Yes, it's true that the Cambrian Shield men's volleyball team are two-time defending OCAA bronze medal winners - and that the team reeled off ten straight wins to close out regular season play before recording victories in both of their post-season games this winter.
It's equally true that the crew that will host the OCAA Final Four this coming Saturday and Sunday bid adieu, in recent years, to perennial all-star Sven Trodel, setting wizard Jack Daley and a pair of Terris brothers (Dylan & Kyle) who would do whatever was required to ensure team success.
Still, hard to deny that things have come together nicely for a group that welcomed a rookie setter Sam George from Lockerby Composite, a freshman libero James Tse and middle Sebastien Tremblay, relied heavily on second year attackers Kyle Perreault and Liam Hansen, and surrounded this group with the veteran presence of left side Kurtis Brisebois and middle Jason Diotte.
Overcoming a forgettable second set at their home court quarter-final on Sunday, the Shield eliminated the Mohawk Mountaineers, yet again, this time by a final score of 25-23, 17-25, 25-18 and 25-21.
"I thought they played really good defense," setter Sam George noted of the Hamilton-based visitors who were led, statistically speaking, by a trio of college freshmen: Brecken Morrison and Alex Jurak with 11 kills apiece; Andrew Magirias with nine.
"They got every ball up and they blocked extremely well, especially in that second set," added George. "I couldn't get a one on one anywhere."
Game one would see Cambrian secure the lead at 13-12 and maintain at least a one point advantage that grew to no more than four right through the end of the set.
Any momentum for the homeside was quickly lost as Mohawk started set two with a surge and were up 24-14 before Cambrian made the scoreboard look somewhat more favourable down the stretch.
The final two sets were eerily similar, with Cambrian securing a lead before double digits arrived, not relinquishing it thereafter but seldom, if ever, allowing themselves a whole lot of comfortable breathing room - at least not 'til the end.
Though Kurtis Brisebois was not completely on point early, the graduate of Lasalle Secondary would finish the contest with ten 10 kills, sharing the team lead with Kyle Perreault.
Sam George, for one, was fully aware of the need to integrate the 6'1" former basketball star into the Shield attack. "He (Brisebois) is one of our top guys; he's one of our go-to guys," said George.
"He was struggling a bit but I knew I had to get him into the game, get his rhythm going. That was really important."
Timely kills from the middle tandem of Jason Diotte and Sebastien Tremblay (combining for six kills) also helped - as did the opportunity for the young setter to pounce all over an overpass at a critical juncture of the game.
"I just want to hit it so badly," said George with a laugh. "I played left side for most of my career, only playing as setter for a couple of years. Any chance that I get, I am swinging."
Key contributions right across the roster - Conor Dorsey delivered a huge ace with the finish line in sight - would generate the expected reaction from the bench, a key element when it comes to Cambrian playing to their potential.
"We brought the energy up after that second set," noted Diotte. "I find that we really picked it up and stayed up. That's the biggest thing for us. Keeping our energy up gets us wins."
With this latest victory, the Shield now get to play host to the OCAA semi-finals and championship affair, battling the St Clair Saints (Windsor) Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. following the Humber Hawks / Fanshawe Falcons matchup earlier in the day.
Medal games are set for Sunday: bronze at 1:00 p.m.; gold at 3:30 p.m.
While the Cambrian women also advanced to the quarter-finals, they were not as fortunate as the men in remaining alive, beaten 14-25, 15-25, 20-25 by the Humber Hawks.
The 2024-2025 OCAA volleyball award winners included a healthy helping of Cambrian talent as Carlie Pappano and Mackenzie Selk cracked the West Division first all-star team on the women's side, while Sam George (OCAA Rookie of the Year; West Division second team all-star; West Division all-rookie team), coach Dale Beausoleil (OCAA Coach of the Year), Liam Hansen (West Division second team all-star and James Tse (West Division all-rookie team) secured the spotlight for the Shield men.