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Sarnia, ON
- For the fifth year in a row the senior boys
volleyball championship is heading back to St.
Clair, as the Colts defeated the Northern Vikings
3-2 in five sets.
Northern
was undefeated coming into the finals, while the
Colts only had the single lost to the Vikings
earlier in the season.
Game one
of the match started with a Viking lead, as Northern
opened up a six point gap
with an 8-2 score. But St. Clair would fight back to
tie it at 8-8, and would turn it around to take a
four point lead after Dylan Whitbread hit two aces
on service, and the Vikings put through a miss hit,
giving the Colts the 12-8 lead in a race to 25.
Northern
would respond in the game, Quinn Dowding would
provide the second of three Northern blocks, as the
Vikings would tie it at 13-13. Dowding would hit an
ace to take the lead, with Tom Dowding providing a
kill, as the Vikings opened up a four point lead on
the defending champions.
The back
and forth action would continue as St. Clair made a
charge back into the match as Joel Leckie provided a
block to bring the Colts to within one, but Rob
Hardick and Justin Zonneville would provide two
points for the Vikings, as they increase their lead
back to three. Hardick would finish the game with a
fake kill turned into a tip over, giving the Vikings
the first game 25-21.
Game two
would start much the same as the first, with the
Vikings taking the early 3-1 lead. But St. Clair
wouldn't allow them to get further ahead, as Kalen
Hellinga and Whitbread would spot in two kills to
bring the Colts to within one. The back and forth
action never let up, and with each Viking point to
increase the lead, Philip Tower would respond for
St. Clair, knocking down three kills in a row, all
for game tying points, as the game remained square
at 9-9.
Hellinga
would step up to help Tower in the game, knocking
down a kill and a service point to keep St. Clair
deadlocked with the Vikings, while Whitbread would
also add a two kills to keep it a 16-16 game. Adam
Waller would serve an ace for St. Clair, giving them
their first lead in the game 17-16, which would
prove to be a crucial turning point in the entire
match.
The Colts
would go on the expand their lead up to five points,
24-19 and look to close out the set. But Northern
hung around looking to crawl closer, as Zonneville
put in two points, and Tom Dowding a block to bring
Northern to within two. But after a lift hit, the
second game would be rewarded to the Colts, 25-22.
In
the third set, St. Clair would start with the early
3-1 lead, but Northern would be quick to retake it
over, after Quinn Dowding and Hardick each put in
points for a 4-3 Northern lead. But after tying it
back up at 5-5, St. Clair would begin to pull away,
opening up a five point lead. Northern would close
the gap back down to two, but Whitbread would get an
ace and a kill to put St. Clair up by six, 17-11.
Hardick
would provide back to back blocks for the Vikings,
but Northern began experiencing communication
problems, and were forcing balls long, giving the
Colts a six point, 24-18 lead. Tower would end the
set with a push over, giving St. Clair the 25-18
victory, and bringing them one game away from
repeating as champions.
St. Clair
took the early lead in the fourth game, opening up a
four point lead after a Whitbread ace to make it an
8-4 game. Hellinga would keep it at four points
throughout the middle of the match with three kills,
while Leckie and Tower would each provide power at
the net to increase the St. Clair lead quickly up to
17-9. Both teams would trade points and the Colts
would find themselves five points away from victory
with a 20-12 lead.
But
Northern would respond, as Tom Dowding would provide
a block and be in on a kill with Hardick for three
points, while Zonneville added a kill to cut the
lead down to four. Hardick would serve for an ace,
and a Colts net violation would tie the game at
22-22, as St. Clair blew an 8 point lead.
Tom
Dowding would bring a kill at the net, and the
Vikings would complete the comeback in the fourth
game after a St. Clair net violation, winning 25-23,
and sending it into a fifth and final set.
Northern
looked to keep the momentum form the fourth set,
opening up a 4-1 lead on St. Clair with three points
from Tom Dowding. Philip Tower would respond with
three kills of his own, giving St. Clair their first
lead in the final game 7-6. After trading points and
switching sides, the game would be locked at 10-10
in the first to 15 final game.
Hellinga
would put in two shots, and with a Northern long
hit, St. Clair was two points away from closing out
the match. But again Tom Dowding would come through
with two kills to close the gap to one point, and
Zonneville would serve for an ace to tie it at
13-13. Tom Dowding would then put down one more
point, as the Vikings now served for match point
with a 14-13 win.
But the
Colts would hang on and the two teams would trade
points, as Northern held three match point
opportunities, but St. Clair managed to defend them
all off. Philip Tower would once again come up huge
for St. Clair, knocking down the tying kill for a
16-16 tie, while also pushing a deep ball to the
back for a 17-16 lead. With the Colts first match
point, they wouldn't waste time closing it out, as
Tower would finish it off with a kill, and give the
Colts the game 18-16, and the championship 3-2.
"It was a
very exciting great night," said Colts coach Laurie
Hamill. "They played well, they played up to their
potential and that is all we asked of them."
Hamill
credits the momentum swings in volleyball to both
the St. Clair turn around in the second set, as well
as the Northern turn when St. Clair had a chance to
close out the match in the fourth set. St. Clair
used the momentum to drive for points, as the taller
Vikings were able to get by the Vikings with their
hits at the net.
"We
expected them to hit over our block," said Hamill.
"We just played good defence and dug it up."
Northern
was suffering from injuries heading into the game,
as well as injuries during. Northern's starting
middle forward Manwinder Sidhu went down in the
second set after landing awkwardly on his ankle and
did not return to the game, while Rob Hardick also
landed wrong on his ankle but stayed in the game.
Quinn Dowding was said to be playing with a broken
wrist.
"I got an
incredibly gutty team," said Vikings coach Mark
Pretty. "Everyone doesn't realize how hurt they
were. I'm proud of my guys. It was a great game,
anyone could have won."
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