The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, April 7, 2016 | 46 Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com U14 Hurricanes weather Storm Halton girls hand Aurora first loss in two years to win provincial crown By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Sports "Connected to your Community" The Halton Hurricanes had a big challenge ahead of them. They had already won nine matches to reach Sunday's Ontario Volleyball Association girls' 14-under Division 1 championship game in Waterloo. But if the Hurricanes were going to take home the gold medal, they would have to beat Aurora's Storm Avalanche, a team that was one match from a second straight undefeated season. "When you play a team like that, there's a lot of motivation," said Hurricanes' coach Jim McKinnon, "but the girls also just wanted to do as well as they could." The Hurricanes surprised the Avalanche, winning the opener 2522 and handing the Storm its first set loss of the tournament. The Hurricanes jumped out to an early lead in the second set and kept rolling, winning 25-18 to complete the sweep of the defending champs and claim the Ontario title. "It comes down to the basics -- serving and passing," McKinnon said. "Then it's how much more do you want it, coming up with that big dig and putting in the effort on roles to those they had in the past, the approach yielded a hidden gem in Hayley Brookes. "She was a very pleasant surprise," the Hurricanes' coach said. "She started to really understand (the defensive) aspect of the game, and I'd say she's one of the best defensive players in the province for her age." McKinnon said the approach also helped produce players with well-rounded skill sets and depth. "Every girl had to do something to get us to that (gold-medal) match," he said. "They gelled all year and as the year went on they started to see how good they could be and they had fun. All the credit goes to the girls; they practised hard all year." At provincials, Halton won all 10 of its matches, dropping only two sets along the way. Ranked third heading into the tournament, it beat five of the top nine teams. AfThe Halton Hurricanes won the 14-under girls provincial volleyball title. Team members are: (back row, from left) coach Jim McKinnon, Alex Tahir, Emma McKinnon, ter going 6-0 in pool play, Halton Eden Punch, Leah Oehring, Hayley Brookes, Christina Yamnyuk and coach Derek Jones; (front row, from left) Abby Irwin-Lewis, Clody Guerard, Kate Pennyfather and beat the Leaside Lightning 25-17, Lindsay Klysen. | photo submitted 25-18 in the round of 16 before Then, with the score tied 13-13, rarely played in tournaments with topping the Niagara Rapids Black every single point." The Hurricanes already had that Lindsay Klysen delivered a clutch the Storm. McKinnon said the split 25-15, 25-21 in the quarter-finals. desire tested once. Trailing 13-11 in hit to give Halton the lead. Scar- the Hurricanes earned showed The win qualifies the Hurricanes the deciding set of the semifinals, borough would pull even at 14, but they were capable of playing with for the eastern Canadian champithe Hurricanes had little room for Halton's momentum could not be the defending champs. onships in Ottawa May 5-8. Though most of the players reerror to keep hopes of a provincial stopped. Members of the Hurricanes' OVA The Hurricanes took the next turned from last year, McKinnon championship team are: Punch, volleyball title alive. said the Hurricanes spent the early Brookes, Klysen and Leah OehThey had bounced back from two points to advance to the final. Halton planted the seeds of its part of the season experimenting. ring of Burlington; Alex Tahir, a 25-22 loss to the Scarborough Titans Quest in the opening set Ontario title weeks earlier when it He used players in different roles Abby Irwin-Lewis, Clody Guerard to square the match with a 25-21 split a round-robin match with the and as the season progressed put and Kate Pennyfather of Oakville; victory. Now they needed another Storm at a pre-provincials tourna- them in the roles that suited them Emma McKinnon of Milton; Chrisment. The Hurricanes had reached best. comeback. tina Yamnyuk of Ancaster and While some, like offensive leader coaches Jim McKinnon of Milton Eden Punch came up with a big the final of each of their six Ontario block to pull Halton within a point. tournaments this season, but they Emma McKinnon, played similar and Derek Jones of Burlington. FRIDAY 4 Jäger Bombs 4.75 MGD or Miller Lite Tall Cans $ 5 Pints of Canadian/Coors Lite $ $ $ $ Choose from Canadian or Coors Light & Any One of our 1/2 Pound Fresh Ground AAA Chuck Burgers $ 4.00 JÄGER BOMBS 4.75 MGD OR MILLER LITE TALL CANS 5.00 PINTS OF CANADIAN/COORS LITE Buy One Pound of our Delicious Signature Wings and Enjoy a Second Pound for Choose any One of Our Domestic pints, Canadian, Coors Light, Budweiser or Bud Lite and One Pound of Our Delicious Wings for Yes That's Right....Order Any One of Our Signature Wings, Burgers or Main Event and Receive One Kids Meal Absolutely FREE!* *Conditions apply ask your server for details 1¢ $ 1599 905-338-5458 www.draftedsportsbar.com 379 Speers Rd., @ Dorval