The 18U girls with the Shuswap Volleyball Club (SVC) have already spiked their way to the national stage, despite this being the team's first year.
The new team's season started in January, following December tryouts, and has since worked its way to the top and, after winning silver in Division 3 Tier 1 at the Provincial Championships in March, will be heading to the Nationals in Edmonton May 22 to 25.
"The season did not start how the girls had hoped, and there have been a lot of ups and downs, but they have brought it together and started playing as a team and even gained praise for their sportsmanship from the other team in the Div. 3 gold medal match," SVC president Jon Koch said. "It is nice to head into Nationals on a high!"
Koch co-founded the club last year with Armin Hosseini when they started with just a boy's team and, while they have no male teams this year, have since expanded to have 18U, 16U and 14U girls' teams this year. The 18U team, coached by Brent Lelond and assistants Jordie Lowe and Milan Nikic, is comprised of girls from Salmon Arm and Revelstoke, and even one from Vernon.
The SVC is part of the club volleyball system in Canada, and is a non-profit that is "trying to keep the sport more affordable."
As part of that, the club will be holding a barbecue fundraiser at the Uptown Askew's, which is supplying the food, on Saturday, May 3 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to help send the team to Nationals.
More information about the club can be found online at shuswapvc.ca.
