École secondaire catholique L’Horizon’s fantastic senior girls volleyball season came to close earlier this month with the team claiming silver at the provincial championships.
The Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) girls volleyball championship was hosted by the North Shore communities of Blind River, Elliot Lake and Mississaugi First Nation from March 4-6.
The L’Horizon senior girls team finished the season with an incredible record of 39 wins and just two losses. Winning two tournaments, the team claimed the city championship for the second year in a row and the Northern Ontario Secondary School Athletics championship for the third year running.
“What an incredible year for our Senior Girls Volleyball team,” the school said in a congratulatory Facebook post. “Congratulations to all the girls for an unforgettable year. We are incredibly proud of you!”
In the gold medal game against St. Clement’s School out of Toronto, the Val Caron secondary school fell in three close sets, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-23.
“The event provided three days of exciting volleyball across all four sites, with amazing displays of athleticism and teamwork. Despite facing many strong and accomplished teams, St. Clement’s was dominant, not losing a single set over the entirety of the tournament,” a press release from the event, which was supported by É.S.C. Jeunesse-Nord, and Villa Française des Jeunes, stated.
This was the first time since 1989 that an OFSAA tournament has been hosted in the North Shore area.
Heather Hendricks, the coach of St. Clement’s, extended thanks to organizers and congratulations to her players.
“We had amazing tournament here in Elliot Lake and Blind River,” Hendricks said in the news release. “A huge thank you to the community and organizers for putting this on. As a high school athlete and coach OFSAA is the pinnacle of success. This team has been working hard for four years together to get to this point. I am just so proud of them for winning, but also for the way they carried themselves and represented themselves, their families, and the school in this tournament.”
Co-convenors Cole Dumond and Jon Lauricella thanked all teams for making the tournament a success.
“Hosting an OFSAA event in the North Shore area for the first time in 35 years was an amazing experience and something that we are very proud to have brought back to the community,” the duo said in the release. “We are thrilled to hear the many compliments we received from officials, coaches, players, parents, and community members about hosting an organized and well-coordinated OFSAA Girls' A Volleyball Championship. It cannot be overstated that the success of this event relied on the co-ordinated efforts of countless student and staff volunteers, and we extend our gratitude to all of those who were involved.”
