So, how humongous was the championship conquest by the William D. Cuts Crusaders in Thursday’s volleyball tussle with the Lorne Akins Gators? “Oh my God! It’s like winning the Olympics!” exclaimed Gavin Lambsdorff, a powerful Grade 9 middle, as the Crusaders celebrated like rock stars in the aftermath of the St. Albert Physical Education Council final. “It’s so inspiring that we actually won and we won against the team that always wins every year,” Lambsdorff said. “I honestly could cry right now. I‘m so overwhelmed.” The first SAPEC banner for the boys at Cuts since 2011 and the ninth overall was a mammoth accomplishment. “It’s going to go down in history in our school,” declared Ben Sword, captain of the undefeated Crusaders. “An 11-0 (33 GW/6 GL) season is great. It gives us lots of respect.” The emotionally draining 13-25, 25-15, 25-21, 15-25, 16-14 marathon at Bellerose Composite High School was staged in front of boisterous supporters from both schools. “So many people came to watch. It’s mind-blowing,” said Lambsdorff, the team’s player of the game. “It’s just amazing what we did.” The riveting affair was worth the price of admission as the teams played their hearts out. “It was a great, great game,” said Sword, a Grade 9 setter. The last set, which included an injury timeout and some fact-checking between the referees over a couple of close calls, was a barn-burner with twists and turns on every scoring play. “It was just so much fun,” said Zachry Desranleau, captain of the Gators. “I’m just happy that game went to five sets. I’m glad they didn’t win it in three or four, I’m just glad we put up a fight to go to five sets.” The Gators carried the momentum from winning the fourth set into the deciding frame to lead 8-5 as both teams were determined to go down swinging. After switching sides, they exchanged points at a nervous rate as miscues, especially serving jitters, intensified the pressure cooker. Desranleau’s cross-court smash put the flustered Crusaders on the brink of defeat trailing 14-12. “We were getting down on ourselves and I told everyone, you know we’ve already won this. We won it in our hearts. It doesn’t matter if we win or lose but we’re going to win and we did,” Lambsdorff said. It was game on after the Crusaders recorded points off a block and then a hit by the Gators that landed out of bounds to pull even at 14. “We started to get back into it and the crowd was also cheering us on and that really gave us that metabolism to keep on fighting,” Sword said. When play resumed after a timeout, Moe Zeidan broke the tie with a clutch serve that too tough to return and the Gators called another timeout. With fans on the edge of their seats, Zeidan’s next serve was another toughie the Gators couldn’t handle. During the euphoria of the championship-winning point, fans spilled onto the court to engulf the Crusaders as the players piled on top of each other in front of the team bench. “He thought he was going to serve out or into the net so when he was able to make those serves and we were getting those points we were freaking out and once we got that last point it was all because of him because probably none of us would be able to make that serve and he was able to,” said Sword of the dramatic ending. “It was a great, great game. We put the pedal to the metal and we won,” added Sword, 14. “I’m just glad we didn’t give up and that’s how we won.” Desranleau, 14, was asked to sum up the titanic battle on behalf of the Gators (9-2, 30 GW/10 GL), last year’s champions and winners of a record 15 SAPEC banners. “Where do I start? The first set we were pretty good. We had the momentum and then we got into the next set and we weren’t ready. We thought we were going to win. We didn’t come with enough enthusiasm I guess and then after that we sort of figured it out and kept going,” said the spirited Grade 9 middle and returnee along with Emmett Neuls from the 10-0 team in 2016. In league play, the Crusaders knocked off the Gators 25-23, 24-26, 25-23, 26-24. “Our team came in knowing this was going to be good competition and we were ready for it,” said Desranleau, a bantam AAA forward with the St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres. In the rematch, several Gators rose to the challenge like Desranleau, Neuls, Brayden Morris, Shane Loewen and Rhees Moss, the team’s player of the game. “Everybody on our team will be thinking, man, I had a (heck of a) game that game,” Desranleau said. The Crusaders were the team of destiny this year and the championship completed a season to remember. “I’m just so thankful that we were able to do it for everyone on the team,” said the six-foot-two Lambsdorff, 15, who packed a big punch striking the ball. Visit www.stalbertgazette.com to view the team’s championship picture.
