It was a pivotal week for SMUS Athletics as seasons concluded and championships began. The Senior Boys Soccer team wrapped up a strong run at Islands, the Senior Boys Volleyball squad earned bronze to advance, the Senior Girls Volleyball team fought for a final berth, and the Senior Girls Field Hockey team headed to provincials among BC’s top contenders.
Senior Boys Soccer
The SMUS Senior Boys Soccer season came to an end last Tuesday morning in Campbell River as the Blue Jags fell 2-0 to host Carihi in their final pool game of the Vancouver Island AA Championship tournament.
After splitting its first two preliminary pool games on Monday, SMUS needed a win over the Tyees to extend its campaign, which included a first-place regular-season finish among Lower Island AA teams, a Colonist Cup semifinal appearance, and an Independent Schools Athletic Association tournament title. But, battling illness and missing high-scoring Joe MacKenzie-Elrick to the flu, the Blue Jags were instead eliminated with the loss to the Tyees.
In the Blue Jags’ tournament opener, Andrei Marti scored two goals to help SMUS to a 4-0 win over Alberni. MacKenzie-Elrick and Quinn McMeekin added singles, the latter coming off a corner, and Rayan Shariaty posted the shutout.
However, SMUS wasn’t as sharp in its second game last Monday, falling 2-1 to Edward Milne. MacKenzie-Elrick scored the lone SMUS goal in that contest.
Senior Girls Field Hockey
The SMUS-1 Competitive Field Hockey team will be in the hunt for the BC AAA Championship this week at Tamanawis Park in Surrey. The Blue Jags head into the 12-team provincial tournament as the top Island seed and the sixth-ranked AAA team in BC.
The Blue Jags have been placed in Pool A for the 12-team tournament, along with highly ranked Handsworth and Argyle, both of North Vancouver. SMUS will play Handsworth in its opening game at 11 am on Wednesday and will also take on Argyle that day at 2:30 pm.
SMUS Head Coach David Kerr says the Blue Jags enter the tournament “in good shape.”
“The opposition will be tough, but this SMUS team has held its own quite convincingly against the top teams in previous games this season,” Kerr said. “There is an underlying quiet confidence amongst the group and, if all the players bring their ‘A’ game, the team could surprise some of the more fancied opponents. Game on!”
The top two teams from each of the four pools will advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal round. The BC tournament will conclude on Friday.
Senior Boys Volleyball
The SMUS Senior Boys Volleyball team qualified for this coming weekend’s Vancouver Island AA Championships in Comox with a third-place finish last week in the Lower Island playoff tournament.
The Blue Jags beat Lambrick Park 25-14, 25-20 on Thursday night in the bronze-medal match at Pacific Christian. Earlier in the evening, SMUS fell 21-25, 25-21,11-15 to Vic High in a semifinal.
The Blue Jags easily dispatched Edward Milne in a quarterfinal on Wednesday at Parkland, winning by 25-11, 25-14, 25-13 scores.
The Island AA tournament begins Friday at Comox Highland. SMUS has been placed in a tough pool with BC third-ranked Pacific Christian, Mark Isfeld of Courtenay, and Ballenas. In Friday action, the Blue Jags will meet Isfeld at noon, PCS at 2:30 pm, and Ballenas at 5 pm.
SMUS Head Coach Brady Doland said PCS is a strong favourite in the Island tournament but “honestly all the other teams from No. 2 to No. 7 have all played and beaten each other, so it’s a toss-up.
“It’s nice, because there are usually only two [provincial berths] allocated for the Island, but this year there are three.”
The top three Island teams will qualify for the provincial AA tournament, Nov. 26 to 29 in Prince George.
Senior Girls Volleyball
The SMUS Senior Girls Volleyball team has been forced to take the long way in its attempt to qualify for this weekend’s Vancouver Island AAA Championships.
After finishing fourth in last week’s Lower Island playoffs, the Blue Jags now have to travel to Campbell River to play Carihi in a challenge match for the final berth in this coming weekend’s Island tournament at Esquimalt.
SMUS was scheduled to meet the Tyees in that match at Timberline Secondary on Monday at 3:30 pm.
The Blue Jags had to go the challenge-match route after dropping the Lower Island AAA playoff third-place match in four sets to visiting Lambrick Park on Thursday night by 10-25, 25-16, 16-25, 16-25 scores.
On Tuesday, the Blue Jags fell 3-0 to host Stelly’s in a Lower Island semifinal, losing 24-26, 14-25, 24-26 to the Stingers in the closely contested match.
