That Sudbury Sports Guy: Sporting success sweeps Horizon, Lo-Ellen

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But for just three points, the Horizon Aigles would be sailing in thin air previously confined to players like the Lo-Ellen Park Secondary Knights (2020 and 2001) and the Lockerby Composite Vikings (2010).

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On Friday at College Boreal, the Aigles swept past the Confederation Chargers in a rematch of the 2022 SDSSAA Seniors volleyball title game (25-21, 25-20, 25-18 in 2023) and also won the at least three sets Also novice banner , this one over the Lasalle Lancers (25-12, 25-15, 25-18).

The Junior Division I final went the full five sets, with the Aigles so close to a full volleyball victory, falling behind 25-23 24-26 17-25 26-24 12-15 Cardinals of St Charles College. The only two schools that ever did three for three are covered in the first paragraph of this story.

With coach Patrick Gervais at the helm of what has since become as competitive as any in town, the Horizon girls went into the senior showdown with a crystal-clear vision of what needed to be done to defeat their Valley rivals . who had definitely demonstrated the ability to go toe-to-toe with the Aigles.

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“We really focused on serving really well and getting them out of the system,” said libero Manon Charbonneau, who ironically isn’t one of those who serves the ball but has made a name for herself as the leader of a team that’s thriving boasts at least as much on their defensive excellence.

“It’s mainly about the position of the serve, but speed also helps to get them out of the system. I feel like communication really helps us on defense and also having that attitude of just going for every ball and not letting it fall to the ground.

To the surprise of absolutely no one who packed Boreal’s packed gym on Friday night, Horizon and Confederation engaged in a slugfest that constantly wobbled back and forth, with neither team able to join strings of more than three to four points, one the two keys to victory in Charbonneau’s eyes.

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“We like to go into the huddle after the point is over, take a deep breath and sit back as a team and then go back out there and try to change things,” she explained. “That’s what our coach taught us to come out of it with a different mindset.”

The St. Benedict Bears won the Senior B Finals 25-13, 25-23, 25-19, defeating the Lively Hawks in a duel between teams that finished third and fourth in the regular-season game , before they drew upset with Bishop Carter Gators and Riviere des Francais Muskies in the semifinals respectively.

In the Junior B gold medal clash, the Bishop Carter Golden Gators maintained their SDSSAA league unbeaten record after beating Sudbury Secondary North Stars 8-0 in the semifinals and the Riviere des Francais in the final in the regular season had (25-16, 25-27, 25-17, 25-15).

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A day later, the Lo-Ellen Park Knights boys’ basketball crew completed the three-peat that the Horizon volleyball girls came so close to. The Knights benefited from home advantage in all three games and got rolling thanks to the novices.

Mike Seccaspina led with a 34-point performance and the team’s overall defense was outstanding as Lo-Ellen stopped the Lasalle Lancers 66-38, led 21-9 after the first quarter and never looked back. Callum Wiss added seven points and Anderson Parent contributed six for the winners.

The Lo Ellen Juniors might have been misled a little early on, but were back on track by the end of the first quarter, building a 15-11 lead over the Lockerby Vikings and driving to an 83-30 win about the team that knocked over the apple cart earlier this week. While league watchers focused on an upcoming clash between the season’s two powerhouses in the form of Lo-Ellen and St. Benedict, the Vikes had other ideas and surprised the Bears 57-55 on Thursday night.

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“We were as stunned as everyone else,” noted Tony Church, Lo Ellen Juniors head coach. “It was kind of weird because all season we’ve been trying to get the team together to try and beat St Bens in the final. When that didn’t happen, I think we were all caught off guard.”

Namely, Lockerby took a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes before the Knights recalibrated. From that point on, however, the eventual city champions rolled over with a deep and talented roster.

“We’ve preached all year about being a player-led team, where our leaders rise and our players make decisions,” Church continued. “I was just so proud of the finale – they pretty much ran the show. We got all 12 players in, they all knew what they were doing, I had to call very little from the bench and they hold each other accountable.”

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Hunter Laplante led the Knights’ scoring streak with 24 points, followed by Brayden Legendre (13), Shiloh Sauve (11) and Will Church (9), while Zeb Aulenbach countered with nine points and Lockerby was a lost cause.

In the senior finals, Lo-Ellen led Lasalle 43-31 at halftime — but it wasn’t until Lancer starters Tyrone Johnston and Owen Pawluk fouled in the third quarter that the Knights could really make that bed, as the final scoreboard was 90-68 in favor of purple and black indicated.

Another team that boasts a fairly varied attack, the city champions boasted a stat line that included the likes of Adam Scott (22 points), Dax Mazzuchin (20), Quin Mazzuchin (13) and Abdi Kolbou (10) while Lasalle responded with Hayden Radey (21), Sylas Asare-Corbiere (19), Ashton Eadie (12) and Owen Pawluk (12).

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“As teacher representative for all three teams, coach of the rookie team and assistant coach of the seniors, it was a very enjoyable day and the culmination of seven years of hard work,” said Mac Bertrand, Lo-Ellen boys’ basketball guide these days. “It was a testament to the quality of our kids and the program the coaches have built.”

NOSSA boys’ basketball and girls’ volleyball action begins this Thursday, with games in both disciplines on Saturday and OFSAA championships to follow soon after.

Randy Pascal’s That Sudbury Sports Guy column appears regularly in The Sudbury Star.