Red Devils, Warriors shop local for WOSSAAAA gold, silver medals

The Woodstock St. Mary’s Warriors capped their 2025 juniors boys’ volleyball season with WOSSAA AA silver medals. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

At the end of a long, competitive Western Ontario Secondary Schools Association (WOSSAA) AA junior boys’ volleyball season, two representatives from the Thames Valley Regional Athletics (TVRA) Southeast kept the shiniest medals within Woodstock city limits.

“It’s a little ‘Siberia’ (comparatively isolated) town that seems to do okay,” said Jeff Melanson, coach of the gold medal champion Woodstock CI Red Devils. “And that’s okay, we’ll play underdog.

“If you don’t expect much, we’ll surprise you.”

The Red Devils locked up the title with a 25-18, 25-19, 25-18 victory over the Woodstock St. Mary’s Warriors on Nov. 13 at the WCI Devildome, capping a highly successful season of change. It began with a level of uncertainty created by moving up from essentially a challenge match against weaker competition to qualify for WOSSAA A, to a broader AA pool including London representatives.

“I thought we might be outclassed,” admitted Melanson, ultimately discovering the toughest competition came from close by. The Warriors had fired the first shot in an extended TVRA Southeast rivalry, taking their regular season match 27-25, 25-22, 26-24 to finish undefeated at 8-0, two points up on the 7-1 Red Devils. The teams set up a TVRA championship playoff rematch and earned WOSSAA AA semi-final berths by taking care of business in their respective TVRA semi-finals on Nov. 6 at Woodstock Huron Park.

Having taken the first set 25-23, Jonrei Castillo provided St. Mary’s the spark it needed during the second, stepping to the service line with his Warriors trailing 20-14 to the St. Thomas Central Elgin Titans. A distinctive pre-service routine backing up a powerful stroke - three slaps of the ball, three stomps of his foot - came to him out of the blue during an earlier match against WCI, the Warriors bench loudly joining in on the latter trio.

“It helps me and it’s also fun,” explained Castillo, who opened with an ace and then added two service winners. The Warriors pulled even at 20 on a Jakub Mazurkiewicz centre tip, taking a 21-20 lead on a Tristan Manalo block. The Titans were called for a catch and throw, capping an eight-point Castillo serving run at 22-20. Central Elgin broke it off there, but St. Mary’s finished out a 25-22 win on a desperation Mazurkiewicz tip that found the front, right corner of the Titans court, followed up by an Ethan VanRooyen centre kill catching the inside of the line.

“This game is all about momentum,” said Manalo, who plays much taller than his 5’9” height, citing the value of a big serve or big hit. “It really helps us to get energy in our game.”

“We had a slow start, but once these guys are hitting, the cheering starts, we get pumped up,” agreed Elijah Allard.

The Warriors completed a sweep with a 25-22 win in the third set, riding an early 14-6 lead to a 21-13 advantage. St. Mary’s coach Denys Reid called a time out as the Titans clawed back into it, 23-22, rewarded as Manalo and VanRooyen closed the set and match out on a tip and centre kill, respectively.

The Red Devils did their part, sweeping St. Thomas Parkside Stampeders 25-12, 25-18, 25-20, a point in the third set contributing to the term, ‘honest’ victory. The Red Devils built an early 15-8 lead, only to have the Stampeders battle back to 17-15. On the next point, WCI libero Owen Vandersar interrupted the crew of officials converging to discuss if a Parkside kill attempt out had in fact been touched by a WCI defender, confirming that it had been, point to the Stampeders.

“We want to win right,” he explained later, of honesty trumping expediency during a potentially crucial point of the game.

Melanson called for him, a rare time out at 17-17, the Red Devils responding with a kill to break serve and kick off a five-point run. Middle hitter Ty Martin closed out the set and match with a block at the net.

The win was representative of a balanced game, said WCI captain and setter Austin Bickell, serving, setting, hitting and passing, along with strategic adjustment.

“Knowing where the hitters like to hit.”

“Adapting to the situation,” added assistant captain Aiden Silos.

The Red Devils were able to do that in the TVRA Southeast final, prevailing to enter the WOSSAA draw as the division’s top seed. They punched their ticket to the championship with a 25-5, 25-16, 25-19 win over London South, while St. Mary’s set up a rematch with a 25-21, 27-25, 25-22 sweep of Stratford St. Mike’s.

WCI’s AA win helped erase some of the sting of the previous season’s WOSSAA A five-set championship loss to London Christian, special said Melanson, to share this year’s experience with returnees from that squad.

As a group, this year’s Red Devils liked each other, played well together, knew their roles and were hungry both to improve and win.’

“You just kind of create the space and opportunity for them to do so,” said Melanson.

In the gold medal game, he felt previous experience against the Warriors allowed for subtle adjustments, which helped the Red Devils transition more successfully from defence to the attack. The rivalry between the two teams is healthy, at times intense, between foes who know each other very well and play hard against each other.

“For sure it makes us better,” Melanson credited. “How do you replace good volleyball, right?”

The pathway to the season’s finale was laid out early in the campaign, said Reid, first meeting the Red Devils during a pre-season tournament. It was apparent from that point they were among the region’s top teams.

“To win, we’d have to beat each other.”

Admittedly, Reid and the Warriors would have preferred to prevail, both at TVRA Southeast championships and WOSSAA.

“But at the same time, that was the standard.”

Putting the team’s WOSSAA silver medals in perspective, he noted the number of AA teams in their region, adding in London competitors and those from within WOSSAA’s extended boundaries.

“To say we are the top two out of all that is pretty impressive.”

St. Mary’s had a comparatively young roster, five Grade 10s with the balance Grade 9 rookies. The jump from elementary competition to high school is a big one said Reid, impressed with the grit and determination his players displayed.

“They just kind of kept pushing, kept pushing,” he said, citing a collective ability to put their heads down amidst adversity and keep on going. “Win or lose, that’s something to be proud of.

“At the end of the day, as well as being good athletes, they were great kids.”

While wishing program graduates the best at the senior level, Reid also looks forward to a strong cadre of potential returnees, a group fully understanding the level of dedication, hard work and commitment required for another run toward WOSSAA.

“Hopefully we can get the job done.”