Joey Payeur
Henry Geyshick had only one train of thought running through his head with his team running out of chances to put away its opponents and avoid a one-set, winner-take-all scenario.
“I knew we were only one point away . . . I told myself I have to smack this ball, I have to get it over, I have to get this point,” said the Muskies senior boys volleyball team’s top threat at the power position.
With the St. Ignatius Falcons breathing down the Muskies’ necks trying to force a fifth and deciding set, Geyshick burst the Thunder Bay visitors’ bubble with a sledgehammer kill that bounced off the Falcons’ attempted block and out of bounds.
And with that, 15 years of waiting was washed away as Fort Frances booked its first trip to the all-Ontarios since 1999 by defeating the Falcons 3-1 (12-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-22) to win the best-of-three NWOSSAA championship 2-1 at Fort High this past weekend.
It will be a high-spirited black-and-gold group that takes to the floor in Dryden at the OFSAA provincial ‘AA’ championships starting tomorrow.
“The main key for the final match was that we stayed relaxed,” said Geyshick, who teamed with Thunder White and Connor Bujold in a three-pronged net attack that proved too much for the Thunder Bay representatives to hold off.
“That first set really woke us up and made us see what we needed to fix,” he added.
“We wanted to force them to have to tip the ball and give us the chance for kills.”
The Muskies captured the opening match last Friday 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-21, 25-21), but watched St. Ignatius roar back to tie the series with a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-13, 25-15) on Saturday morning that Fort coach Kirsten Talsma saw coming from a mile away.
“My team hasn’t been a morning team all year,” chuckled the first-year sideline boss, who arrived from Parry Sound just before the season began and spearheaded a remarkable turnaround for the senior squad from last year’s 1-7 campaign, which ended with a semifinal loss in the NorWOSSA playoffs.
“I told them right after the match to take the two hours in between and forget about it.”
The team met in the school cafeteria before the afternoon climax, with Geyshick revealing the theme was crystal clear.
“We wanted to win this for (captain) Derek (Kaemingh), who came back this year for his ‘victory lap’, and the other seniors, too,” said Geyshick.
“We wanted to fight to get to OFSAA because this was Derek’s dream.”
Match No. 3 started the way the second one ended, with the Falcons all over the Muskies while using a 7-0 run and then an 8-0 run to conclude the set.
“I told them after the first set that St. Ignatius wanted it more than they did and that this was our gym and our fans,” recalled Talsma.
“They took it to heart.”
Suddenly, Fort Frances was blasting everything in sight beyond the reach of the St. Ignatius defenders to go up 7-2 and force the Falcons to call timeout.
St. Ignatius crawled to within 13-10, but the Muskies went on a 12-5 run to even the match, with White and Bujold pounding cross-court and down-the-line winners.
That formula continued to work throughout the third to put the Muskies within a set of making it to Dryden.
But St. Ignatius proved they hadn’t packed their suitcase for the trip home yet when they burst to an 8-1 lead, leading Talsma to call timeout and give the best speech that she wiil never remember.
“I have no idea what I said to them,” grinned the coach, who nonetheless pushed all the right verbal buttons as her squad proceeded to win 11 of the next 13 points to jump in front 13-10.
That lead grew to 23-15, but there was still some drama to be played out.
White dove to try and save a loose ball, but crashed to the floor and went into a fit of pain-filled laughter that seemed to signal a serious leg injury of some kind.
It turned out to be only a monstrous leg cramp, but was enough to force him to the bench in favour of Matt Berube.
“I sensed they were tightening up a bit out there when Thunder went out, but I didn’t doubt them,” stated Talsma.
“I told the boys they had to win it for Thunder . . . He’s been busting his behind for us and been a leader the entire season.”
The Falcons pulled to within two points at 24-22, but Geyshick’s final thunderbolt put the series to rest once and for all.
Fort Frances goes into OFSAA as the No. 14 seed in the 16-team field, which suits Talsma and her crew just fine.
“I would say it is quite accurate that our team embraces the underdog role,” she declared.
“Anyone who knows the Muskies from last year will know that they went 1-7 and this year is completely reverse,” she added.
“That being said, I am confident that the boys are up to the task and have their work laid out for them at OFSAA.”
The Muskies begin their provincials quest tomorrow at 9 a.m. when they face the highest-ranked team in Pool ‘B’, the No. 3-rated Ecole secondaire catholique Franco-Cité from Ottawa.
Following that, Fort Frances challenges the No. 8-seeded Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School Wildcats (Aurora) at 1:30 p.m.
On Friday, the Muskies end pool play against the No. 9-ranked Cobourg Collegiate Institute Wolves (Cobourg) at 10:30 a.m.
The road will be tough, but would have been much tougher had the Fort wound up in Pool ‘A’ alongside the No. 1-ranked team in the tourney, the Eden High School Eagles (St. Catharines), who are seeking an incredible ninth straight provincial championship in Dryden.
“There’s a sense of relief, but I also want to challenge them,” admitted Talsma.
The top two teams from each of the four pools get into the championship quarter-finals, while the bottom two in each go to the consolation quarter-finals.
For White, there will be no discussion this week of the Muskies just being happy to have gone this far.
“This is amazing . . . we’ve made history and we’re going up there going for first,” he vowed.
