SHERBROOKE, QC – For their last performance at the 2013 Canada Summer Games, Team BC volleyball ladies rocked the house today in an exciting gold-medal match, facing off against Team Alberta.
Team BC came out strong from the start, suprising many by easily handling Alberta in the first two sets 25-21, 25-13. Alberta turned it around in the third, taking the set 25-13. In the fourth, Alberta continued to use their size advantage, powering past BC 25-20 and forcing a 5th and final set. Team BC was defeated 15-9, earning a well-deserved silver medal
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"It's tough to end the tournament with a loss but that's not the sum of our summer,” said coach Chris Dahl. “It always takes time, but the acknowledgement of accomplishment will come for our athletes. This is but a portion of their career as an athlete and their development as people."
On the men’s side, Team BC faced off against Team Ontario for the bronze medal, coming off a tough loss the night before in the semifinal against Team Alberta.
BC came out firing in the first two sets, stunning Ontario with scores of 25-14, 24-13. In the third, Ontario battled back to take the set 19-25. The fourth set was exciting with both teams playing some great volleyball. In the end, Team BC prevailed and earned themselves a bronze medal, inching out Ontario 25-23.
"It was a great game this morning and our team is extremely pleased with the result,” said captain Nick Del Bianco (Langley) after the match. “We responded very well from our loss last night and put together our best performance of the tournament to win the bronze medal. It's been a blessing playing with these guys and representing team BC."
After the dust had settled, coach Ben Josephson added “This was a fantastic finish to a great tourney. The boys improved with every match throughout the event which is all a coach can ask for. A couple more plays or bounces and our medal color could have been different but it's like that in all great tournaments like this one. The level of talent and preparation was so high across the board, it was an honor for us to get to compete and help Team BC win a medal and score some valuable flag points."
Repeat gold for women’s soccer
The day ended with another exciting match-up with BC’s soccer team taking on crowd favourites Team Quebec for gold. As defending Canada Games champions, Team BC came out with a strong offense.
The ladies stormed out of the gate with the first goal scored on a penalty kick by Sam Dion (Surrey), at the 9:00 mark. Keeping up the momentum, Seina Marie Faith Kashmina (Burnaby) scored the game’s second goal.
Quebec came back to tie it up 2-2 and around the 37:00 mark, BC’s Dion scored a header, her second goal of the game, bringing for a score of 3-2 oing into the second half. The second half of the game was all about defense, with solid performances by Rachel Frances Jones (North Vancouver) and Aman Shergill (Surrey).
“Each day, this group was put against a difficult opponent and came through with tremendous performances on both sides of the ball,” said coach Jesse Symons. “The team showed unrelenting passion and unity. Fully deserving of being national champions at the Canada Summer Games.”
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About Team BC
Every four years the Province of British Columbia assembles a team of athletes, coaches, managers and mission staff to represent the province at Canada's premiere multi-sport events - the Canada Winter Games, the Canada Summer Games and the Western Canada Summer Games. Representing the best in BC, they are known as Team BC. The Team BC program is more than British Columbia's best; it is also about building excellence. For some athletes, the Canada Games are a goal along the way to what they hope will be success in sport at major multi-sport Games including Olympic and Paralympic Games.
About the Canada Games
The Canada Games are a national multi-sport competition with participation from every province and territory in Canada. The Games are held every two years, alternating between winter and summer. The 2013 Canada Summer Games will be held August 2 – 17, 2013 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, bringing together approximately 4,500 athletes who will be competing in 20 disciplines, along with coaches, managers and officials from coast to coast.
For more information on Team BC, including latest results, athlete profiles and calendar of upcoming events, visit www.teambc.org. High resolution images are available for download through flickr.com or directly on Team BC’s website.
Team BC Media Contact in Sherbrooke:
Tina Sarazin
Media Manager, Team BC
Mobile: 778-989-8462
tinasarazin@gmail.com