Cyclone advance to SOSSA
The E.L. Crossley Cyclone senior girls volleyball team is hoping to make up for lost time.
The Cyclone were denied a chance to compete for an Ontario championship last year when the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations playoffs were cancelled due to COVID.
“It would be so amazing with our season getting cut short last year,” Crossley co-captain Kennedy Hall said of a possible trip to OFSAA. “It was awful. It was terrible. But I’m so excited the girls and I have a shot at this. It’s been our goal since Day 1.”
Co-captain Alaina Larochelle has been waiting for a chance to go to OFSAA since she began high school.
“It would be so great,” she said. “I’ve been wanting to go ever since I heard about it. I even thought there was OFSAA in Grade 9 (junior) and I was so disappointed.”
The Cyclone took the first step toward their goal Thursday, defeating the Westlane Spartans 25-9, 25-15, 25-9 to capture the Niagara Regional Athletic Association zone 3 AA championship.
The Cyclone now advance to the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association (SOSSA) AA playoffs Friday, Feb. 24 at Sir Winston Churchill. SOSSA will send two representatives to OFSAA which is being held at both Sir Winston and Crossley.
“Yes, it would be amazing to go to OFSAA,” Crossley co-coach Jessica Kropac said. “We’ve always been trying to prepare for that. It would be a great end goal.
“One of the challenges was last year OFSAA unfortunately got cancelled. So it was hard. The girls didn’t get a chance to go and didn’t really see the big picture.”
The Cyclone finished the regular season with a perfect 6-0 record.
Kropac, who coaches with Michelle Gibson, said a big part of Crossley’s success comes down to how well the players work together.
“We’re very lucky to work with such a kind group of girls,” Kropac said. “The team chemistry has been amazing. They have worked together for a long time.”
Kropac praised Hall and Larochelle as amazing leaders, but was quick to point to a strong group of veterans on the roster as well.
“I think we rely on Kennedy and Alaina but we rely on our seniors as well,” Kropac said. “It’s been a great group of role models for the young girls to look up to and they’ve been really great making sure the team gets better as a whole.
“They bring a lot of energy and talent and a lot of kindness as well to the team.”
Hall, who plays at the club level with Larochelle on the Niagara Rapids, is enjoying her final season at the high school level.
“This is honestly so exciting,” she said. “Our team is so strong this year. We’ve been working so well together and every game feels so exciting with everybody coming together.”
Larochelle feels she works well with Hall.
“I feel we both try and bring positive energy and bring things in from our Rapids group and bring people together. Kennedy brought in a really good drill and it gets everyone going. I just try and make everything loud and get everyone going.”
Other members of the Cyclone are: Claire Anderson, Kaitlyn Brophy, Lauren Cudmore, Regan Hildebrandt, Olivia Jones, Jocelyn Mercuri, I’Jayah Simmonds, Tessa Wurfel and Ava Young.
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