girls simply did not quit," said Ducks co-head coach Bryan Gee, who worked alongside Jordan Thies and assistant Jen Neilson. "They kept finding ways to win."
At the girls U-17 club provincials in Richmond, the Ducks nabbed the bronze medal by bouncing Fraser Valley 25-22, 25-21 in the battle for third.
The Ducks' hopes for gold were dashed when they were edged 23-25, 27-25 and 9-15 by South Burnaby Metro in the semifinals. The tough loss came after they clipped a solid Kelowna crew in a marathon quarter-final match by a 22-25, 25-22 and 15-11 count. The Ducks' Mallory Sall was chosen to the first all-star squad.
