A packed house surrounded feature court at Tradex in Abbotsford on Sunday afternoon as Seaside Volleyball Club battled their rivals, Fraser Valley Volleyball Club (FVVC) for the 16U Boys Provincial Championship.

Seaside came out swinging, right out of the gate, taking the first set, 25-14. The second set would see FVVC battle back, winning 25-21. In the final set, Seaside would set the tone early and not look back, winning 15-10.

For MVP Talon McMullin, this was his second Provincial Championship in as many years with Seaside.

“We played as a team today,” said McMullin as he celebrated with his teammates. “We got our passes, we got our sets, we all trusted each other and in the end we were able to pull through.”

Like most volleyball players who spend a lot of time in the gym with teammates, the team is almost like a second family for McMullin. But with one teammate in particular, he is family.

McMullin’s twin brother Takoda has been by his brother’s side since both of them first touched a volleyball, winning a Junior Boys High School Provincial Championship together with Earl Marriott this past fall.

“It’s so much fun,” said McMullin. “I’ve done this with my brother so many times, we’ve always played together in tournaments and beach tournaments…we’re connected. It’s a pressure having him there and I’m blessed to have him on my team.”

Teammate, Ben Francois, said that it was McMullin’s energy was key to keeping the team’s spirits up all game. He was also quick to complement the team’s bench for their contributions in the win.

“Our whole bench was amazing and they were really loud tonight,” Francois said. “To pull out the win in the third set feels really good.”

Coming into the game, coach Carson Kauenhowen’s game plan was very simple – just keep playing like they have all year long.

All year long we’ve come out strong, we’ve served tough, we’ve put other teams in trouble and we just needed to continue to play confident and even-keeled,” Kauenhowen said.

Coming into the tournament during the final few practices, Kauenhowen talked to his team about purposeful communication and looking after each other.

“All 13 guys that were here this weekend did an excellent job in supporting their teammates,” Kauenhowen said. “On the floor or on the bench, everyone contributed and it was a full team win.”

Seaside’s focus now shifts to the National Championships in Edmonton where the team hopes to cap off the year with a National Title.

16U Boys Volleyball Medalist

Tier 1

1- Seaside

2- FVVC

3- Ducks HP

Tier 2

1- T2VB Crew

2- Kootenay

3- Crush

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