The match was a see-saw affair with both teams making great plays. The teams split the first 2 sets, and battled hard in a 3rd, going extra points. In the end, a few savvy plays by Shock had them prevail 18-16. In the semi-final, the lads could not match the skill and size of the eventual champions Victoria, losing 2-0.

In the 3rd place game, Shock’s goal was to enjoy the match, to have fun, and to do what they have been practicing all season so far. The strategy worked, as they easily handled Force 14U 2-0. The boys headed off to Spring Break on a winning note, and with a new water bottle for their hard work this past weekend.

Hats off to all 13 boys, especially Curtis Chow, how has been one of the most improved players on the team thus far, Kurtis Shum, whose defensive efforts against Focus were inspiring for all his teammates and those who witnessed the match, and to the twin towers Sean Lee and Adam Wu, who dominated at the end all weekend.

Next up for Shock is the Okanagan Super Spike in Kelowna, the team’s first road trip of their club careers, where the boys will look to solidify their skills and systems to achieve new heights.

Huge props to the tournament captain Lucas for stepping up by passing dimes all weekend and pounding the ball from the first game to the last game. Jonny upped his game and caught fire against the FVVC Blue with near perfect passing and great offense, earning him the new nickname “the marine” for his hardcore performance. Stanley earned the title of “Tournament Guru” for his incredibly consistent passing, setting out-of-system, huge hitting and serving streaks. Stanley was a rock on the court all weekend. Other quick mentions go to Jeffery for the most blocks, Jonah for his great defence, Laureano for coming in cold and making a difference, and Johnrhey for all around great work. Everyone else on the team contributed in a lot of great ways so much that I can’t even list it all. The Apex Rampage rookie team has levelled up and we are ready to challenge any of the 16U teams that we will face for the rest of the season.

-J

It was a rough start with some mix up over the times, but props to the first six guys to show up: Jonny, Laureano, Anthony, Lucas, Kevin and Eric Zhang for getting on the floor cold with no warm up and putting up a great fight. The second game began with the support of the full team and it was a close battle unfortunately ending 14-16 for the other guys.

The Rampage boys were focused and ready for the playoffs but lost two tight matches to finish the day. The goal of the day, however, was achieved. Everyone got on the floor and with 90% of our team in their rookie year as club players, we got a chance to see what the next level of volleyball is really like. Everyone walked away from the day with their heads held high and a new determination to practice hard, play harder and strive for victory throughout the rest of the club season.

Thanks to Barton Lim of the Focus club for putting the playday on and congratulations to the Apex 16U Rampage boys for a great day, huge digs, big hits down the line from Lucas, rocket jump serves from Jonny, mad blocks from Lucas, and great setting from Eric squared and Kevin.

Coaches Newton Squared

The Crush started off by defeating a scrappy Air Attack squad in 3 sets after losing setter/rightside Allen Wong to an ankle injury. They then finished pool play losing to a strong (and eventual tournament champion) Victoria team in 2. The playoff round started well with a win over Kelowna B, but succumbed to White Rock by 2 points to drop to the bronze game. The bronze match featured some strong defensive play from our Crush boys and they came out on top convincingly over Focus Aerial Assault to wind up in 3rd. Proud owners of new Volleyball BC water bottles, the squad returns to the practice gym eager to improve.

The Shock acquitted themselves well in their first ever club tournament, finishing in 5th. Although the coaching staff were more concerned about whether or not the team was putting together all the things they’ve learned in practice to a game situation, the result was a positive one for the mindsets of our 14U kids. After playing out some opening jitters to a 25-22 win over Titans Blue, they followed up with a 25-7 thrashing of the same team on the back of Calvin Zhou’s 15 point serving run. After a come-from-behind victory over Focus Crush in 3, the team lost a hard fought battle with the #1 ranked White Rock Derrick 2-1. This put Shock against the Pack from Kamloops, who were easily dispatched in 2 straight. Sunday’s quarterfinal match pitted Shock against a very strong Eagles team who had went undefeated in their pool. Although our boys fought valiantly, they fell short 2-0. The Eagles ended up winning the tournament, and our guys won the next 2 matches against White Rock Alysha 2-0 and Force 14U 2-0 to finish with an overall record of 4-2. While the team’s digging and blocking were highlights of the weekend, the coaches will be working hard in the gym working on the serve and pass game to bring our boys to the next level. The kids are looking forward to their next tournament in 2 weeks’ time where again, the coaches will be looking for an improvement in the process of becoming better volleyball players.

In the second day of play, Apex had only two games left in the tournament. They started by playing a high ranking Kodiaks team. The girls started off slow but were able to gain valuable experience by playing a high caliber team. Apex Smash lost in straight sets to the Kodiaks. In their final game of the tournament, Smash looked to play against Air Attack Black. In the first set, the girls showed fatigue and angst to the long weekend. Falling short in the first set, Apex was able to regain some energy and played hard in the second set with some big blocks and hits in the middle by Sirada Pittayakornpisuth. Winning the second set, Apex Smash pushed in the third set to finish the day on a high note. With a huge run on serving, Anahita Feraidoonian was able to keep Apex up 13-8. Unable to finish the game, the girls lost the final set 14-16.

The weekend was full of volleyball and lots of learning. Overall, Smash placed in the top half of the Super Volley tournament. This is a great accomplishment but the girls are striving towards improvement for their next tournament.

Audrey Wong

Placing third in their pool, it was onto the playoffs in tier III, beginning with a match versus the Ducks from Coquitlam. Again with great play from setter Ketchum, the Smash was able to pull off a 2-0 (25-23, 25-16) win and move onto the tier III finals facing the Focus Lightning.

The finals showed some effects of the long day of volleyball for both teams, as it was their fifth game of the day. Even though both teams were a bit drained, it was a good hard fought match with the Smash coming out victorious in a close 2-0 (25-22, 25-20) win to claim first in tier III.

–
Johann

Thanks!

UBC Men’s Volleyball team head coach Richard Schick, along with current player and former CCAA National Champion and Team Saskatchewan coach Jeff Ross headlines this year’s coaching staff as they will be coaching the 18U High Performance boys team. Richard’s accolades can be seen here and Jeff’s here.

Returning to coach the 18U boys club team will be current UBC player Tanner Kozak, who was an assistant with the 17U boys last year, and Ryan Zwarich, who just completed his college and university career after 2 years setting for UBC.

On the girl’s side, Tony Lee and Robyn Leuty will return once again to coach this year’s 18U girls squad. Tony and Robyn worked together to coach this same group last year at the 17U level with many successes and look forward to continuing to build upon the huge strides made last season.

Rounding out our coaching staff:

17U Boys: Apex VP Aaron Lock and alumni Sam Nguyen.
16U Boys: Jason Newton, who coached our 17U boys last year, and his brother Josh Newton, who has played for the University of Alberta.
15U Boys: The crew of Raymond Cheng, Victor Luu, Anthony Leong, and Howard Lee return for another season with the 1997 boys.
14U Boys: Oggie Radmilovic, an energetic veteran of the sport hailing from the former Yugoslavia will coach with the help of club president Ken Li.
17U Girls: Club VP Chanh Vuong and last year’s 15U Girls coach Amanda Lee.
16U Girls: East Vancouver and Apex staple Thi Nguyen, who returns to head coaching after a year mentoring.
15U Girls: The fearsome threesome known as Johann Wong, Kevin Low, and Audrey Wong hope to build upon last year’s 13th place finish.
14U Girls: Club alumni Irene Cheng, Thi Nguyen, and Chanh Vuong will combine to take on the newest members to the club scene.

Don’t forget to pre-register for tryouts here!

UPDATE: You can PRE-REGISTER HERE!

16U Samurai member John Dela Cruz, a 6’0 leftside with one of the highest spike touches in the province, and 17U Concussion members Mustafa Haq, a 6’4 middle, and Kelvin Ma, a 5’10 libero, were chosen amongst 80 participants at the 16 and 17U Baden Cup. The three will stay and train in Kamloops for 3 weeks before competing in the Western Elite Championships in Kelowna July 21-24, 2011.

17U Concussion members Tomas Rapaport and Markiel Simpson, along with 15U members Adam Frederickson and Mark Penner, and 14U member Erick Chou, were also selected to compete at the Baden Cup. On the girls’ side, 14U Julie DePieri represented Apex as well.