Hawks wings clipped in bronze medal game at zones

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

The Holy Cross Collegiate (HCC) junior A boys volleyball Hawks lost a close battle in two straight sets – both with a score of 25-21 – against Brooks’ Christ The King Royals for the bronze medal in the zones tournament hosted by HCC on Nov. 10.
It was a back and forth battle with both sides putting everything on the line to earn every point to finish out the volleyball season strong.
“I am a bit disappointed we lost but I think we played pretty good and it was close throughout the whole thing,” said Grade 9 Hawks player Connor Cockx. “We definitely put up a fight in all of our games even though the results didn’t go in our favour.”
The Hawks came out guns blazing in the first set, taking a 7-1 lead before the Royals countered hard. The two teams were tied at 11 before the Royals started to pull ahead. The Hawks made a push near the end of the set for their 22nd point but a big dive by the opposition to keep the ball alive ended the first set in favour of the Royals.
The war of attrition continued into the second set with points going back and forth off more mistakes than successes: hitting the ball out of play and net penalties on both sides leading to a 9-9 tie. The Hawks started to find the gaps with their smashes and timely blocks to take a 15-12 lead.
But despite the Hawks effort, the game started to slip away with the teams tied at 17. The Royals made several key blocks and solid smashes to push the Hawks to the brink. HCC seemed to gather momentum, scoring three points at the end, but a heroic bump from deep in the Hawks side clipped the separation curtain on the ceiling, ending the bronze medal match up.
“It was really close the whole way and the boys were really into the game; the energy level was really good,” said Hawks Head Coach Joshua Jalbert. “It’s tough that we lost but I think we really grew and developed as a team, and we had fun this weekend.”
Royals Head Coach Edward Burla had nothing but praise for both groups of young athletes and stressed how good and dedicated they were to making plays such as getting in front of that block from the big hitter or making the sacrifice by diving to keep the ball alive.
“I have to speak for the boys from Strathmore, just as much as my boys, but the amount of talent in every single play just blows my mind as a coach,” said Burla. “When you play against a team that’s just as talented as you, it’s whoever gets the momentum at that time. We got lucky that at the end we got more points, but Holy Cross was just as good.”