Flyers survive against Bulldogs
Eden’s hopes of winning its 16th straight medal at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ senior boys volleyball championships are still alive.
But it was anything but easy Wednesday against the Sir Winston Bulldogs in the Niagara Region High School Athletic Association Zone 4 AAA final.
The Flyers had won their 15 straight medals at the OFSAA AA level but an increase in the school’s population meant Eden would have to make it past AAA Churchill to get to the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association championships. Churchill’s program is no slouch as evidenced by the school winning OFSAA AAA silver medals in two of the last three years before the pandemic hit.
Both teams completed regular season play with 5-1 regular season records. Eden beat Sir Winston Churchill 3-1 Oct. 27 and Churchill beat Eden 3-1 Nov. 3 setting the stage for Wednesday’s clash of the titans. The two teams didn’t disappoint. Churchill took the first game 25-20 and then saw the Flyers take a 2-1 advantage with back-to-back 25-21 triumphs. The Bulldogs rallied to win the fourth game 25-23 before the Flyers won the fifth and deciding game 15-11.
“I have been a part of lot of very exciting games and that was one of the most thrilling games,” Eden head coach Bill Markham said. “They are such a good squad and well-coached and we really had to play our best. I am super proud of them.”
The 2018 and 2019 OFSAA AA champions had to get past a tough AAA school in a year following the pandemic pause.
“Our program depends on a lot of repetition in practice and tournaments,” Markham said. “We didn’t have that last year and this year with the shortened season we had to really come together fast.”
It meant making adjustments on the fly.
“I am telling you that the team that played this team (Churchill) seven days ago was a totally different team today and that is how quickly it can happen,” Markham said. “The difference was we made a commitment to defence. Everyone wants to hit the big ball or make the big block but it is defence that wins. They played better defence than us last week and this week we were able to match their defence and convert that into offence.”
In non-COVID times where tournament play is allowed, Eden would have had six tournaments under their belt heading into the zone final and a longer regular season.
“We would have gotten more game play but it gives you an opportunity as a coach to tweak and work on some things,” Markham said. “Today I had to go with my gut and the guys stepped up huge.”
Whenever an Eden team plays in November it is feels the pressure of the school’s past successes.
“Yesterday we walked through the gym at lunch and walked under the banner and I reminded them that they are part of something special and no matter what the outcome is — you can’t control outcomes — but just give your best and play like we play,” Markham said. “If we do that, we will be successful.”
Leading the way for Eden Wednesday was K.J. Robinson.
“He is our leader, no doubt,” Markham said. “We had to play him at setter today instead of left side but he is a team player first and he’s willing to do whatever we need for success. He’s just a super great kid who is teachable, respectful, humble and a fantastic athlete. Whoever gets him after high school is going to be really fortunate.”
The 17-year-old Robinson, who is off to Brock next fall, called the victory amazing.
“I know a lot of our boys sacrificed a lot after school and I am proud of the group.”
The Grade 12 student was more than happy to step in Wednesday and play at the setter position.
Whenever Churchill saw the momentum swing its way Wednesday, its fans chanted ‘over-rated’ at Flyers but it didn’t bother Robinson and his teammates.
“We try our best to drown things like that out and our coach Bill is a very good speaker,” the 6-foot-3 player said. “He gave us a good speech yesterday and today and I am so thankful for him having us in a good zone where that type of stuff doesn’t bother us.”
Robinson agreed the shadow of Eden’s successful past looms over every version of the Flyers.
“We definitely try our best not to think about it but it’s hard not to. We know that we have a target on our backs just because of who we are and that why they chant over-rated and stuff,” he said. “We try not to let it distract us.”
Robinson is hoping this year’s version of the Flyers can add to the school’s medal haul. He feels there is no secret to the program’s success.
“Everyone is willing to sacrifice something for the person next to them,” he said. “A couple players weren’t in a starting position at the beginning of the year and there were no complaints. Everyone is willing to do what they have to to win.”
It is a shame one of the teams had to lose at the zone level, but there was no sense feeling sorry about the situation.
“We’re both in Zone 4, only one team can come out of triple A and Eden was the better team today,” Churchill head coach Tammy Short said. “What a game.”
The two teams evenly matched in everything but club level experience.
“I have one club level volleyball player and the rest of them are just really good athletes,” she said. “We work for each other and we train really hard.”
The Bulldogs had a plan to beat Eden.
“We watched what they did, tried to play defence around it and tried to compensate for where we were weak,” Short said. “All their boys play club and for my boys to take a set off of them in league play and then get this close in the zone final again, it was all heart today. They didn’t want to let each other down.”
STATS PACK
Flyers 3 Bulldogs 2
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: K.J. Robinson.
Scoring: 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11.
Zone 4 AAA champions: Robinson, Andres Reid, Britton Burrows, Jonah Doerkson, Blake Friesen, Pierson Fritz, Phillip Kovac, Noah Landry, Evan McNivan, Cam Miniti, Cohen Reimer, Robison, Sawyer Ropp, Owen Saxton, Jordan Schroeder and Maxim Tyominiub.
Up next: Eden advances to the SOSSA AAA championships Nov. 18 at Ancaster Secondary School.
