The East Kootenay Volleyball Club hosted the annual Rich Wayling Memorial tournament this past weekend, with some local teams coming out on top of their respective divisions.
The U16 girls team took first place, while the U15 girls came up just a little short in their final against a team out of Coaldale.
In total, the event featured roughly 26 squads from B.C. and Alberta that were spread out across Cranbrook to play matches at the College of the Rockies, Mount Baker Secondary School and Parkland Middle School.
The U16 EKVC team went perfect with five wins an no losses throughout round-robin and playoff action. They played three matches on Friday, before heading into elimination games on Saturday.
Head coach Marc Lilley said the team got better as the tournament went on.
"It was an interesting tournament," said Lilley. "We rose to the occasion and we played up to our potential against the team we played against in the final."
The 403 Selects out of Calgary came to play and gave them a worthy final, added Lilley.
"They're a younger team, they're quite athletic, they have very good skills and our girls in the first set played very well," said Lilley. "The second set, we didn't play too great, I believe we should've won in two, but they took us to three sets and we ended up pulling it out in the end.
"We struggled a bit in the third set, but the girls regained their focus and definitely provided some exciting ball for the crowd, that's for sure."
Next up for the team will be a trip to Edmonton next weekend to compete in the Alberta provincials. After starting the season in Division III, the team has moved up to the top tier of Division I and will be going up against some tough competition. Following provincials is nationals on the May long weekend in Calgary.
U16 boys
1st Lethbridge Volleyball Club
2nd Northern Alberta Volleyball Club
3rd Peak Volleyball Club (Okotoks)
U16 Girls
1st EKVC
2nd 403 Selects (Calgary)
3rd FOG U16 Volleyball Club (Edmonton)
U15 Girls
1st Panthers U15 (Coaldale)
2nd EKVC
3rd Peak Volleyball Club (Okotoks)