The Oak Bay Bays senior boys' volleyball team is out to prove once again that it's one of the best in B.C. as the provincial championship tournament begins today.
Coach Al Carmichael's troops, the defending triple-A champs, will begin their hunt for a second straight title this morning against Fraser Heights in the 20-team event in Kelowna. The tournament is power-pooled with the four top-rated teams facing each other today before teams are promoted and demoted accordingly, which establishes the rankings.
The Bays are the No. 1 Vancouver Island team, with Ballenas at No. 2, Dover Bay at No. 3 and the Belmont Bulldogs at No. 4.
Rounding out Oak Bay's pool are Kelowna Secondary and Surrey's Earl Marriott.
"It's very close among the top four teams," said Carmichael, whose Bays defeated Fraser Heights 3-1 at the Oak Bay tournament back in September and split games versus Kelowna and Earl Marriott.
"The goal is to get into that semifinal and, if we don't make it, we'll be disappointed," he said. "If we get a good matchup, we're healthy and we've scouted them well, we should be able to get into the final. If we play well and have luck go our way we should be good enough to win."
They are the defending champs, afterall, and this marks the eighth straight time Oak Bay has qualified for provincials.
"It's tough to repeat, not many teams have done it," said Carmichael, who has won it twice with Oak Bay (2011 and 2006) and once at Mount Douglas way back in 1988 for his first one. This is his 17th year at Oak Bay.
"Yeah, it's nice knowing you have a good team," he said of being considered among the favourites. "If you're going to be a favourite you know you have a good team, and that means that you have a very good shot at it, as long as you perform to your capabilities.
"That's what it will come down to, are we going to play as well as we are capable of? If we do, we have a very good chance."
Oak Bay is led by power-hitter Lars Bornemann.
"He's still nursing a sore leg, but I don't think it will affect his play as games go along," said Carmichael.
"He's able to play, able to jump, able to attack. He's not 100 per cent, but he's probably at 95. It's a nagging injury, which probably needs a good month's rest to be 100 per cent, but it's not getting any worse with him playing on it."
Leon Young has filled in more than admirably when Bornemann sat out, including at city championships. That just proves Oak Bay's depth.
While the Bays draw Fraser Heights of Surrey first, Belmont will face Cranbrook's Mount Baker in its first game today.
The double-A B.C. championship is also being staged in Kelowna and will feature the Pacific Christian Pacers of Victoria, who serve up their first game against MEI of Abbotsford this morning.
