Top WOSSAA AA ‘dawgs’ heading to provincial championships in Orillia

The WOSSAA AA champion Woodstock Huron Park Huskies senior boys’ volleyball team was scheduled to compete at OFSAA provincials Nov. 20-22. (Jeff Tribe photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

The Woodstock Huron Park senior boys’ volleyball Huskies are the top AA ‘dawgs’ in the Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletics Association.

And with the title safely in their competitive kennel, they earned the companion right to ‘pound’ up highways 400 and 11 and contest the 20-team Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) provincial championship in Orillia from Nov. 20 to 22.

“It’s four years in the making, right?” said Huskies middle Parker McLeod. “Work hard every season, build stronger as a team, same guys since Grade 9.

“A huge moment for us - we’re going to look to continue this into OFSAA.”

Getting there was certainly a seasonal goal, but not the last one, said McLeod.

“Not yet, job’s not done.”

“It’s been a dream since Grade 9, honestly,” added setter Gavin Jansen. “We put all the work together for this Grade 12 year… It’s big.”

Huron Park enters the OFSAA AA championship as the No. 5 seed, competing in Pool B alongside second-seeded Port Perry, No. 12 Dundas Valley, No. 15 Hamilton St. Mary’s and No. 18 Timiskaming District. The Huskies open round-robin play on Nov. 20 with matches against St. Mary’s at 8:30 a.m., Dundas Valley at 11:30 a.m., and Port Perry at 2:30 p.m. They close out pool play on Nov. 21 with an 11:30 a.m. matchup against Timiskaming. The top two teams in the pool advance to the quarterfinals that evening at 6:30 p.m., while the third- and fourth-place finishers move into the consolation bracket, with semifinal action beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The tournament’s consolation semifinals are set for 9 a.m. on Nov. 22, followed by the championship semifinals at 11 a.m. The consolation final will begin at 1 p.m., with the championship bronze medal game slated for 2:30. The event will conclude with the gold-medal final at 4 p.m.

Details will be available on the OFSAA website at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WJhp6pHAF0fIQvKcqMWd9dW1W7Gv7aGkUtVrX4_CFsg/edit?gid=0#gid=0.

“What can you say, right?” queried Huskies coach Eryn Orr rhetorically. “It all paid off.”

She had wanted her team to experience OFSAA, something she herself had been fortunate to share during her Grade 12 season at London John Paul II.

“I’m really, really proud of how far they’ve come, how they played today and where our program has come.”

Initially, she had considered everything after their TVRA Southeast title to be ‘gravy.’

“But you’re going to go, we’re going to try,” she smiled, her competitive fire showing through. “You’re there, right? Might as well.”

Huron Park’s OFSAA ticket did not come easily, the challenge opening with a hard-fought 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 19-25, 15-10 five-set victory over London South in their Nov. 13 WOSSAA semi-final at Huron Park. McLeod was involved in four of the Huskies final set-five points, back-to-back blocks at the net, a rejection at the net following a service advantage created by Cale Pigeau, kill, block and finally, set and match point, reaching back for a deep set and massive centre kill.

“At the end of the game, trying to get points, got to give it to your horse,” Orr summed up.

The Huskies faced a tenacious St. Thomas Central Elgin Titans squad in a rematch of the previous week’s TVRA Southeast final, the team’s determined defence led by Tyrese Dillard. The Huskies appeared flat in the first set, a condition arguably influenced by Central Elgin’s attempt to mitigate their middle strength by creating service advantages. Although the Titans would lose a number of points to long or net serves, they hung tough through a tightly contested set, Huron Park’s Connor Harper contributing a number of crucial kills to keep the Huskies close. A Central Elgin serve out and Rohn Cowan service winner finished off a narrow 27-25 win.

“I would say we weren’t as enthusiastic as we should be,” admitted Harper.

“The ‘dawgs’ were cold,” agreed McLeod, crediting Harper for responding when most needed, part of resiliency displayed by the entire team. “He stepped up big-time and helped us get that first win.”

The dawgs came out pounding in the second set, building a 16-2 lead, middle Jaxson Finnie contributing a ‘kick set’ as well as an impressive net presence. Huron Park’s balanced presence in the middle was illustrated by a quality Finnie dig/first pass on game point, finished by McLeod. The Titans gained some momentum with a late push to 11 points, capitalizing on that surge—and perhaps a bit of a Huskies letdown—to take the third set 25–20. Huron Park regrouped quickly, though, and sealed the match with a commanding 25–13 victory in the fifth.

“A surrealistic moment,” McLeod said. “Four years come down to this.”

A 25-20, 25-15, 25-9 TVRA Southeast AA final win over the Titans a week earlier at Huron Park locked up both a WOSSAA berth and homecourt for the third consecutive round of playoffs, a distinct advantage, said Jansen, given enthusiastic partisan support.

“Student section got in their heads for sure. All three matches - just phenomenal.”

The Huskies downed Woodstock St. Mary’s 25-17, 25-22, 25-17 in their semi-final. St. Mary’s is a quality team which always presents a tough challenge, said the Huskies’ Travis Ernst.

“I felt we were just a step ahead today.”

“We just didn’t have it today,” said Warriors middle Kiefer Hager, a Grade 11 student looking toward next season.

“I think we could have played better,” agreed teammate Kingston McPherson, who also plays wing with the Woodstock Navy Vets. “But they’re a tough team, tough to block.”

“The crowd got to us a bit,” added Owen Pilon. “Flat start, we came back, just wasn’t enough.”

“Just wasn’t our day,” concluded Warriors coach Valerie Popovich, crediting the Huskies for being a great team. “You’re not going to overpower them, you have to outsmart them.”

St. Mary’s had rebounded after a flat start, she said.

“But not enough.”