They never got a chance for a three-peat.
But itѻýs clear the Vernon Christian School Royals would have been considered a near-lock to win a third straight B.C. High School Boys A Division Volleyball Championship. No high school volleyball was played in the fall of 2020 due to COVID-19.
The Royals have four athletes named in the 12th annual list of the top-15 graduating high school boys players in the province in a poll conducted by the website , operated by veteran B.C. high school and college reporter Howard Tsumura of North Delta.
Thatѻýs twice as many as any other school in a poll that includes players from all three boysѻý divisions ѻý A, AA and AAA. Two AAA schools ѻý Mt. Boucherie of West Kelowna and Oak Bay of Victoria ѻý each had two players named to the list.
ѻýItѻýs super disappointing not to have had a season and a chance to go for three straight provincial titles,ѻý said Royals co-coach Dwayne Remple.
Leading the list at No. 1 is Rempleѻýs son, Liam, a six-foot-eight outside hitter/middle blocker. Liam Remple garnered 60 total points in the poll ѻý voting was done by the four head coaches of B.C.ѻýs menѻýs university teams in the Canada West conference of U-SPORTS ѻý four more than six-foot-six outside hitter Hunter Arulpragasam of the MEI Eagles of Abbotsford.
Remple has committed to U-SPORTS volleyball powerhouse Trinity Western Spartans of Langley, the reigning Canadian champions.
ѻýI just enjoy playing volleyball, so any second I can have playing the game I love is a second well-spent,ѻý Remple told Tsumura in an on varsityletters.ca. Remple is also a member of the Canadian youth team.
Joining him on the list are teammates Levi VanderDeen (No. 4, matching his uniform number), a six-foot-five outside hitter who has committed to the UBC Okanagan Heat; six-foot-two setter Jacob Defeo (Tied for 11th, no post-secondary commitment as of yet); and middle blocker Josh Hall, six-foot-five (No. 15, Thompson Rivers University).
ѻýWe are very fortunate to have a group of boys that are genetically tall athletes,ѻý said Dwayne Remple. The quartet has been together since Grade 6, and have helped the Royals reach the last three provincial A championship games (lost in 2017 to Credo Christian of Langley).
In 2019, the Royals placed two players on the top-15 list: Ben Molitwenik (No. 8, UBCO) and Devin Hofsink (No. 9, Trinity Western).
Prior to winning the 2019 provincial title, Vernon Christianѻýs major accomplishment that season was winning the Best of the West Tournament in Kelowna, beating AAA schools Kelowna Secondary (semifinal) and MEI Eagles (final) without losing a set.
Also named to the boysѻý list was six-foot-four outside hitter Austin Duff of Lake Countryѻýs George Elliot Secondary (T-7th, UBCO), Kaylin Michie, six-foot-10 middle blocker (No. 9, UBCO) and Alex Witt, five-foot-11 outside hitter/libero (T-13, Columbia Bible College) of West Kelownaѻýs Mt. Boucherie Secondary.
Quinn Pitcher, a six-foot-two outside hitter from Kelownaѻýs Okanagan Mission Secondary, was given honourable mention.
The highest-ranked Okanagan player on the top-15 girlsѻý list is six-foot middle blocker Anya Pemberton of the reigning B.C. 4A champion Kelowna Secondary Owls, rated No. 3. Sheѻýll play beach volleyball at Arizona State University. Her Owls teammate, Leix Prefontaine, a five-foot-10 setter (N0. 13, UBCO) also made the grade. Madison Shanks of KSS, a six-foot outside hitter, was given honourable mention.
There are four divisions of girls volleyball in B.C., A, AA, AAA and 4A. The coaches of B.C.ѻýs five womenѻýs university teams cast ballots.
Chloe Ladd of AA school George Elliot, a five-foot-10 libero/outside hitter, comes in at No. 6. Sheѻýll play at Torontoѻýs York University next season. Ladd helped the Coyotes win bronze at the B.C. championships in 2019.
Olivia Tymkiw from Coldstreamѻýs Kalamalka Secondary, a six-foot outside hitter who will play at UBCO, was rated No. 7. The Lakers hosted the 2019 provincial AA finals, finishing seventh.
Vernonѻýs Madison Gardner, a six-foot-two middle blocker, was ranked ninth. Gardner and her Seaton Sonics finished fourth at the B.C. AAA finals in 2019.
The top-rated graduating player in B.C. for girls is Emoni Bush, a six-foot-three outside hitter who has committed to the Washington Huskies of the NCAA in Seattle. Bush and her Carihi Tyees of Campbell River lost the 2019 B.C. AAA final to Vancouverѻýs Little Flower Academy.
READ MORE: KSS Owls womenѻýs volleyball squad wins second consecutive provincial title