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Aquinas grounded d d in volleyball ll b ll final f l By Kevin Nagel METROLAND MEDIA GROUP 25 · Thursday, November 17, 2011 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com Bolstered by the skills of club player Jesse Hayer, the Assumption Crusaders scored a mild upset over the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders in the Halton Tier 2 junior boys' high school volleyball championships on Monday. The Crusaders, who lost to the Raiders during regular-season play, won the regional title with a 25-19, 25-22 straight sets decision at Sheridan College. The Raiders have plenty of club (rep) calibre talent of their own, according to coach Peter Szpakowski. "Except they're all basketball players," he laughed after the game. "This is the second sport for a lot of them." Assumption, 6-2 and third place in the regular season, never trailed in the first set, but had to come back from a 16-13 deficit in the second to take the title. Szpakowski's explanation for the Raiders loss after a 7-1 first-place regular-season was a combination of youth and playing in a big gym with fans in the seats. "We served out of bounds six or seven times in the first game and I think we lost our confidence," he said. "Plus, we had five Grade 9 players out on the floor -- zero club players. We didn't have enough. And that No. 2 for them was phenomenal." He was referring to Hayer, one of the two captains of the Crusaders, who was hitting winners all afternoon. "We beat L.B. Pearson in the semifinals, a team we lost to, earlier," said Hayer, a Burlington Blaze rep player. "There were doubts coming in (to the final) but we pulled through. A lot more practice and heart were the keys, we grew as a team." Almost as dominant with a number of f kills was Assumption's other captain, Luke Laurin. "He's one of our best hitters," said Assumption co-coach Natasha Kuzmar, who guides the team along with Lana Fernley. "He's also really good on defence. Both of f them are moving up to senior next year." Grade 10 setter Scott Brown ended the first set in fine fashion, fooling Aquinas defenders with a backhand winner at the net to up the score to 24-19, then putting up an unreturnable serve to advance the Crusaders halfway to the title. The steadiest performers on the Raiders, according to Szpakowski, were Stefen Rakic and the coach's son, Jacob. "We have three kids graduating out of f 12," he said. "We'll have nine back for next year." -- The St. Thomas Aquinas seniors also dropped their Halton Tier 2 final Monday. Coverage from that game will appear in an upcoming edition of the Beaver AROUND THE BLOCK: Stefan Rakic of the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders (14) tries to avoid the block attempt of Assumption Crusaders player Jestin Miller during Monday's Halton junior boys' volleyball Tier 2 final at Sheridan College. Assumption downed the Raiders 25-19, 25-22. MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER GOVERNMENT REBATES ARE BACK! RECEIVE UP TO $1,690 IN GOVERNMENT REBATES $700 OFF HI-EFFICIENCY CENTRAL AIR $2000 OFF HI-EFFICIENCY DC MOTOR GAS FURNACE (96% EFF) Turnbull leads Western to rugby title Mike Turnbull's second penalty kick of the game secured a 21-15 victory for the University of Western Mustangs in the Ontario University Athletics rugby final. Queen's had trimmed Western's lead to 18-15 with a try with less than five minutes to play but Turnbull booted a penalty kick to put the finishing touches on the Mustangs' victory, the school's first OUA title since 2005. The Oakville Trafalgar grad was named an OUA all-star as well as the league's best allaround player. Turnbull finished second in the OUA in points with 61, scoring four tries, kicking 19 converts and adding a penalty goal in eight games. Western went 8-0 this season, outscoring its opponents 272-78. Western defeated Guelph 28-3 in the OUA semifinals, with Turnbull going 4-for-4 on converts. Mike Santangeli, Turnbull's teammate at OT, was also a member of the Mustangs' championship team. There were four Oakville players on Queen's OUA finalist team. Stephen Saunders, David Slattery, Andy Swanepoel and Graham Turner helped Queen's post a 6-2 record, second best in the OUA, this season. Oakville's Nathan Lippert, an OUA all-star, scored a try in the Guelph Gryphons' 26-16 win over McMaster in the OUA bronze medal game. $ WAS $ C MATCH PRICE A TEE. . GUAR N DETAILS ALL FOR NOW · Free Installation · 10 Years Factory Warranty 1990 $1990* *Call for details FURNACE DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE reg pric 2690 $ WAS NOW 3990 OVER 120,000 SATISFIED CUSTOMERS 9 Only $4 e $99 *After Rebate LIMITED QUANTITY ACT NOW · Largest independent dealer in Ontario · Over 120,000 satisfied customers · Family owned business for over 20 years WHY AIRE ONE? · 9 showroom locations in Ontario · 150 licensed technicians · 24 hour emergency service · Registered tssa-wsib-hrac-bbb member · Satisfaction guaranteed 905-849-4998 9 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER *See dealer for details www.aireone.com 1-888-827-2665 A+ Rating