UBC Okanagan will welcome British Columbia's top six men's and women's college volleyball teams as host of the B.C. Colleges’ Athletic Association (BCCAA) 2007 provincial volleyball championships from February 22 to 24.
Two of the qualifying teams won't have to travel – the host Okanagan Lakers women's and men's volleyball teams are both ranked highly in their respective divisions.
"We're very excited about hosting the best teams in the province," says Rob Johnson, Director of Athletics and Recreation at UBC Okanagan. "It's particularly exciting to see both our Okanagan Lakers teams playing for the provincial title on home court. Both our teams won bronze last year and are looking to improve."
The current B.C. standings have the Lakers women in third with a record of 11-3, and the men in second at 11-3. Both teams have been ranked among the top five in the country for most of the season – currently the men are fourth and the women ranked ninth nationally.
"Our goal this season is to win a provincial championship," says Greg Poitras, coach of the men's team. "We are extremely excited to pursue that goal on our own court and we're looking forward to entertaining the volleyball fans of Kelowna as well as our student population."
All matches at the championship tournament will be played at the UBC Okanagan Gym. Women play at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. daily. Men play at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. daily. Tournament passes are $10; single-game admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students and seniors. Children under 12 get in free.
The BCCAA includes 14 member institutions. Teams earning gold medals in Kelowna later this month will go on to represent B.C. in the Canadian Colleges Athletics Association national championships from March 8 to 10. The women's national championships are hosted this year in Nanaimo by Malaspina University College, and the men's nationals are at Capilano College in North Vancouver.
For the latest BCCAA Volleyball standings, visit http://bccaa.cotr.bc.ca/volleyball.htm.
Find out more about the 2007 Provincials at UBC Okanagan at
http://www.ubc.ca/okanagan/vballprovs/welcome.html
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