OVA News

In a tournament dominated by powerhouse teams from Georgetown, one Burlington school almost willed its way to a David-versus- Goliath-type victory.
The pint-sized team from J. T. Tuck Public School persevered through the round robin of the Halton elementary public school volleyball championships Thursday at E. C. Drury High School in Milton.
After a semifinal win over another Burlington team, Rolling Meadows, Tuck had the unenviable task of attempting to upset the tournament favourite Stewarttown from Georgetown in the finals.
Tuck was severely undersized in a sport where height is often critical to success. However, the team managed to make the match interesting, and at one point during the second game led by as many as eight points….

Get the full story by Adam Johnston, The Burlington Post

What the Ontario Colleges Athletics Association stripped away, the Niagara women’s volleyball team is striving to put back — serve by serve.
Step one back into the win column was taken last night when the Knights swept visiting Lambton in straight sets for their first official victory of the 2007- 2008.
Unofficially, Niagara improved to 4-6 with the win over the Lions, but the OCAA ruled the team had to forfeit its first three victories after dressing a player who was academically ineligible to compete.
“Don’t remind me, I only think about it every day,” said head coach Kerby Bentley, who is coming resigned to the reality that the team will have to win out to have any hope of returning to the playoffs. Even with that, the Knights will need some help along the way.
“It’s not a lost cause, by no means, but it will still be very difficult,” he said of making the playoffs.

Get the full story from Bernd Franke, The Welland Tribune

Niagara College left the drama at home when it played St. Clair in men’s OCAA volleyball yesterday afternoon in Windsor.
Instead of allowing the Saints to linger under the net long enough to clinch a victory in five sets, as was the case in the season opener in Welland, the Knights were all business this time out in the long-awaited and much anticipated rematch.
“The guys were looking for payback, they prepared well for this game,” head coach Joel Mrak said after his team improved to 3-5 in league and to 7-11 overall with a three-set sweep of St. Clair.
Led by Steve Regier, who had 15 kills and three services aces for 18 points, and Tristan Woodburn, six kills, one block and an ace, the Knights won the rematch in convincing fashion, 3-0, (25-19, 25-18, 25-17).
That killer instinct was decidedly absent from Niagara’s side of the court in the first game of the home-and-home season series.
Get the full story from Bernd Franke, The Welland Tribune

The Mohawk Mountaineers have knocked the Humber Hawks off their undefeated perch in Ontario Colleges Athletic Association men’s volleyball. Mohawk rallied from a very shaky start for a 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-23) triumph which upped their record to 4-1 and dropped Humber to 6-1.
The Mountaineers trailed 11-3 in the first game when coach James Bradley called a rather vocal time out and while they didn’t win the set, they went toe-to-toe with the high flying Hawks and were rewarded in the end. While it seemed like Bradley was reading the riot act to his charges, he said it’s often more a case of trying to get his own energy into his players.
“That’s my style of coaching,” said Bradley…

Read more from Al Craig, Hamilton Scores!

Top high school volleyball players from across Halton took part in a boys’ all-star game for the first time in more than a decade.
The Volpe-Richardson Division (east Halton) all-stars edged the Poliziani/ Richardson Division (west Halton) all-stars 3-2 at Notre Dame Secondary School last Wednesday.
It’s hoped that the showcase of Halton talent will inspire elementary players to continue in the sports at the high school level, and encourage senior high school players to continue to play the sport at the college/ university level or in Ontario Volleyball Association adult leagues.
Read more from The Burlington Post

The Birchmount Park Collegiate Panthers boys quad-A volleyball head coach said he finally knows first-hand — after eight years of coaching — how great it feels to win it all.
The team won the OFSAA volleyball championship held in Barrie last weekend.
They defeated top seeded Mississauga Secondary School Lions, 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 28-26, 25-23).
“It was a really dramatic game,” said coach Bill MacKay.
“It was the best two teams in the province going at it. The fans got what they paid for.”
The Panthers, made up of 11 members, came together.
“It was their ability to play as team,” he said. “It wasn’t just some individuals out there, but rather they bought into our team philosophy. They worked really, really hard all season. They are all friends. They are a really tight group.”
Back at the beginning of the season the boys had a goal, MacKay added.

Read the full story, Toronto Community News

Kenora is much too far from Belleville to come home empty-handed.
So, when a gold medal was beyond reach, the Quinte Christian Eagles grabbed the antique bronze.
The Carleton Place Notre Dame defeated the Eagles in straight sets –25-22, 26-24 — in the third-place game of the 2008 OFSAA “A” senior boys volleyball championships Saturday in Kenora.
Quinte Christian dropped a 25-11, 25-16 decision to host team St. Thomas Aquinas in the championship semi-finals after defeating London Christian 25- 20, 25-21 in quarterfinal play.
St. Thomas Aquinas went on to defeat Welland Jean Vanier in a thrilling gold medal match: 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 19-25, 25-13).
Meanwhile, at the OFSAA “AA” tournament in Stratford, Eden High School of St. Catharines, won the gold medal over Dryden High, 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 27-25), while Ottawa’s E. S. Franco Cite defeated North Bay Widdifield in the bronze medal contest, 2-1 (17-25, 27-25, 15-10).
From notes from The Intelligencer:

“AAA” results from Kingston
UCC defeats Beatrice Desloges, for gold, 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-15). Regiopolis-Notre Dame wins bronze defeating Chatham-Kent, 2-1, (23-25, 28-26, 15-11).

“AAAA” results from Barrie
Birchmount Park Panthers defeat Mississauga SS Lions 3-1, (23-25, 25-14, 28-26, 25-23). Glebe CI Gryphons defeat Pine Ridge SS Pumas for bronze, 2-0, (25-15, 25-15)

The Stratford Central Rams could be a medal contender at the Ontario AA high school boys volleyball championships they are hosting this week.
They could just as easily find themselves out of the running.
The Rams, silver medalists at WOSSAA for the third year in a row, only got into the tournament as the hosts. But they were made the No. 3 seed this week, demonstrating the strength of their conference as well as their own potential.
“I’ve told them they can win any colour of medal depending on how they decide as a group to play,” said Ed Price, who coached Central teams to OFSAA gold in 1988, 1989 and 1992. “But they can also be way out of it. It’s up to them.”

Get the full story by Steve Rice, The Stratford Beacon Herald

Not so fast, fellas.
The home-court Grand River Renegades staved off a late-game charge from the Forest Heights Trojans to capture an unprecedented fourth straight regional junior boys Quad-A volleyball title last night.
The teams went the five-set distance (25-21, 25-14, 19-25, 14-25 and 15-12) last night for the third time this season. Last night’s match, played before a packed, boisterous house, threatened to be a repeat of the Waterloo County final played only days before.
In that league championship, the Rens also stormed to a two-set lead before surrendering the next three straight.
Rens coach Jeff Hunsberger had already seen that movie.
“I think the other night we’d thought we’d won it. (Last night) there was a lot more desire and the guys stepped up.”
Grand River’s inspirational leader Scott Foggo, 15, said their recent blown opportunity was not easily forgotten.

Get the full story from Christine Rivet, The Record

For the third year in a row, the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs senior boys volleyball team is the Southern Ontario Secondary School Association AAA champion.
With Bulldogs’ 6-foot-4 forward Tre Cunningham and 6- foot-3 middle Patrick Strzalkowski leading the way, the team defeated the Ancaster Royals 25-15, 25-17 in the championship game at Stamford
Collegiate in Niagara Falls last Wednesday.
“The finals went well, because we executed our game plan right from the start, and everything fell into place,” said Cunningham, who led all players with six kills and three winners. “Earlier we had some kinks, but by the end we pulled through.”
More from Joseph Cassidy, Niagara Falls Review