St. Ignatius storms back to capture varsity girls volleyball championship

THUNDER BAY -- The St. Ignatius Falcons are varsity girls volleyball champions for the second time in three seasons.

But it didn’t come easy the second time around.

The Falcons were pushed to the limit on Monday by the St. Patrick Saints, rallying from a set down to take the title in five sets (25-22, 21-25, 14-25, 26-24, 15-12).

The Saints made St. Ignatius earn every inch of the victory, said co-captain Karissa Kilby.

“I’m speechless right now,” the 17-year-old said. “I just need to thank my team for trying their best and just giving it their all for every ball and every point.

After taking the first set, albeit just barely, the undefeated Falcons struggled in the next two sets, their serve failing to make inroads against a St. Patrick team looking to extend the final to a second game. The Saints went on a 7-0 run in the middle of the third set, then scored seven straight again to close it out and push the Falcons to the brink.

“We had a really great talk between sets and we just decided it was our game. This is our home gym and we just decided to do it,” Kilby said.

It’s a great way to go out, she added.

“Last year, unfortunately, we couldn’t make it, but this year it feels great, especially graduating this year,” Kilby said.

Co-captain Ali Wood said it got a little harrowing down the stretch.

In the fifth set, having finally found the groove, the Falcons jumped in front 14-6, needing just one more point to put the championship away.
But the Saints took a never-say-die attitude and rolled off six straight points to close the gap to 14-12. But St. Ignatius escaped with the victory when the Saints Megan Clarke’s serve sailed long.

It was nerve-wracking, Wood said.

“Yeah, a little bit, but I knew we could pull it off in the end,” she said.

Falcons coach Samantha Cullen said it was a nail-biter until the final point was won.

“I was really getting nervous that the wheels were starting to come off a little bit. But these girls have shown great mental toughness,” Cullen said.

“We were down 11-6 in the fifth set the last time we played St. Pat’s and they came back with nine straight for a win. So even though I was getting a little bit nervous, I had faith they could pull it out still.”

Next up the Falcons will play host to Dryden on Friday afternoon in the NWOSSA championship, the winner advancing to the Ontario Federation of Secondary School Associations championship.