When Ella Tereposky stepped up to serve the final points of the B.C. AAA volleyball championship, she wasn’t worried. The Holy Cross Crusader had written the Hebrew word for love on her thumb and had shared a prayer with her teammates before the game. She served seven points, and the Holy Cross Crusaders became the 2025 provincial AAA champions.
“I knew the Lord would carry me through it,” she told The B.C. Catholic. “In that final moment as a Crusader, I was overwhelmed with joy.”
One provincial championship is a milestone for any high school. At Holy Cross Regional Secondary in Surrey, the senior girls achieved the feat twice — first capturing the B.C. AAA volleyball title in November and then following it up with the B.C. AA basketball championship on Feb. 28 at the Langley Events Centre.
For several players, the victories were connected not just by talent but by a team culture shaped by friendship and faith.
The tale of how the Holy Cross senior girls volleyball team won the 2025 provincial championship is as good as a sports story gets: a heartbreaking first day, a fight through doubt and rivalry, and a final match against one of the teams they lost to on day one, with faith and friendship through the whole journey.
Despite high rankings going into the tournament, the Crusaders had a rough start. The Surrey team lost two games to Point Grey and Crofton House in a disappointing early performance. For many teams, this would have been destabilizing enough. But the Crusaders didn’t let it get them down, and before the final game they called Holy Cross school chaplain Father Richard Conlin to lead them in a pre-game prayer.
As one parent, Katrina Amurao-Bellosillo, wrote in a Facebook post shortly after the victory: “These girls prayed before every match. They prayed in the huddle. They prayed quietly between points. Their confidence wasn’t in rankings or momentum. Their confidence came from knowing who grounded them. It would have been easy to shrink. To doubt. To tense up. Instead, they prayed. They protected the team. They rose.”
Leianna Bellosillo recalled the pre-game prayer: “Our team gathered for a FaceTime call with [Father Rich], and his prayer stayed with us on the court. During the game, I felt a shift,” she said. “I felt a sense of God’s presence that I hadn’t experienced before. Through this experience, I’ve learned that when I play with joy and share that light with others, I’m not just playing a game; I’m connecting with God.”
Coach Bree Grandia said the final game against Point Grey was the best volleyball the girls had ever played. “The girls were on another level,” she told the Surrey Now-Leader shortly after their win. “I don’t even know how to describe it; it was just like this joy. They were playing for each other and just felt so free, with no pressure, and played the best volleyball they’ve ever played. It was beautiful, an absolutely beautiful thing to watch.”
While many news outlets covered the skill and dedication of the team, one detail of their success slipped through the secular cracks: the players’ dedication to their faith and the support of the school chaplain. Grandia sings the praises of Father Conlin. “He was available to the team so consistently, and he made an effort to develop relationships with them — our team and the whole school,” she told The B.C. Catholic.
Father Conlin would often stop by practice on the way to the school weight room, talking with players and sharing with the group. In addition to leading pre-game prayers at home games, he would even make plans with the girls to come and hear confessions on their schedules. The chaplain’s effect on the team was stronger than point scoring and game wins. Alyssia Palma, winner of the tournament MVP award, said Father Conlin was a large part of her renewed interest in her faith.
“The first time I went to confession with Fr. Rich, my mindset changed when it came to God, my life, and sports,” she said. Palma said it was both his spiritual wisdom and his history of playing Division 1 golf before discerning a call to the priesthood that inspired her.
“As a senior on this team, it was my responsibility to lead prayer in most games. I took the responsibility with gratitude,” Palma said. “Before every game, we thanked the Lord for the game he’s given us, the people he’s given us, and the love he continues to show us daily. Without him, our Shepherd, we would be lost. I’m truly grateful that Father Rich has given me the opportunity to find my pathway to God again.”
Tereposky said that even though she isn’t Catholic, Father Conlin gave her a deeper understanding of Christianity and how to live as a “follower of Christ” in all areas of her life, including sports. “Father Rich showed me that people within the Church are not separate from the rest of us. They are human too, deeply faithful, and deeply loved by God,” she said. “Seeing that was incredibly meaningful and shifted the way I understand both leadership and faith.”
The culture built during volleyball carried forward into basketball season. Three athletes — Palma, Isla Iannuzzi, and Meghan McCash — were part of both the volleyball championship team and the school’s provincial basketball title team. While Father Conlin’s involvement was most closely associated with the volleyball season, Palma said the habits formed there continued. “I try to take the role of leading prayer because I know as a Grade 12 and a leader on the team, that’s part of my job,” she said.
Before the provincial basketball final, the team gathered to pray, often beginning with a Hail Mary. Palma said the focus was on gratitude and trust. “We wanted to trust that God is giving us the right path,” she said.
The team had been playing together since Grade 8, and their trajectory had not always been smooth. Last year, they entered the volleyball provincial tournament ranked first in the province and finished third — a result that stung.
“That disappointment became fuel,” Palma said. “Now I go to God, not just when I need something, but carrying him with me through everything I do. Sports is a lot of mental stuff. Knowing that I can trust God and trust myself with the gifts that God gave me helps a lot.”
The basketball championship game did not begin smoothly. According to Iannuzzi, the Crusaders needed time to settle in.
“I feel like the first two quarters we were playing a lot of individual basketball,” she said.
At halftime, the team regrouped. “We came together after halftime and really started clicking.”
Iannuzzi also reflected on how the team’s approach had matured since the previous year.
“I feel like we had a lot more fun this year,” she said. “Last year we went in being ranked high and we were honestly a little too serious at times — we would take that seriousness out on each other. Basketball is about being with your team and having fun. This year we did that a lot, and I feel like that’s what allowed us to come together and work towards what we wanted.”
Palma pointed to trust — in one another and in their preparation — as the turning point.
“All the hard work we put in — team meetings, practices, all the technical and mental stuff — worked out in the end and really helped us succeed.”
For Iannuzzi, the championship also reflected the bond among players who had spent years competing side by side.
“I feel like with basketball, we were all a lot closer,” she said. “We’ve been playing together forever.”
For Palma, both seasons ultimately pointed beyond the scoreboard.
“We play for our team and to win,” she said, “but also for God.”
