Staff
The Muskie senior boys’ volleyball team brought home a medal from the NorWOSSA playoffs in Kenora last Tuesday.
It just wasn’t the colour it was hoping for.
After beating the Dryden Eagles 3-1 in the semi-final match earlier in the day, the Muskies fell 3-1 to the host Broncos in the final.
“Our win against Dryden was exactly what we expected,” head coach Jason Cain said Monday in an e-mailed response to the Times.
“We had a plan going in and executed it almost perfectly.”
The Muskies dropped the opening set in the best-of-five match by a 25-20 score, then took the next three 25-21, 25-20, and 25-19 to advance.
“Even though we lost the first set, we still had control of that set,” Cain recalled.
“The guys [then] walked into the next three sets confident, and slowly improved their results throughout the rest of the match.”
It was a different story against Kenora in the final. After losing the first set 26-24, the Muskies stormed back to take the next one 25-21.
But the Broncos won the next two by scores of 25-21 and 25-19 to claim NorWOSSA gold and a berth at NWOSSAA.
“The loss against the Broncos was disappointing for all of us,” Cain admitted, having noted in an earlier article that OFSAA had been the team’s goal all season.
“Again, we had a plan against the Broncos but it didn’t give us the results we wanted,” he said.
“For the first three sets of the game, we offensively controlled the game but a combination of events led to our failure.”
The Muskies were leading the third set 18-13 when one of Kenora’s servers went on a hot streak.
By the time Fort High got the ball back, it was 23-19 for the Broncos.
“At this time, the game started to get into the heads of many of our players,” Cain said.
The Muskies’ game started to suffer in the fourth set.
“We stopped hitting the ball hard like we did all season,” Cain noted. “This made it easier for the Broncos to dig the ball up and run an ‘in-system’ offence against us.
“And our defence didn’t adjust fast enough.”
Cain conceded it was an up-and-down season for the Muskies, who finished with a 4-4 record during regular-season play.
“We had the skill but struggled on putting it all together on game day,” he remarked.
“The highlight of the season for me, and many on the team, [was] when we defeated St. Pat’s at the Dryden tournament,” Cain added.
“It was an energy-filled game, and it was at that game where everything clicked and the potential of this team was seen by many.
“It is really too bad we won’t be playing against the top [team] in Thunder Bay for a chance to represent the [Rainy River District School Board] at OFSAA,” he lamented.
Looking ahead, the senior squad potentially could lose nine players to graduation this year.
They include Cole Allan, Aaron Bujold, Wyatt Jackson, Ben Smith, Nick Wepruk, Hunter Brown, Brandon Larson, Kobi Ward, and Justin Angus.
“Both [co-coach] John Gibson and I have had the opportunity to work with these guys for the past three years,” Cain said.
“Their growth, both as athletes and young men, over the past three years has had a positive impact on our volleyball program here at FFHS, and they all will be missed,” he lauded.
Possible returnees from the team’s Grade 11 crew include Ryan Stewart, Maverick Smith, Jreydon Indian, and Austin Armstrong.
“These boys will have big shoes to fill but I know they will be up to the task,” Cain said.
“[As well], the Grade 10s coming up to the senior level show great potential and we look forward to working with them,” he added.
Meanwhile, it was a “golden” day for the Muskie junior boys’ volleyball team last Tuesday in Kenora.
By virtue of finishing in first place with a 7-1 record during ther regular season, Fort High had a bye to the NorWOSSA final, where they squared off against the host Broncos.
The Muskies came out strong, winning the first two sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-12.
Then after dropping the third set 25-23, the Muskies sealed the victory with a 25-23 win in the fourth one.
There is no NWOSSAA playoffs at the junior level.
Muskie head coach Amy Wilson-Hands, in the process of moving to southern Ontario, could not be reached for comment on the match and the team’s season overall.
