麻豆社区

The Vanier Crusaders failed to beat the F.H. Collins Warriors all season 鈥� until the game that mattered most.

The Crusaders outlasted the Warriors in a thrilling final, 26-24, 26-24, 20-25, 21-25, and 16-14 to win the senior boys Yukon Championship Saturday afternoon.

The match-up between the Riverdale heavyweights was played in front of a boisterous crowd at Porter Creek Secondary School.

"The boys came out as I know they can play, and then they just kind of seemed to nod off for sets three and four,鈥� said Crusaders coach Dustin Shewfelt of his team's comeback victory.

"I hate that fifth set, because then it doesn't matter what you've done before that. Anything can happen.鈥�

Despite a severe ankle injury to setter Tristan Olynyk, the Crusaders put one last stand together in the playoffs, upsetting the powerhouse Porter Creek Rams in the semi-finals before taking down the Warriors.

"I wanted to beat them right at the start, but now's a lot better,鈥� said Vanier Grade 12 student Cody Park after being named MVP of the championship final. "We stayed positive. It was pretty hard. There was a lot of injuries with our team.鈥�

The game ended when Olynyk and Ethan Robinson rejected a Warriors' spike, and the Crusaders piled onto each other at centre court.

"I'm more happy than I can say,鈥� Shewfelt told the Star. "It sounds clich茅, but they battled hard. F.H. had our number all year. We'd never managed to put together a full game. We'd win sets here and there. We'd get streaks and glimmers of just excellent play, but never for a full game. It's awesome to see them overcome that.鈥�

Warriors coach Shaun McLoughlin credited the Crusaders who denied his team a Hollywood-ending to their season.

"That was the match of the year. I have to give them credit,鈥� he said.

"We've had a pretty dominant season before this. We won Dawson, and we'd won all our Super Volley matches. We beat Vanier every time. But I've coached a couple of the guys on Vanier before and I knew that that team was waiting, that we'd see it at one point. It was just a matter of time.鈥�

Tournament all-stars included: Riley Andrew (Porter Creek), Jon Koltun (Vanier), Kieran Small (F.H. Collins), Alastair Findlay-Brook (Robert Service), Stephen Grundmanis (F.H. Collins) and Cody Park.

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In the senior girls final, the Porter Creek Rams defeated the F.H. Collins Warriors in four sets to claim gold.

After dropping their round-robin game against the Warriors two-straight, the Rams came out strong in the final, winning 25-16, 23-25, 25-17, and 25-19.

"We worked super hard for this and pushed through,鈥� said Rams' setter Brittany Milner, MVP of the gold medal match. "Our mental ability came together and we just stayed positive the whole time. That was our main goal 鈥� to stay positive. All blood, sweat and tears stayed on the court. That's what we wanted.鈥�

F.H. Collins, Porter Creek and Vanier emerged from the playoff round-robin with identical records, but scoring differential saw the Warriors sitting in first place, and the Rams and Crusaders battling each other in the semi-final.

"I'm just very proud of them,鈥� Kendra Thomson said of her Rams' team following the medal presentation. "I'm just really happy with how everything turned out. They came together as a team. They wanted it and they left everything on the court.鈥�

Thomson praised her Grade 12 players 鈥� Chrissy Anderson, Sadie Whitelaw, Rowan Brown, Megan Lanigan, and Milner.

"They are all very strong in their own ways,鈥� she said. "They work together very well, because they've had each other for a long time.鈥�

Thomson said her team's mental toughness gave them the edge in the final.

"I'm really glad I got the opportunity to coach this year,鈥� she said. "It's a very touching experience. Watching them grow and accomplish things is a warming feeling as a coach.鈥�

Warriors coach Jordan Borgford said his team got better and better, finally showing their best in the Yukon Championships.

"We've had moments where we played really poorly, but we had moments where we played really well,鈥� he said. "I'm super proud of these kids.鈥�

I

ronically, Borgford coached the Grade 11/12 girls team in Porter Creek last season.

"Porter Creek played well today,鈥� he said. "They made more consecutive, positive contact than we did.鈥�

Borgford said he was proud of his Warriors players for mastering the sport of volleyball. Previously, the majority of his team played soccer or dogsledded.

Borgford admitted two of his starters had never played volleyball before.

The senior girls' all-麻豆社区team consisted of Rowan Brown (Porter Creek), Jenna Hougen (F.H. Collins), Daria Jordan (Porter Creek), Corey Baxter (F.H. Collins), Tatum Koser (Vanier) and Natalja Blanchard (Robert Service).

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Four other championship titles were handed out Saturday at Porter Creek.

In Grade 9/10 boys action, F.H. Collins beat a strong Robert Service School team from Dawson City to claim that championship.

The Grade 9/10 girls championship was won by Porter Creek, who beat Vanier in the finals to cap a brilliant tournament in which they went undefeated.

F.H. Collins prevailed over Vanier to win the Grade 8 boys crown, while Porter Creek "A鈥� downed F.H. Collins "C鈥� to win the Grade 8 girls gold medal.