On October 9, the St. George’s Varsity Volleyball team travelled to Nanaimo for the annual Mariners tournament. With only one substitute available and a demanding stretch of six games over two days, many of the players had to play entire matches with minimal rest during and between games. A still frame taken during a timeout shows exhausted players lying across the gym floor.

“We were struggling to keep up — we never had any time to rest,” said Ricky, a setter.

Despite the tiring schedule, the team closed out the first day with an upset over Nanaimo Christian School, the most dominant team in their pool. After losing their first two games, strong serving and capitalizing on unforced errors helped St. George’s secure a convincing two-set victory.

Carrying momentum from yesterday’s upset, Saints found themselves up 10-2 to start the second day against a much stronger Pacific Christian School. The Pacers struggled with their passing, allowing aggressive serves to disrupt their offense. The two teams then traded points to close out the set. “They thought we were an easy game … You should’ve seen the look on their coach’s face!” recalled Coach Sandy, ecstatic  about the set win. Despite the strong start, St. George’s ultimately fell in a close third set, narrowly missing out on Tier 1 playoffs.

Despite the loss, the varsity team finished first in Tier 2 and placed 11th out of 28 teams overall, ending a difficult weekend on a high note.