Hopes are high as a quartet of Sudbury high-school teams – three from the girls volleyball ranks alone - leave this coming weekend for OFSAA competition across the province.
It will be the city champion Horizon Aigles leading the charge on the volleyball side, returning to provincials for a third straight year after having captured bronze (2023) and silver (2024) medals in their past two visits.
Coming off some of their top performances of the year against high-end opponents at the Uxbridge Tournament, the Aigles steamrolled their way to a NOSSA “A” banner, sweeping past the White Pines Wolverines from Sault Ste Marie in three sets in the final in Espanola.
“It was a bit more “scramble ball” at NOSSA and honestly, I find it harder to play like that because you don’t always know where the ball is going to end up,” noted grade 12 middle Jasmine Mills. “Communicating well really worked.”
Slightly undersized for her position but drawing on the leg strength that was built through her early years involvement in gymnastics, Mills knows how important the team bond that is needed when you face the best of the best, as they did one year ago in Elliot Lake.
“The seniors are really close with the other grades, the 11th graders this year,” said Mills. “We’re all really close friends and communicate a lot outside of volleyball. It’s important just getting to know them (juniors who have moved up), not as volleyball players but as themselves, their personalities.”
The mix has worked wonders as Horizon overcame a bit of a slow start to the year, finally hitting their stride as post-season play approached.
“Isabelle Renaud, for instance, is hilarious,” said Mills. “She’s so out there and gives us so much energy with her personality. You need that on a team, a libero that is really out there.”
The remainder of the Horizon roster includes Isabella Deschenes, Ellie Renaud, Selena Sauvé, Madison Paris, Reaghan Chamberland, Emma Perreault, Scarlett Parri, Camille Barr, Patrick Gervais (coach), Lynn Mageau-Gauthier (assistant coach).
That “coming together” also paid dividends for the St Charles College Cardinals, sliding in right behind Horizon and Champlain in SDSSAA competition but defeating the St Joseph Scollard Hall Bears in four sets (25-18, 25-27, 25-21, 25-17) in the NOSSA “AAA” final in North Bay.
“If you asked other coaches, at the star of the year, you could tell that we came from two different teams,” said SCC team captain Taryn Rollins. “The grade 12’s were all best friends and the grade 11’s were all best friends and we really had not had time to mesh yet.”
“It took a little while, for sure, but I think we finally figured it all out.”
The 2024-2025 NOSSA “AAA” championship roster features: Avery Egers, Taryn Rollins, Ava Massimiliano, Nyah Robinson, Amber Rancourt, Morgan Dunphy, Isabella Sooley, Isabelle Gauthier, Avery West, Antonia Bountouris, Kaydan Francoeur, head coaches Chris Polischuk and Candace Stephen and assistant coach Mari Kingshott.
Meanwhile at Lasalle Secondary, the Champlain Requins repeated their journey of one year ago, beaten in the city final by Horizon but then claiming the NOSSA “AA” crown a week or so later. The Requins bounced the Manitoulin Mustangs 25-17, 25-16, 25-12, completing their run of seven straight set victories in the regional playdowns and punching their ticket to North Bay for OFSAA.
Champlain heads to the March 3rd to March 5th festivities with about half of their roster having picked up valuable experience at OFSAA 2024 in Kingston last March.
Champlain Requins: Olivia Nicholls, Abby Laurin, Ella Dionne, Andrea Bernard, Jade Toner, Marissa MacLean, Olivia Lachapelle, Calixa Lalonde, Kahlan Bellaire, Anna Houle, Kaylee Seguin, Emma Mathieu and coaches Guy Perreault, Lindsay Digby and Dan Trépanier.
