Senior Bearcats fall short in OFSAA bid

Acton's Bearcats senior girls' dream season came to an upsetting end Tuesday on their home court against Hamilton's Bishop Ryan Celtics in the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference `AAA' volleyball championship match. The Bearcats had gone undefeated in league and playoffs heading into the contest, sporting a 56-4 match record, knocking off several AAAA schools along the way. Playing at the AAA level for the first time, a win on Tuesday in the GHAC final would have sent Acton on to the OFSAA championships later this month in Stratford. And they started impressively versus Bishop Ryan, with captain Melissa Bigg delivering one of her dazzling left-handed spinning spikes to close out the first game for Acton 25-9. But the Celtics tightened up defensively and began to wear down the short-staffed Bearcats, who had just eight players to draw from due to absences. Acton's seniors led two sets to one in the best-of-5 match and despite playing in front of a raucous home gym, Bishop Ryan took the final two games 25-22 and 15-4. "The excitement of playing in front of a big crowd

like that-- you can see where we just ran out of gas," said Bearcats' coach Joyce Finley. "But it was a great season and our girls have plenty to be proud of." Five of this year's nine players are graduating, but starters Missy Rowley and Ashley Nixon can return.