Bulldogs outlast Cyclone for SOSSA volleyball title
Next man up can often be an overused expression in the world of sports. That expression, however, could not have been more literal for the Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs senior boys volleyball team on their way to a Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association (SOSSA) AA title.
Leading 2-1 over the visiting E.L. Crossley Cyclone, the Bulldogs lost one-third of their starting line-up, but not to injury. Both James Lindsay and Cole Lewis were forced to duck out early in order to make their way to their SOSSA football semifinal at A.N. Myer against Hamilton Westmount.
This did not deter their teammates as they want on to close out the match with a thrilling 31-29 win in the fourth game, leading to a 3-1 final (25-16, 19-25, 26-24, 31-29) and a SOSSA championship in front of their home crowd.
Churchill coach Garrett Goodbrand was aware of the fact that he may lose two players before the end of the game; however, he felt confident that his bench would step up.
“The message was literally next man up mentality,” he said. “Just told them that if you think you are about to lose this set, you’re right. But if you believe we can play with these guys, then you’re right. There has to be a belief that we can win and my guys had that belief.”
While Lindsay and Lewis were headed to the gridiron, co-captain Owen Scott and grade 10 standout Jaden Scott were outstanding, leading the team in both kills and blocks. Scott was also well-aware of the importance of containing Crossley’s Austin Wilson.
“Wilson’s a great player, we knew that, we had to triple on him and we worked on that in practice all week,” he said. “They beat us in the regular season and we didn’t want that to happen again. Also, we really wanted to win after the guys left (for football) – we didn’t want them to feel bad.”
Although the Cyclone came up short, they have a chance to gain the second SOSSA bid for OFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) when they face St. Paul in a challenge game Friday at 9:30 a.m. at Sir Winston.
The challenge facing Crossley coach Michelle Gibson will be getting her team ready with such a short turn around.
“We need to get them to refocus, get some rest and we’ll be ready,” she said. “We always play this game point by point, game by game, set by set. We get a fresh start tomorrow.”
As one of the leaders of his team, Wilson echoed Gibson’s remarks when it came time to get his team ready for the early morning game.
“I did say a couple words I can’t say here,” he noted, with a wry smile. “But I did tell them that we need to come, just battle, play our game and get it done.”
Earlier in the day both Churchill and Crossley needed five sets to advance.
The Bulldogs knocked off Niagara Catholic Athletic Association champion St. Paul 25-16, 15-25, 15-25, 25-11, 15-9, while Crossley squeaked by Hamilton’s Sir Allan McNab 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-13.
Members of the Bulldogs include: Patrick O’Farrell, Ray Lindsay, Max Hall, James Lindsay, Lewis, Ethan Enns, Brayden Steele, Hoff, Leo Uttley, Aiden Laundry, Scott, Andrew Lessey, Lukas Ritchie.
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