There was a packed and boisterous gym late Saturday night at Vancouver Island University as the Camosun College Chargers upset the host Mariners in the men鈥檚 final for the Pacwest Conference three-peat.
It is the first time a Pacwest team has won three consecutive men鈥檚 championships since Douglas College from 1996 to 1998.
鈥淭he VIU fans were hoping for the double [the Mariners won the Pacwest women鈥檚 championship earlier in the evening]. But the crowd went silent. We broke their hearts,鈥� said Camosun men鈥檚 coach Charles Parkinson.
鈥淎 threepeat is difficult in any league. But we didn鈥檛 focus on that. We just focused on playing.鈥�
It was the first loss on home court this season for the VIU men, who won the regular season with a 21-3 record. The third-seed Chargers (14-10 in regular season) beat Capilano College in the quarter-finals, second-seed Fraser Valley in the semifinals and the favoured Mariners 17-25, 26-24, 28-26, 25-16 in the all-Island final.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about peaking at the right time,鈥� said Parkinson, who does the Olympic commentary for CBC and is a former national team player and member of the sa国际传媒 Volleyball Hall of Fame.
鈥淲e got poked by VIU in the first set. But after that, I could see it in our guys鈥� eyes. At that point, as a coach, you just get out of the way. You鈥檙e not rowing anymore, you鈥檙e just steering. We were not going to be denied.鈥�
Freshman Matt Bowers of Camosun was tournament MVP with fellow-Chargers Savana Walkingbear and Hakon Ostrem named to the first all-star team along with Mariners Zach Grigg and Braydon Brouwer.
The veteran Walkingbear from Saskatchewan, who played his final two collegiate seasons for the Chargers, and the rookie Bowers from Ontario, were both attracted by the program鈥檚 success, particularly after Camosun鈥檚 national title in 2015.
鈥淭hey both just called me and said they liked the way we played,鈥� said Parkinson.
The Chargers have been seeded No. 4 for the national championship at Fanshawe College in London, Ont., and open in the quarter-finals March 8 against the No. 5 Medicine Hat Rattlers. The Mariners received a wild-card berth and the sixth seed in the national tournament and will meet the Ontario champions and No. 3 Mohawk College Mountaineers in the quarter-finals.
VIU, meanwhile, won the Pacwest women鈥檚 volleyball championship for the 16th time in school history by sweeping Douglas College in the final. The Mariners, led by MVP Mikayla Wagner, get to stay on the Island for the 2017 national tournament taking place March 8-11 at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence gym on the Camosun College Interurban campus. The Camosun Chargers also have a nationals berth as host. The seedings will be announced today.
