For the first time since 1996 the Chippewa Raiders are OFSAA Boys AA Volleyball Champions. The host side won the gold medal game in four sets against previously undefeated EL Crossley, who came into the tournament as the number one seeded team.
Chippewa won took the opening set 25-14 and that was just the second set the Cyclones lost all tournament.
The Cyclones bounced back to win the second set 26-24.
However, the Raiders halted all the momentum right there by taking sets three and four 25-16, 25-19 respectively.
“This was just a process for us and a by-product of the work we put in all year. We just talked about being dedicated to the process and playing for each other and we were hoping that this is where we ended up,” says Raiders Head Coach Mason Truswell in a release.
The Raiders were the number seven seeded team going into the tournament but went undefeated, going 7-0 en-route to the gold medal.
“We knew what our seed was and we knew we were the underdogs but we still had to come out and play every single match and there was no quit in these guys,” says Truswell.
Truswell says getting to play the final game at Chippewa was the turning point for their victory.
“We believed in each other and we were surrounded by people who believed in us and being in the Raider Dome was a game changer for us. We knew we could do it and to be able to do it our gym was huge.”
In the Bronze Medal game, the tournaments number two seed Sacred Heart defeated the surprising Frontenac Secondary School who went 1-3 in Pool Play but took down the 3-1 Adam Scott C & VI in the quarterfinals to move into medal contention.
Sacred Heart won the third place game 25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18.
