Raiders advance to SOSSA
The Holy Cross Raiders have come a long way in a short span of time.
The Raiders captured the Niagara Catholic Athletic Association senior girls AA volleyball championship Friday just one year after failing to win a game.
The visiting Raiders swept the St. Francis Phoenix 25-16, 25-12, 25-19 to advance to the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association (SOSSA) playoffs Monday at Sir Winston Churchill.
“It was so exciting,” Raiders’ Mairead Newhouse said. “We expected there to be a lot of St. Francis students. Our students weren’t allowed to come so we really didn’t have any fans so we were expecting it to be chaotic for us.
“It was a lot of fun coming out with the win.”
So how does a team go from a winless season to zone champion in just one year?
“I have no idea,” said Newhouse, a 16-year-old, Grade 11 student. “I feel all the girls are really close with one another and that helps a lot. We didn’t win a single game last year. I don’t know what happened. I guess we got a lot closer as a team and that really helped us.”
Holy Cross coach had Brianne Crnkovic had high praise for Newhouse.
“She’s naturally gifted with being that tall but she has such a view,” Crnkovic said. “We always joke her view of the game is so much better because she’s up there.
“She really seems to be able to see plays and anticipate where the ball will be. She just has these beautiful moments where you don’t think she can get there and she’s there.”
Newhouse, who plays basketball at the travel level for the Niagara Falls Red Raiders, can’t wait for SOSSA.
“We’re so excited. Some of the girls had a trip planned but now since it (SOSSA) got pushed back we’re all able to go,” she said.
The Raiders finished the regular campaign with a 5-2 record in Crnkovic’s first season as coach.
“Honestly, this was kind of a surprise for me. I didn’t know what we had to work with,” she said. “We don’t have any rep players. Volleyball is not their thing for any of them so it was a bit of a surprise they worked so well together. They’re all athletes, just not necessarily volleyball athletes.
“We’ve developed skills for the season. We’ve come a long way.”
The Raiders lost to the Phoenix during the regular season.
“St. Francis is tough,” Crnkovic said. “Last time we went to five sets. Won the first two and then lost the other three but they were all close.
“I was expecting to go to five sets and have five close sets. I didn’t know we’d be able to pull out the third. Our trend has been to fall apart in three so I’m glad we were able to finish it off in three because we haven’t been able to do that yet.”
The Raiders aren’t sure yet who they will face at SOSSA.
“These girls haven’t been so for them it will be a whole new world and a whole new experience,” Crnkovic said.
St. Francis coach Frank Napoli said the layoff — the game was originally slated for Wednesday but postponed to Friday due to inclement weather — didn’t help his squad.
“Nerves set in and three days sitting is tough,” he said. “We were ready to go on Wednesday. It happens. They played their game and we didn’t.”
Other members of the Raiders are: Valeria Baquero, Ariel Cassibo, Taurie Cunningham, Eva DeLuca, Emma Diemer, Sophia Franklin, Madison Giampa, Grace Healy, Natalie Nguyen, Kaizelle Ramos and Tessa Vahrmeyer.
Dear reader. If you liked this story or one of the 4,900 other stories found on our website, please consider hitting the Support Us button on the right-hand side of our home page and making a PayPal contribution to our website. Your support would be much appreciated. If you are a business owner, please consider advertising on our site. Our rates are reasonable and we provide plenty of exposure for your business. Contact bpotrecz@outlook.com for more information.
