BurnabyNOW FRIDAY November 25, 2016 43
Sportsnow
Sport to report? Contact Dan Olson at 604.444.3022 or dolson@BurnabyNow.com
SFU’s Panthers bond en route to BC berth pushesVan McKay Moscrop Tech to five games repeats in Mainland final Picked GNAC top defensive player for second straight year
Simon Fraser University is again hardware heavy. Volleyball libero Alison McKay was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight year, and was joined by teammates Tamara Nipp,Tessa May and Emma Jennings, who received all-conference team recognition. The Clan senior helped lead SFU to its first-ever NCAA Division 2 championship postseason berth. McKay led the GNAC during the regular season and is fourth in Div. 2 with an average of 6.60 digs per set. She is also a member of Canada’s senior national team. “It’s nice to be recognized for all the work I have put into this season, but it means a lot more to me that we qualified for playoffs,” said McKay, a Port Moody native. “This has been our goal since my first year, and to have improved so much and make it this year means a lot. Our focus will now be staying healthy and doing all that we can to prepare for our first opponent.” Simon Fraser will make its first-ever appearance at the NCAA tournament on Dec. 1 against the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders, who they beat twice in 2016. “Alison is having another stellar season and it is nice to see her recognized once again for her efforts,” said SFU head coach Gina Schmidt. “She is one of the hardest workers I know and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award.” Joining McKay from SFU on the All-Conference first team is setter Tamara Nipp and middle blocker Tessa May. Nipp was the GNAC regular season leader and is tied for 12th in Div. 2 with an 11.56 assists per set average. She also tied McKay for the team lead in aces with 27. May, a GNAC honourable mention in 2015, averaged 2.77 kills and 1.15 blocks per set this year to be chosen by conference coaches to the first team. She leads SFU with a .277 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Emma Jennings rounds out SFU’s all-conference selections as an Honourable Mention. She finished the regular season with a team-high 3.06 kills per set and had a seasonhigh 20 kills in the first game of 2016 against UC San Diego.
Dan Olson
dolson@burnabynow.com
From turmoil sometimes excellence emerges – or at least a great experience. The Moscrop senior boys volleyball program were nearly late to the party but once there, they arrived. It’s been near excellent ever since. Without a coach and thus a team just weeks before the Burnaby-New Westminster season was to begin, the Moscrop Panthers found a qualified skipper in the nick of time and have been rolling ever since. When Kevin Giang stepped forward to steward the team, the players gelled.The boys bonded like family, remarked the coach, and stayed that way. “Our focus this year was for the boys to just have fun, act as if they’re all family and to play their hearts out,” said Giang. They cruised through much of the regular season, winning their first three games without surrendering a set before taking to the court against the rival Burnaby South Rebels a month ago missing five players, including key starters Aleks Ristic and Eric Son. The Rebels capitalized for a 3-1 victory, handing the Panthers their first test and setback. When the regular season ended, Moscrop, Burnaby South and Burnaby North all had equal 4-1 records and faced a quick playoff to sift through to find the survivors for the Lower Mainlands. Reclaiming the momentum they had established to start the season, Moscrop blanked both New Westminster and Burnaby North to capture the league banner and an advantageous seeding in the Lower Mainlands. With a top-four spot guaranteeing a berth to the AAA provincials in Langley, the Panthers meticulously went about their business, beating both Prince of Wales and David Thompson by 3-0 scores. Up against the Van Tech Talismen in the final, the Panthers travelled the gamut of experiences in a nailbiter of a final series. Van Tech opened with a thrilling
Getting his point across: Moscrop forced the Lower Mainland final to a fifth-anddeciding game last week, before Van Tech prevailed 3-2. Above, Moscrop’s Aleks Ristic delivers a smash at the net, while below, Eric Son bumps the ball during a big exchange. PHOTO CHUNG CHOW
28-26 win, and moved ahead 2-0 with a 25-16 decision.With their backs to the wall, Moscrop peeled off two wins by identical 25-18 scores and forced a fifth set, where the Panthers led 8-7 at the midpoint.The Talismen rallied and reversed the momentum to claim the title 15-11. Moscrop’s Ben Truong joined Ristic on the Mainland all-star team. At next week’s Big Kahuna B.C. AAA championships, the Panthers will compete in a pool featur-
ing Oak Bay, Centennial and No. 6-ranked Earl Marriott. The tourney begins Wednesday at the Langley Events Centre. “Our biggest strength is that we have reliable outside hitters, (Ristic) being our best player by quite a bit as our first power,” said Giang. “The team formed an ‘ohana’ (Hawaiian term for family) over the past few weeks and that (is) one thing the boys are proud of.”
Mountain tops North in final
The senior girls volleyball district playoffs ended last week with the Burnaby Mountain Lions edging Burnaby North 3-1 in the final. Earning all-star honours were Mountain’s Taran Jhuti and Janessa Quan, North’s Alora Jones and Monica Miljanovic, Moscrop’s Jessica Hu and Burnaby
Central’s Crystal Mendoza. In junior girls district play, the Moscrop Panthers blanked Burnaby North 3-0 in the final. Picking up all-star awards were Moscrop’s Christina Lu and Stephanie Sung, North’s Maya Dinh and Elisa Echelli, Central’s Elyse Wong and South’s Jasmin Lyck.
In junior boys, Moscrop topped Burnaby North 3-0 in the final. Tristan Caron and Ted Graveson were named to the allstar team, joining North’s Justin Chan and Joshua O’Keefe, Central’s Milos Koljancic and Mountain’s Daniel Sloseris.