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44 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday November 14, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com High-flying senior Raiders bound for volleyball OFSAA By Jon Kuiperij lead. Neither team enjoyed a lead of more than two points for the rest of the game, with Blaha pounding the winning kill one play There was no OFSAA berth at stake after the Bearcats served into their net. The Raiders then squandered an early lead Monday for the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders, in the second set, allowing a 9-3 Acton run but they weren't lacking for incentive. The Raiders defeated the Acton Bearcats that gave the Bearcats a 21-13 advantage. A 28-26, 21-25, 15-5 in the Halton high school late Aquinas run made it close before Acton senior boys' volleyball Division 2 final at pulled out the 25-21 win. The third and decisive set was no contest Sheridan College, earning their school's firstas the Raiders scored eight of the first 10 ever regional boys' volleyball title. "We wanted to create some history," said points and five of the final six, capped by Charlie Drouin's game-ending Aquinas head coach Ron ace. Szpakowski. "We have had some "We play the "We did what we could and great players at our school (par- game above the played how we can," said ticularly Brock Pehar, who went net. Our big guys Aquinas captain Tyler on to star at the university level), got above their Vadacchino. "We should have but had never won a Halton big guys, and beat them in the second game, (boys' volleyball) championship. there was no but we came through in the We have a history of our girls stopping them." third game." winning championships, so Aquinas coach Both teams will represent maybe now it was time for the Ron Szpakowski Halton at the OFSAA champiboys." onships. Acton, a single-A Aquinas accomplished the feat by taking advantage of its biggest school, will make the trek to Kenora, while strength -- its high-flying attack. Grade 12 the Raiders will play in the AA tournament in hitters Anthony Starcevic, Matt Blaha, Stratford. Aquinas locked up its spot at Joseph Asztalos and Evan St. Hilaire weren't provincials with a semifinal win over the as effective early in the game, when both Milton District Mustangs, becoming the last teams struggled to pass the ball, but took AA team still standing after Acton knocked off the Lester B. Pearson Patriots. over towards the end of the match. Szpakowski suggested the Raiders will "Like we've learned all year, if we pass the ball well, our attack is there," Szpakowski likely be a middle seed at OFSAA, identifying said. "We play the game above the net. Our Eden and host Stratford Central as the probbig guys got above their big guys, and there able favourites. "We don't have a single club player. was no stopping them." Aquinas trailed in the opening set by as Probably because we've never been there, much as 15-10, but rallied to take a 17-16 we'll get a little disrespect," said the coach. BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR ABOVE THE NET: St. Thomas Aquinas' big hitters, like Evan St. Hilaire (right), were pivotal in helping the Raiders defeat the Acton Bearcats in Monday's Halton high school senior boys' volleyball Division 2 championship game at Sheridan College. The Raiders will represent Halton at next week's Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations AA tournament in Stratford. NIKKI WESLEY/ OAKVILLE BEAVER Wildcats' Munro serves up junior crown for White Oaks Nine-point run keys victory over Aquinas, ending school's title drought Once Dylan Munro and the White Oaks Wildcats got on a roll, there was no stopping them. Sparked by the hot serving of Munro, the Wildcats rode the momentum of a first-set win to a 2-0 triumph over St. Thomas Aquinas in Monday's Halton high school junior boys' volleyball Division 2 championship game at Sheridan College. White Oaks' victory snapped a 32-year regional boys' volleyball title drought for the Wildcats. After White Oaks pulled out a comefrom-behind 25-23 win over the Raiders in the first set, Munro gave the Wildcats control of the second game. The 14-year-old Grade 9 student served nine winning points in a row, including four aces, to give White Oaks a 14-3 lead. White Oaks basically traded points with Aquinas the rest of the way to clinch the Halton title with a 25-15 win. "I was just trying not to think too much about the crowd, take deep breaths, calm myself down and do my thing," said Munro. "Just hit the ball over the net and try to and later scored the final point of the pick some spots. If a (Raiders player) second set with another powerful shanked it, I'd hit it to him again. smash. "I know what it's like to be in their "It's been 32 years for the boys' volsituation. When a guy gets on a roll, it's leyball team," said Tim Rehn, who cojust strange. You should be able to han- coached the Wildcats with Kate St. dle the serves but, for some reason, you Onge. "That's been a motivating factor just can't. It's frustrating, and I'm sure all year." they were getting frustrated." White Oaks, one of the larger schools Wildcats captain Steve in Halton, competed in the "When a guy Folino said he and his teamsmaller-school division gets on a roll, it's mates fed off the serving (Richardson) in girls' basjust strange. You streak, as well as the emoketball and boys' volleyball should be able to tional lift of the first-set win. this year -- primarily so handle the serves "We just built from the that the school's senior but, for some first game," the 15-year-old teams could be more comreason, you just said. "Coming in (to the petitive. can't." final), we were all just terriThe junior Wildcats, fied, but as the game went on White Oaks however, fared well against we started to calm down." the AAA- and AAAA-sized player Dylan Munro White Oaks' dominance of schools as well this season, the second set contrasted with the even- including a win over the Division 1 ly-played first match, which was tied on champion Loyola Hawks in tournament eight different occasions. The Raiders, play. led by the hitting of Will Coulthard and "We were so disappointed when we Ben Szpakowski, opened up a 19-14 lead heard we couldn't play Tier 1," said in the first set before the Wildcats Folino. "We really wanted to play the adjusted their blocking scheme and better teams. We beat all of them, we scored 11 of the final 15 points. Shan just didn't get a chance to play them for Raveendradas provided the game-win- the Halton title." See Raiders page 50 ning point with a hard cross-court kill, CLAWS FOR CELEBRATION: The White Oaks Wildcats mascot had plenty of reason to cheer during the Halton high school junior boys' volleyball Division 2 final. NIKKI WESLEY/ OAKVILLE BEAVER