As part of Tuesday’s council meeting, the City of Pitt Meadows took time to officially recognize the achievements of the senior girls volleyball team from Pitt Meadows Secondary.

The 2022/23 team was crowned the winner of the Fraser North District Championship in November, which qualified them for provincials, marking the first time Pitt Meadows has sent a senior girls team to volleyball provincials in decades.

READ MORE: Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows teams head to volleyball provincials

However, a severe snowstorm on Nov. 29 shut down most of the city and killed the team’s hopes of tasting gold at provincials, with School District 42 ruling that the team couldn’t travel to Lake Country for the Nov. 30 start of the tournament.

READ MORE: Pitt Meadows volleyball players forced to miss provincials

But rather than focus on that unfortunate decision, Mayor Nicole MacDonald decided to shine a light on the fact that the team still won the district championship, inviting the coach and several of the players to the Jan. 24 council meeting.

“Since the start of September, the Pitt Meadows senior girls volleyball team would take every opportunity to own the court and put on a game like no other,” said MacDonald.

“Winning the Fraser North banner for the first time in decades is truly a ‘Pitt Meadows proud’ moment. The banner will hang in Pitt Meadows Secondary gym to inspire future Marauders to play with integrity, passion, and grit in an effort to bring home a provincial banner to hang alongside of it.”

The coach and team members present were then given a certificate of achievement and invited to take a picture with council members.

Afterward, Sue Haras spoke on behalf of the team as their long-time coach.

“I am super proud of my team,” said Haras. “My players truly represented Pitt Meadows with grace, dignity, and resilience. So as a community, you should be very very proud of them.”

“Even though we had a big disappointment, this has helped make it a little bit easier.”