Kalissa Fellows came up big in the clutch as the Lake Cowichan Lakers beat Cowichan Secondary School for the Mid-Island midget girls volleyball championship in Lake Cowichan on Nov. 18.
The Lakers won the first game of the championship match 25-20, but the Cowichan Thunderbirds bounced back to win the second game 25-19, setting up a winner-takes-all final. The T-Birds were ahead 8-6 halfway through, and appeared ready to take the title with a 14-12 lead, needing one more point to win.
Kendall Bergstrom made an extra effort to keep the ball in play, and regained the serve for the Lakers, setting up Fellows's chance to shine.
"With the pressure of one missed serve to lose the match, Kalissa took control, serving the next point, and she and her team tied the game, forcing Cowichan to use their time out," coach Mike Waller said.
When the teams got back on the court, the Lakers scored the next two points to win the game 16-14 and take the title.
The meeting with Cow High in the final was a rematch of the Lakers' opening match, a 25-22, 25-14 Lake Cowichan win, in which setter Jordyn Waller set the pace.
In their second round-robin match, the Lakers squared off against Saltspring Island Middle School, who defeated the Lakers to win the 2013 midget girls championship.
The tables were turned this year, however, as Lake Cowichan won 25-10, 25-14.
Bergstrom led the way with strong passing and hitting in the third match as the Lakers beat the Duncan Christian Chargers 25-10, 25-19. Lake Cowichan wrapped up the round robin against Frances Kelsey, losing 25-21 in the opening game, then coming back to win the second 25-9, forcing a decisive third game that they also won.
As the first-place team after the round robin, the Lakers then faced the T-Birds in the final.