Surrey's Earl Marriott Mariners open the season at No. 1 in the first B.C. senior boys Triple A Top 10 rankings.The defending B.C. champion Mariners will play Friday and Saturday at the UBC Invitational. (Photo by Paul Yates property of Vancouver Sports Pictures 2019. All Rights Reserved)
Feature High School Boys Volleyball

B.C. Boys Top 10 Volleyball Rankings: AAA No. 1 Earl Marriott & AA No. 1 MEI each on stage this weekend at 32-team UBC Invitational

LANGLEY — The Earl Marriott Mariners, who open the new B.C. Triple A senior boys campaign as the preseason No. 1 team, would love to see history repeat itself.

Last season, Surrey’s Mariners topped the Van Tech Talismen 3-0 in the B.C. AAA final at the Langley Events Centre.

A victory this season would not only give Earl Marriott a title repeat, it would bookend the back-to-back crowns the program won in 2013 and ’14.

The Mariners, along with a gaggle of other top teams, will look to round into top early-season form at the UBC Invitational set to begin its two-day run Friday at historic War Memorial Gymnasium.

The 32-team event, which wraps up Saturday, is star-studded to say the least, with the top eight AAA teams in B.C. all represented in the field.

As well, five of the top 10-ranked Double A teams will also take part, including two top Abbotsford-based teams in the form of the No. 1 MEI Eagles, and the No. 7 defending B.C.champion Abbotsford Christian Knights.

Here are the first set of rankings for the 2018-19 season courtesy of the B.C. High School Boys Volleyball Association.

TRIPLE A

1 Earl Marriott Mariners (Surrey)

2 Claremont Spartans (Victoria)

3 Mt. Boucherie Bears (Kelowna)

4 Kelowna Owls

5 Oak Bay Barbers

6 Argyle Pipers (North Vancouver) 

7 Mt. Baker Wild (Cranbrook)

8 Riverside Rapids (Port Coquitlam)

9 Seaquam Seahawks (North Delta)

10 Yale Lions (Abbotsford)

Honourable mention — Penticton Lakers, Burnaby North Vikings, Eric Hamber Griffins (Vancouver)

DOUBLE A

1 MEI Eagles (Abbotsford)

2 Langley Christian Lightning

3 College Heights Cougars (Prince George)

4 Pacific Christian Pacers (Victoria)

5 George Elliot Coyotes (Lake Country)

6 Langley Fundamental Titans

7 Abbotsford Christian Knights

8 Mark Isfeld Ice (Courtenay)

9 Kelly Road Roadrunners (Prince George)

10 Prince Margaret Mustangs (Penticton)

Honourable mention — Duchess Park Condors (Prince George), McRoberts Strikers (Richmond), St. Michaels University School Blue Jags

SINGLE A

1 Vernon Christian Royals

2 Centennial Christian Seahawks(Terrace)

3 Credo Christian Kodiaks (Langley)

4 Kelowna Christian Knights

5 Mt. Sentinel Wildcats (South Slocan)

6 Cedars Christian Eagles (Prince George)

7 St. Andrews Sabres (Victoria)

8 Ebenezer Canadian Reformed Auroras (Smithers)

9 Unity Christian Flames(Chilliwack)

10 Fernie Falcons

Honourable mention — Vancouver Christian Phoenix, Chetwynd Cavaliers

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