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Sudbury teams hang tough at high school provincial championships

Five Nickel City teams return from various OFSAA finals
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Catch up with five Sudbury teams who took part in various OFSAA finals.

A top eight finish, a consolation championship and another appearance in a consolation final were all part of the mix for the five Sudbury teams that took part in the OFSAA championships, which wrapped up on Saturday.

Returning to the provincial high-school playdowns after an absence of more than 10 years, the Horizon Aigles looked like they never missed a beat, finishing second in their pool of five teams, before being eliminated in quarter-final play.

The Aigles survived a scare right out of the gate, slipping past the Acton District High School Bearcats, but lost 20-25, 19-25 to the Brampton Christian School Bobcats later in the day.

Needing a pair of wins on day two to accomplish their primary goal, the Horizon crew did just that, beating both the St Michael Choir Spartans (25-19, 25-13) and Durham Christian High School (25-21, 25-17).

The downside to placing top eight is that you are in with the elite, and the Aigles could not have asked for a worse draw, beaten 11-25, 11-25,10-25 by Smithville Christian High School Storm, the crew that would go on to claim gold at the OFSAA Boys "A" Volleyball Championship in Paincourt.

Meanwhile, the Lasalle Lancers boys volleyball team duplicated their performance of one year ago, losing out in the consolation final, but not before coming within an eyelash of matching Horizon in advancing to the championship flight top eight.

The Lancers were edged 25-23, 22-25, 12-15 by the KCVI (Kingston Collegiate & Vocational Institute) Blues in their first outing, but evened their record on day one with a 26-24, 25-20 win over the Jean Vanier CHS Jaguars from Richmond Hill.

Things were equally as challenging on day two as Lasalle managed to upset the No. 3 seeded Essex DHS Red Raiders (23-25, 25-21, 15-13), before posting a 25-19, 26-24 victory over the Assumption CSS Crusaders from Burlington.

The net effect was that Lasalle, Essex and KCVI were all tied for first place in Pool "B", with the Blues awarded top spot on point differential, and the Red Raiders securing the second championship flight position based on a 15-9 single set tie-breaker against the Lancers.

Relegated to the consolation draw, the NOSSA "AA" champs made the most of it, beating Crescent School of Toronto (25-16, 25-16, 25-15) and the Adam Scott C. & V.I. Lions (23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-16) from Peterborough, before losing in five sets to the E.L. Crossley SS Cyclones from Fonthill, 20-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-17, 11-15.

On the basketball side, the Macdonald-Cartier Pantheres girls did one better, reeling off three straight wins following a second round loss and returning north as OFSAA Girls "A" Basketball Championship consolation winners.

The Pantheres beat the E.S.C. Sainte-Trinite Couguars 48-25, but were bumped into the consolation bracket following a 48-25 setback at the hands of the London Christian High School Pioneers.

That would be the last time the locals would taste defeat, upending, in succession, George S. Henry Academy of Toronto (44-20), Sainte-Trinite for a second time (42-26) and the Nicholson Catholic College Crusaders from Belleville (39-31).

As for the Lo-Ellen Park Knights, they had a tough go of it on both sides of the fence. A young senior girls basketball team was sent packing after three games, beaten by the Holy Cross Crusaders from Kingston (56-23), the Westdale SS Warriors from Hamilton (65-31), and the Pickering High School Trojans (55-38).

It was a somewhat similar experience for the Lo-Ellen senior boys volleyball team, squeezing a 25-23, 18-25, 18-15 triumph versus the Uxbridge Tigers while bowing to the Mississauga Secondary School Lions (19-25, 20-25), the Ursuline College Lancers from Chatham (19-25, 9-25), and the Waterloo Collegiate Institute Vikings (17-25, 14-25).

Bumped over to the consolation draw at the OFSAA "AAA" Boys Volleyball Championship, the Knights had the misfortune of matching up with the Georgetown District High School Bulldogs (23-25, 19-25, 14-25), the team that would win two more outings en route to a consolation plaque.


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