Cyclone still in hunt at OFSAA
The E.L. Crossley Cyclone senior boys volleyball team came oh so close to an excellent start Thursday at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA championships in St. Catharines.
The 14th-seeded Cyclone opened the tournament with a 2-1 (22-25, 25-14 and 15-7) victory over eighth-seeded Francis Libermann in the morning before falling 2-1 (22-25, 25-19 and 12-15) to third-seeded Oliver Mowat in the afternoon match.
“It was a great start to the day. This morning we played Libermann and dropped our first set and then came back to win the next two,” coach Michelle Gibson said.
Crossley then gave Sir Oliver Mowat all it could handle in the afternoon.
“That felt really great. I thought we played well for the most part. They are a strong team and well coached and it maybe came down to just a couple of errors.”
With only one player back from the Cyclone team that went to OFSAA in 2022, Gibson and co-coach Jess Kropac rely on Wilson and do all they can to keep their team loose.
“We do a lot of fun and team-building activities as well aside from the volleyball game. It’s kind of nice. They enjoy the whole experience and it’s not just all about wins and losses,” she said. “It is about spending time with your team, having a great time and new opportunities.”
The coaches’ message tonight to their team will be to look ahead.
“We play point by point, game by game and that we always look forward,” Gibson said. “We can’t change what happened in the past but we can learn from it and make better decisions moving forward.”
Cyclone captain Austin Wilson is glad to be back at OFSAA.
“I am really happy to be here. That was the goal since last year when we ended up losing at SOSSA (Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association). This year, we had the mindset that we wanted to go and we’re happy.”
Wilson feels his previous OFSAA experience is an advantage .
“It is really good because I have that leadership role on the team being a captain and also with the experience of being here before, I can kind of guide the guys through some of the challenges we will be facing.”
He felt the Cyclone had a solid opening day.
“I thought we played really well. We came back and won our first match. We rallied back perfectly and almost had the same thing happen in the second game and we just came up a little short in the final set but that was a really good team. They were ranked third and we’re ranked 14th and I am not upset that we ended up losing that one.”
Wilson feels it is an advantage to play close to home.
“It’s not a far drive — it’s only 25 minutes or so — so you get to sleep in and get a good sleep at least,” he said. “We are not together as a team like we would be in a hotel but I am honestly fine with that. The coaches have us going out tonight for a team dinner and last night after our team picture, we went out and did a scavenger hunt activity. They are still doing a really good job of getting us to bond together.”
There is no secret to what the Cyclone have to do Friday.
“It’s the same thing we had to do to win that second entry match at SOSSA. We have to battle, play as a team and if we do our thing, I think we have a good chance,” Wilson said.
The Cyclone play ninth-seeded Samuel Genest at 10 a.m. at Governor Simcoe and 19-seeded Hammarskjold at 1 p.m. at Sir Winston Churchill.
Consolation quarter-finals will start at 4:30 p.m. and the championship quarter-finals will start at 6 p.m. Games are being played at Governor Simcoe, Laura Secord, Sir Winston Churchill and St. Catharines Collegiate.
Consolation semifinals will be played Saturday at 9 a.m. and the championship semifinals will start at 11. Games will be played at Governor Simcoe and Sir Winston Churchill.
Both medal matches and the consolation final will be contested at Churchill. The finals are scheduled to start at 1 (consolation), 3 (bronze) and 5 p.m (gold).
