BVC girls win Westman tourney

Kaitlyn Couckuyt thought back-to-back provincial championships were great, but she suddenly sees a path to one more.

The five-foot-nine setter, who won two AAAA varsity girls’ volleyball titles with the Vincent Massey Vikings, led Brandon Volleyball Club to first place at the Westman Volleyball Club tournament on Sunday.

In the final, BVC defeated Winnipeg’s Winman Attack, the team Couckuyt feels is the best in Manitoba this year.

“It’s definitely our best (club) season we’ve ever had. We’re still going up from here,” Couckuyt said, adding the team started slow but has been rolling for a while now.

“We clicked as a team. We work really, really well together. We’re all individually good, but what gives us the success we’ve been having is how well we’ve been working together as a team.”

BVC features a strong Vikings presence, with Brandon University recruits Couckuyt and Zoe Redekop, along with college commits Hayden Wharf (Holland College, P.E.I.) and Reece Cowan (Canadian Mennonite University), as well as Ashley Sullivan, Ella VanDaele and Kennedy Hong.

Crocus Plains opposite Mary Williams, a Grade 11 student, is playing up, along with Neelin’s Tyneil Inkster and Ashley Henwood.

Birtle’s Mya Bonchuk and Selkirk’s Paige Whiteside round out the roster, and both play key roles.

Bonchuk, a Volleyball Manitoba A-AAA graduating all-star, has been a strong presence as a middle blocker, while Whiteside brings a huge boost to the team’s competitiveness after Couckuyt spent last year as her BVC team’s only setter.

“The fact that she’s committed to driving all that way for practice, we’re all very thankful and very appreciative of what she puts in,” Couckuyt said.

“The team would agree she’s one of the most energetic people we’ve ever played with and it translates to the energy we have on the court, the excitement for winning and everything like that.”

BVC has one more tournament, the Club West event in Virden this weekend, then provincials on May 1-3 at the Healthy Living Centre.

Brandon’s following a similar path to the BVC 18U boys last year, who upset a powerhouse Winman squad on the HLC maincourt in last year’s gold-medal match.

Couckuyt expects a rematch with Winman, though she said Junior Bisons Gold and Junior Pilots Navy are also right in the mix.

“We’ve never had provincials at home before, so it’s going to be different,” Couckuyt said.

“If we make it to a provincial final at home, it’d be a surreal experience to have everyone there watching us, especially in our last year in 18U.”

BVC BOYS SETTLE FOR SECOND

A week after defeating their arch rivals, the BVC 18U boys had their home tournament title snatched away from them on Sunday as Winman Strike took the final 25-19, 29-31, 15-10.

BVC hadn’t dropped a set until that point, winning five straight matches to get there.

“Obviously a tiring weekend, a lot of sets, but we got better as a team,” said middle blocker Nikos Tellidis.

“Unfortunate that we weren’t able to win the last game, but we definitely improved as a team over the weekend.”

The group is off until provincials, which take place in Steinbach on May 2-3.

The 18U boys are similar to the girls, with a strong Wheat City presence supplemented with some key athletes who put in the time and kilometres to help them run.

The two with the longest trek are Winnipeg’s Peter and Solomon Letain, who play for Glenlawn Collegiate but joined BVC this year.

“Peter, our (libero), had a really good weekend both this weekend and last weekend,” Tellidis said.

“It’s great, they’re definitely dedicated to the team and have been contributing all year. Both of them have played really well, so we’re thankful they take the time to come out and practise two hours away.”

Both 18U national championships are in Calgary on May 21-23.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com