Cyclone tame Cougars
The E.L. Crossley Cyclone punched their ticket to SOSSA Monday, but it was far from an easy task.
The defending Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) gold medalists were pushed to the limit by the Centennial Cougars in the Niagara District High School Athletic Association Zone 3 senior girls AA volleyball final at Crossley.
The Cyclone finally prevailed 24-26, 25-15, 25-7, 14-25, 15-10 in a dramatic match that took two hours and had Crossley head coach Michelle Gibson breathing a huge sigh of relief afterward.
“It was evenly matched and it could have gone either way, really,” Gibson said. “Going in to the fifth (set) is always hard on your nerves but I thought we really focused on doing the things we did in practice and really making the smart plays and we were able to pull it off.”
Gibson said the Cyclone did not take the gritty Cougars for granted.
“We didn’t think it was going to be easy,” she said. “We played Centennial before and knew they have a particularly strong player and they were playing great defence.
“I didn’t know it was going to five sets but we definitely knew it was going to be a game.”
The Cyclone are in a rebuilding year returning only four players — Grace Teal, Emma Hilts, Maddy Smith and Sydney Grummett — from last year’s championship squad.
“A lot of our players from last year graduated and moved on,” Gibson said. “We’re rebuilding and continuing hopefully a good volleyball program here and keep it going.”
Other members of the team are Ari Julie, Gwen Cudmore, Shayla Johnson, Jenna Calverly, Deanna Stickney and assistant coach Sara Bath.
The Cyclone now advance to the Southern Ontario Secondary School Associations playoffs Thursday in Hamilton where the top two finishers will advance to OFSAA.
“First or second. That’s what we’d like for SOSSA,” Gibson said. “There should be two teams advancing to OFSAA because of the gold medal last year. That team left a legacy to the whole association, to SOSSA. Someone gets that’s second entry, and wouldn’t it be great if it was us. No matter what, it’s a great legacy to leave.”
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