The Morinville Wolves did what very few teams have ever accomplished in junior high boys’ volleyball and that’s defeat the Lorne Akins Gators in the St. Albert Physical Education Council final.
The Wolves howled in delight over their four-set victory against the most decorated team in SAPEC history with 15 city championships.
“It feels good to beat them and show them that a small town can do it,” said co-captain Carter Hills after Thursday’s convincing triumph against the two-time defending champions at Bellerose Composite High School.
The Wolves overpowered the Gators 25-14, 25-17, 24-26, 25-17 in the Tier 1 playoff for their third SAPEC banner in team history since winning back-to-back championships in 1980-81.
“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we just seized the moment,” said Hills, a crafty Grade 9 setter. “When it ended it was kind of like, 'Wow! It just happened!'”
It was also the 10th win in league play for the undefeated Wolves while going 42-3 (93 GW/14 GL) overall this season as winners of the U of A, SAPEC Active Physioworks, Fort Christian and Morinville tournaments, as well as the North Central 3J-4J zones. The Wolves also placed second at the Westlock tournament.
“We had a really good year. It was very successful,” Hills said. “We had our ups and downs but we always knew how to get back up. We got out of some tough situations that’s for sure.”
The 12-player lineup featured three returning Wolves – Chris Ogie, an impressive six-foot-two middle, power Evan Kohut and setter Andrew Seguin – and nine Grade 9s in total.
Seguin, a setter, suffered a lower-body injury at zones this week but the Wolves rallied around his absence and it allowed others to step up into more important roles.
“We just had such great players. They all bonded together and they all knew how to play,” said Hills, 14.
The go-to guy was the intimidating Ogie, an unrelenting hitting machine who pounded the ball with authority for a ton of points against the smaller but gritty Gators.
“You should see their faces when he jumps up to hit,” said Hills, another top-notch player who had an uncanny knack of finding openings with finesse plays at the net when he wasn’t making killer shots or setting up his teammates for points.
The Gators struggled mightily to stop the most dominant player on the court.
“We had to cover him a bit better,” said Gators' captain Josh Kelly of Ogie. “He’s really tall and he hit over most of the blocks but there is nothing else you can do than just try and block him.”
Ogie spearheaded a ferocious hitting attack that gave the Gators grief.
“We just had to be aware of the space that’s open and just cover all the spots so they can’t find an open spot to hit,” said Kelly, a Grade 9 setter.
The Gators looked like a rattled side in the first set as the Wolves buried the ball into the floor during long scoring sprees that led to a commanding 19-8 advantage. Another tricky play by Hills ended the set.
The Wolves turned up the heat in the next set with Ogie doing most of the damage. The Gators suffered a power outage early but did show some spark in the late stages to pull within four at 21-17 but the Wolves replied with four in a row, capped by Ogie's set-winning point off a block.
The Gators were a handful in the third set as the teams swapped leads several times. Adam Olsen scored key points off serves and Bryce Neuls provided a strong net presence as the Wolves got sloppy a few times when it was crunch time. Neuls played a major role on the go-ahead 25th point and the set winner.
“We were just a bit nervous at the start (of the match) but we kind of loosened up at the end and played better, Kelly said.
The Wolves cranked out the hits in the fourth set to wrap up the championship.
The Gators finished league play with a 7-3 record, which included a three-set loss to the Wolves.
“This was a good game,” said Kelly, 14. “We played our best but as the third (playoff) seed we weren’t expected to win even though we had hopes of doing that.”
Visit www.stalbertgazette.com to view the Wolves’ championship team picture.
