Breaking new ground was also front and centre on the SDSSAA Boys Volleyball Championship front this fall.
Just like the St Charles College basketball girls, the volleyball lads at Ecole secondaire Macdonald-Cartier would carve out a new page in the storied sports history of the school, earning their first ever senior city title as part of a home court sweep on Monday.
Dropping the opening set to the Horizon Aigles (21-25), the Panthères stormed back to take the next three, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22. “Their defense is really good so we were trying to out-run them on offense, run faster things and get them out of system,” noted left-side star Olivier Tremblay.
For as much as he can be a handful to contain defensively, the grade 11 student explained that there are very good reasons why setter Dax Lamoureux must also move the ball around to the likes of Jeremy Rheaume and Max Gilroy and others.
“If the other team knew the ball was always coming to me, I would be hitting against a double block or maybe a triple block and their defense would adjust to where I am hitting,” said Tremblay. By mixing things up, Lamoureux could keep the Aigles’ defense honest, a real bonus when a middle fake from Gilroy on a shoot set actually leads to an uncontested kill for Tremblay.
“It happened one time in the last set where there were no hands (to hit against),” said Tremblay. “It’s really exciting but I had to stay calm and make sure the ball goes where there is nobody.”
Also part of the history-making ESMC crew this fall were Aziz Aissa, Riley Payzant, Beckett Smith, Dax Winch, Hayden Quevillon, Justin Lafontaine, Spencer Rousseau, Connor Blackburn and coaches Marc Savage and Brigitte Coutu.
The Panthères also took down the Lo-Ellen Park Knights in the junior final in a five-set classic, outlasting the south-enders 22-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 15-9.
Out in Hanmer, the Chelmsford Flyers would hand the host (Hanmer) Sabres their first loss of the season when it mattered the most, edging the silver medal winners 25-22, 25-17, 21-25, 20-25, 15-13 in the championship battle.
On the losing end of three of their first four games of the year, CVDCS recovered nicely under the tutorship of head coach Michael McQuarrie, peaking at the most opportune time. “We definitely, as a whole, got a lot better at passing,” noted Chelmsford middle Ethan Wheatley, a second year Northern Chill talent who has committed to Cambrian College for next fall.
“At the beginning of the year, our first pass was barely ever to the setter. Now, it’s there most of the time – or he only has to take two or three steps. I would say that’s what we have improved the most on.”
Joining Wheatley in hoisting the SDSSAA banner were Pascal Brisson, Owen Burrow, Cameron Dupuis, Ashton Langlois, Dylan Lauzon, Jonathon Linton, Obina Obinwa-Onyemachi, Uche Obinwa-Onyemachi, Liam Velkovski and Justin Winters.
Hanmer did earn a degree of consolation as the junior Sabres also went the distance with the Bishop A. Carter Gators before prevailing 22-25, 25-21, 26-24, 19-25, 15-13.
The 2024 Hanmer Junior Sabres are: Nico Girard, Alexandre Montpellier, Tyler Soucy, Simon Riutta, Mayson Pelland, Mathew Gilliard, Jonathan Perron, Leland Daviau, Lucas Brisson, Mathieu Hamilton, Alexi Frappier and Tye Paquette.
Last but not least, the Horizon Aigles were actually the first school to garner a boys volleyball crown this fall as the Novice lads downed Bishop Carter 25-21, 25-15, 25-17.
Francis Finamore, Koen Levasseur, Jackson Léveillé, Logan Lévesque, Martin Ouellet, Peter Pagnutti, Anthony Paravano, Jayden Passfield, Mérik Renaud, Kale St-Onge and Mathéo Trépanier are officially city champs, with coaches Paul Renaud, Nathalie Martin-Boudreau and Isabelle Renaud guiding them along.
