Close-knit Lancers team ready for OFSAA

The Lasalle Lancers are out to prove that there is strength in small numbers.

Asked about his Lancers senior boys volleyball team, Coach Dale Beausoleil quickly turned the discussion to the unity of this tightly knit group.

While his squad has entered tournaments with as few as six players, Beausoleil will make the long trek to Kenora this week for the OFSAA Boys Volleyball "AA" Championships with a roster of just eight young athletes.

"I see this as a team with great team cohesion," said Beausoleil at practice earlier this week. "Because it’s such a small team, they bond really well, they get along really well, and they all play. They all have a part in everything. That alone is very different from other teams."

There is, at times, a tendancy to see this Lancer team as Jeff Walton and five teammates, as they work their magic on the floor.

There's no doubt Walton is an eye-catching player — be can soar above the block and he has the power to spike the ball with authority — but the success of the city champs rests on the ability of the seven remaining players to up their game.

A fan of volleyball since his days at both Adamsdale and Churchill Public Schools, 16-year-old left-side Dylan Terris has developed into one of many weapons in Beausoleil's coaching arsenal.

"I’ve gotten a lot more consistent, and obviously more effective, because I get most everything in," said Terris.

The departure of talented athletes like Ryan Taylor, Noah LaPierre and others opened the door for the next wave of volleyball talent.

"When I first started, my ball handling was terrible," said middle Tyrus Cuculick. "Same for hitting. It took a while for that to come together."

And that coming together combined with the breadth of ability among Beausoleil's players makes for a varied and deadly team, a NOSSA battled against North Bay's Widdifield High being a good example.

"Widdifield keyed in on [Walton], which left our middles wide open, so both Kurtis (Brisebois) and Tyrus had a field day at NOSSA," said Beausoleil. "Their kill efficiency was outstanding."

Credit of which is shared with the young man respnsible for getting them the ball, setter Matthew Fragomeni, a player Beausoleil said may be the key to success at OFSAA.

"If Matthew sets well, we’ll be OK," he said. "He set really well at NOSSA. It really will be about making him handle the situation, and not be stressed out."

The Lancers are making their first trip to OFSAA, with a roster that includes Kurtis Brisebois, Connor Cacciotti, Tyrus Cuculick, Matthew Fragomeni, Mykael Kennedy, Dylan Terris, Jeff Walton and Darren DePaolis.

"I think we’re confident, but not as confident as we were going into NOSSA," said Terris in closing.

"OFSAA has more teams, better teams. It’s going to be a challenge, but we’re looking forward to it."