A very promising group of young volleyball players is putting Merritt’s name on the map.

The Merritt Secondary School Grade 8 girls team has enjoyed considerable success this season, and is making some waves within the volleyball community.

Tuesday night, the MSS Grade 8s hosted the St. Ann’s Crusaders and Westsyde Whundas in round one of the playoffs.

The host Panthers had little trouble disposing of their guests in straight sets, defeating the Crusaders 25-16, 25-23 and the Whundas 25-16, 25-19.

The Merritt Grade 8 girls, who are coached by Dwayne Suzuki and Shelly Moorhead, move onto the zone finals Thursday night in Kamloops. The team had a 6-2 record in regular-season play.

This past weekend, the Grade 8 girls squad took part in a 10-team tournament at TRU.

The Panthers emerged from their five-team pool in second place, and played powerhouse South Kamloops in one of two semi-finals.

The matches were timed, and total-point scores determined who advanced. At the end of the allotted time, both the Panthers and Titans had 44 points, necessitating a special ‘free-ball” tie-breaker. SKSS edged MSS 4-3.

Merritt Secondary School sent a very youthful quartet of swimmers to the B.C. High School Championships in Richmond on the weekend. The foursome was comprised of (left to right) Jensen Cavaliere (Grade 9), Haley Zabek (Grade 8), Maddie Shea (Grade 11) and Laura Lefebvre (Grade 8). To read how they did, turn to page 29. Photo courtesy of Stef Zabek

Merritt Secondary School sent a very youthful quartet of swimmers to the B.C. High School Championships in Richmond on the weekend. The foursome was comprised of (left to right) Jensen Cavaliere (Grade 9), Haley Zabek (Grade 8), Maddie Shea (Grade 11) and Laura Lefebvre (Grade 8). To read how they did, turn to page 29. Photo courtesy of Stef Zabek

The Merritt girls shook off the disappointment of their narrow loss and went on to defeat Brock in straight sets to earn the bronze medal.

“Both Shelly and I are really pleased with our girls’ play,” Suzuki said. “The team has shown steady improvement since day one. They are beginning to understand the 6-2 offence that we’re trying to run.”

Meanwhile, the MSS senior girls volleyball team was over in Vernon competing in the Okanagan high school AA championships.

The senior Panthers were in tough against their Interior opponents, winning just one of four matches on Friday and Saturday. The victory was in round robin play against Revelstoke. Losses were to Kalamalka and host Clarence Fulton Secondary.

The gritty MSS team, with five Grade 10s in the lineup, bowed out of the competition in the quarterfinals, losing 26-24, 25-23 to their zone rivals from Westsyde in Kamloops.

“The girls had a great season and played really well,” first-year coach Michael Russo said.

Wrapping up high school sports, the Merritt Secondary School swim team, coached by Central Elementary School principal Leroy Slanzi, had its 4 x 200-metre freestyle relay team on deck at the B.C. high school championships in Richmond on the weekend.

Competing against high school swimmers from all grades, the very young MSS team — comprised of Haley Zabek and Laura Lefebvre (Grade 8), Jensen Cavaliere (Grade 9) and Madison Shea (Grade 11) — knocked 1.5 seconds off their PB (personal best) to finish 11th overall with a time of two minutes, 16.49 seconds.