The 15U Apex Express have been off to a busy schedule to start their season competing in two tournaments over the past two consecutive weekends. The boys competed in their first tournament as a team in the Lower Mainland Super Volley where they placed 7th and competed hard in each of its matches against the likes of Eagles, Focus BOOM!, Victoria Flyers, White Rock, Air Attack Gold and Air Attack Black. Still looking for their first win as a team, the boys went back to the drawing board and worked hard all week in their practices in preparation for this past weekends Fraser Valley Super Volley.

Placed in a pool with four other teams, the Express dropped a close first match with White Rock (2-1) before finally getting their first taste of victory this season against Air Attack Black (2-1) before dropping their final two matches to Vernon (2-0) and Victoria (2-1). Finishing off the day at 1-3, the Express boys would place 4th out of 5 in pool play, which would lead to a crossover match up against Kelowna Killbillies first thing in the morning.

Day two of the Fraser Valley Super Volley started bright and early for the boys. Like most of their previous games in the tournament, it took a third set to defeat the Kelowna Killbillies before advancing to a quarterfinal match against a White Rock team that the boys had taken to three set games already in their previous two meetings. Although the Express came out hard against White Rock, the match would end on a similar note as the previous two matches against the boys from White Rock losing in the third set 16-14. With plenty of volleyball left to play in the day and a chance to finish the tournament in 5th place, the boys reenergized themselves for a match up against a heavy hitting Kelowna Kevlar team. In this game, coaches Chris and Kyley noticed a substantial improvement in the boys’ commitment to the team’s defensive play and the team was able to claw out a victory in another closely contested three set match (25-16, 23-25, 15-9). Doubling their total amount of wins accrued from day one of the tournament, the Apex Express looked to finish their tournament off on a high note hoping to revenge a loss that the Victoria Volleyball Association had dealt to the boys in their first match up in round-robin play. The Express were able to minimize their errors, played scrappy defense and scuffed out their first 2-0 win of the season. The coaches were impressed by the team’s ability to claw back from a 16-11 deficit in the second set to come back and steal the set 25-23.

The Express finished their weekend at .500, winning 4 out of their 8 matches and winning 11 sets while dropping 10 sets to finish a season high 5th out of 11 teams. Captain Adam Frederickson was able to battle back from illness he had sustained earlier in the week and distributed the ball well to middle-hitters Mark Penner and Lucas Chang who were able to get timely kills. Outside-hitters Alvin Liao and Phillip Troung lead the team defensively with their consistent passing and defensive play. Improved communication and defensive play from rightside, Eric Lin helped with the team’s transition game while Eric Zhang was able to get the team rolling with excellent serving. The coaches were impressed with the utility of Kelvin Wu coming off the bench and playing wherever needed. The boys now have two weeks to work hard in practice before looking to improve on the success of their last tournament.