The Moscrop Panthers dispatched Burnaby Central to finish the district boys' high school volleyball season undefeated.
The Panthers, ranked 10th in the province in the latest high school poll, defeated Central in straight sets in their final league of the season on Wednesday.
Moscrop cruised to a 25-10 win in the opening set behind the strong serving of Brandon Chin, who had four aces in the game.
In the second set, the Panthers substituted freely and came away with a 25-22 win.
In the final set, Zachary Or served up three straight aces early in the set, but Central made a game of it, taking the lead on an early Jason Peng kill down the line before surrendering the lead late in the game.
Central's Robbie Wright gave the host its biggest lead at 13-9 on a big block at the net, but Moscrop rallied to tie behind a huge set winner from junior J.J. Cross.
Cross, a Team B.C. prospect, then tied it up 19-19 with an emphatic service ace.
Kevin Apodaca gave the Panthers the lead, which they held for a 25-21 win.
"We didn't play our best, but you should have seen us on the weekend," said Moscrop assistant coach Ed Chin of the team's second straight tournament win at J.N. Burnett.
With the win, Moscrop will host the playoff final next week.
In a preliminary game, the Central senior girls swept a threeset matchup against Moscrop in a battle of 6-1 teams.
Boasting three junior players in its starting six, Central defeated the Panther girls 25-21, 25-14, 25-21.
"The girls just played amazing," said senior captain Kelsi Boroevich. "We had a really tough practice yesterday and we were prepared mentally. We were really ready to play the game."
The win moved Central into second place behind league champion Burnaby North, while the previous first-place Panthers tumbled into fourth place.
North took top spot following a 3-1 win over Burnaby Mountain in their final game of the season on Wednesday.
In October, Burnaby North defeated Central 3-1 in league play.
Burnaby South finished in third spot.
Playdowns for Lower Mainland seeding begin today and carry on into next week in Burnaby.
