Raiders ousted in SOSSA semifinals

The Holy Cross Raiders senior girls volleyball team saw its season come to an end with a 3-0 loss (6-25, 9-25 and 14-25) to the Dundas Valley Gryphons Friday morning at Holy Cross in the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association AA semifinals.

“We were flat today, we were missing a couple of starters and it was a game where we didn’t play well,” Holy Cross coach Marc Ferretti said. “But all respect to Dundas Valley. They are a pretty good team and we are a good team. It was not our day but I am proud of them. We put up a good fight and we got our board championship. We lose quite a few kids but it was a good overall season.”

Holy Cross won the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association AA championship by defeating the Lakeshore Catholic Gators 3-1 in the semifinals and Saint Francis 3-2 in the finals.

There was plenty to like about the Holy Cross season.

“There was lots of effort, lots of fun and there was good passion with those kids,” he said. “We only have one true volleyball kid and the rest are good athletes with good passion and heart. To do as well as we did, that shows a lot for the kids.”

It requires a different approach when working with a team lacking a volleyball background.

“The co-coach, Brianne Crnkovic, and I really work at trying to get passion and effort from the kids. We work hard on the fundamentals and teaching them the basics.”

Leading the way all season for the Raiders has been Mairead Newhouse.

“She is more of a basketball player but she is an athlete per se. She is also a good soccer player and she is a fun, passionate volleyball player. She gets to have fun in volleyball without having eyes looking at her all the time like basketball,” Ferretti said. “She has gotten quite a few looks from post secondary basketball teams which is nice to see. She has been a captain for the past two years and it has been nice to watch her work grow through the program.”

The Grade 12 student has been playing volleyball for fun since Grade 6 and she continued on throughout high school.

“It is all about the team bonding. I like playing with my friends and that is the main reason why I do it,” the 17-year-old said. “It is also another way to stay active.”

The St. Catharines Rebels travel basketball player is looking to play hoops at the post secondary level and has had some interest from Brock. She is also considering attending Guelph or Queen’s.

“It will be the program I get into. I’m still waiting on both schools and we will just see from there.”

She is applying to Queen’s for health sciences, Guelph for biomedical sciences and Brock for neuroscience.

Newhouse feels playing volleyball is good cross training for basketball.

“It’s staying active and communicating with other people.”

Newhouse was happy with the team’s NCAA season.

“Because we are all friends on the team we all worked well together and the communication was there. We have a fun time and everyone has a positive attitude.”

She’s not sure what happened to the Raiders in the SOSSA semifinals.

“Maybe it was the early morning. I don’t know.”