Former national-team captain Charles Parkinson has seen a lot in volleyball, from 13 seasons of coaching the Camosun College Chargers men’s team to providing the colour commentary for CBC at six consecutive Summer Olympics from Atlanta 1996 to Rio 2016.
But even he admitted to being astounded by the retirement gift his players handed him in the PacWest conference championship tournament over the weekend in Abbotsford.
“It was like a script from a movie,” said Parkinson, who will step down after this season.
It came complete with a cliff-hanger ending with the arch-rival vanquished at the last moment with no room or time to spare.
“We couldn’t have staged it more dramatically,” said Parkinson.
The Chargers rallied to defeat the nationally top-ranked Vancouver Island University Mariners in the all-Island PacWest championship game. VIU led the title game by two sets before Camosun roared back to win the next three for a five-set victory 18-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-15, 15-13.
“I told the guys we’ve been in this situation before and to just keep playing and trust the system that got us here,” said Parkinson.
“We’ve always been so closed matched and VIU has provided us with a fabulous Island and provincial rivalry over the years.”
It was Camosun’s seventh PacWest title in Parkinson’s 13-season tenure. The Chargers advanced to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championship tournament March 24-27 in Quebec City, where they will look for their second national crown of the Parkinson era. There are no wildcard berths available to the men’s nationals, so the touted Mariners are out of luck.
The Chargers’ veteran Brazilian pipeline again proved vital with Vitor Pereira from Belo Horizonte named PacWest championship tournament MVP and Eduardo Bida from Uberlandia as a PacWest tournament first-team all-star. Brazil is famously known for soccer but it is also a very strong volleyball nation with its players playing around the world.
“Pereira and Bida provide such a level of confidence, physicality and leadership,” said Parkinson.
Chargers freshman Jacob Ringma, from Terrace, proved a revelation off the bench and made tournament first-team all-star.
“Ringma coming in as a rookie in the crunch proved key,” said Parkinson.
Meanwhile, defending-champion VIU also made the women’s PacWest volleyball championship game in Abbotsford before losing to the Douglas College Royals. Both the Royals and Mariners, as the wildcard, will advance to the CCAA national female championship tournament next month in Prince Edward Island.
Camosun defeated the Capilano Blues in four sets to place third in PacWest women’s. Linnea Brickwood and Danielle Groenendijk of VIU and Mika Yamada of Camosun were named to the tournament all-star team.
