Oakville Beaver, 11 Nov 2006, p. 23

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23 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2006 Ridge blazes into its first senior boys volleyball final Will face Loyola in Halton championship Monday By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The Iroquois Ridge Trailblazers lived up to their name by qualifying for their first Halton senior boys' volleyball final. "We've never been to the show," said Ridge cocaptain Adam Mitchell. "We've watched them before but now to finally be a part of one, it's exciting." Exciting also aptly describes how Iroquois Ridge got there. They defeated Burlington's Assumption, the team that knocked out the `Blazers in last year's semifinals, 26-24, 20-25, 1614. Iroquois Ridge were two points from having that fate repeated, trailing 13-10 in the deciding game. But they took four straight points to take the lead. Tied at 14-14 and with the Ridge fans chanting `Whose house? Our house,' the `Blazers took the deciding two points. Mitchell said the `Blazers got key serves from Kory McAdam and Kris McCoubrey while Mitch Houlahan set up Bryan Fautley and Mark Schnittker, who anchored the attack. "Their hitting was unbelievable," Mitchell said. "They were absolute machines. They were constantly cranking balls down." The majority of the Iroquois Ridge team has been playing together for four years and they'll be looking to put the finishing touches on their high school volleyball careers in Monday's Halton AAA final at Sheridan College at 5 p.m. Iroquois Ridge will face the Loyola Hawks, another team that lost in last year's semis, in the championship game. The third time was a charm for the Hawks who defeated the T.A. Blakelock Tigers 25-22, 25-18. Loyola finished the season with a 6-2 record, with both losses against the Tigers. Everything seemed to be falling into place for Blakelock. It also finished 6-2 with both its losses coming against the third-place Nelson Lords. However, Loyola helped out the Tigers, or so it seemed, by dispatching Nelson in the quarterfinals. But Loyola built early leads in both games as it finally solved Blakelock. "We knew it was going to be a tough game, but we knew we could beat them," said Loyola's Stu Favretto. After winning a close opening game, Loyola built a 12-4 advantage in game two. Blakelock wasn't about to bow out in front of their home crowd, not to mention a loud group of Loyola fans. The Tigers took eight of the next nine points to close the gap to one. They were not able to sustain the momentum though and the Hawks' strong blocking, as well as four very capable hitters, helped them regain the upper hand. "We're very fortunate to have some super tall guys that can jump high and swing well," Favretto said. Blakelock coach Juris Simson said he was weary of Loyola as both regular season victories over the Hawks were close -- including a threegamer in the season finale. "We just gave them too big of a lead in both games," he said. The Loyola/Iroquois Ridge AAA final will be preceded by the AAAA final at 2 p.m., where once again the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils will square off against the Georgetown Rebels for the third year in a row. The two schools have split the last eight Halton championships between them, with four apiece. The Devils beat Holy Trinity 2-0 in Thursday's semifinal. In AA playoffs, St. Thomas Aquinas lost its semifinal match 2-0 to Lester B. Pearson. BARRIE ERSKINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER NOT YET, BUT....: Kris McCoubrey celebrates Iroquois Ridge's dramatic 26-24, 2025, 16-14 semifinal victory over Assumption with teammate Mitch Houlahan (right) Thursday. The Trailblazers aren't number one just yet but they'll get that opportunity Monday in the Halton senior boys' volleyball final at Sheridan College. Holy Trinity, Aquinas among semifinalists in senior basketball playoffs It was a good week for Oakville schools in the Halton senior girls basketball playoffs as five local teams advanced to Tuesday's semifinals. The Holy Trinity Titans edged Georgetown 37-33 in tier 1 AAAA play. The Titans will have their work cut out for them as they meet the undefeated Notre Dame Fightin' Irish in Burlington. The M.M. Robinson Rams host Oakville Trafalgar in the other semifinal. Both games are 3:30 p.m. starts. The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders topped Assumption 37-33 in tier 1 AAA play while the Abbey Park Eagles also advanced with a 55-40 win over Iroquois Ridge. Abbey Park will play at Nelson while the Raiders will play at Loyola. The start time for both Tuesday games had not been set at press time. In tier 2 play, T.A. Blakelock upset Lester B. Pearson 44-33 to earn a semifinal date in Burlington against Robert Bateman. That game tips off at 3:30 p.m., Tuesday. Milton's E.C. Drury faces Burlington Central in the other semi. Blakelock hosts Pearson in the junior girls tier 2 semifinals Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Holy Trinity, Iroquois Ridge, Abbey Park and Loyola were playing junior tier 1 quarterfinals on Friday. Results were not available at press time.

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