THUNDER BAY -- Though they didn’t take the easiest road, the Westgate Tigers eventually worked their way to a varsity girls’ volleyball title.
Despite losing the first two sets and coughing up leads in both, the Tigers roared back for a thrilling home court five-set victory (23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-7) over the St. Patrick Saints to clinch the city championship on Monday.
“It feels amazing. Our team has come so far and we’re really excited,” team captain Rachel Donaldson said while clutching the trophy.
The Tigers entered the match knowing a win would capture their first crown since 2008, while a loss would force a winner-take-all clash on Tuesday.
Knowing the title was within reach was a little too much to bear during the early stages of the match for Westgate, a team that finished third in the regular season but peaked during the postseason.
“It put a little bit of pressure on us,” Donaldson said. “It was definitely a struggle but we’re really glad we came out of it.”
Though they had the advantage of being able to close the season out, the Tigers still came in as a bit of an underdog against a team that was a spot above them in the regular season standings.
“We figured that playing St. Patrick, who was the second place team this year, that they would probably push us to the limits,” coach Curtis Michaluk said.
“We would have liked to play a little better during the first two sets but we knew if we stuck to our game plan, which we did, it would work out in our favour.”
Westgate took the early lead in a first set where both teams showed some nerves. The Tigers led 18-13 before the Saints won the next six points to grab the lead, which they held onto to draw first blood.
Once again Westgate held a lead in the next set, ahead at 21-20. St. Patrick then ran off five of the next six points to solidify their advantage.
That’s when a Tigers squad loaded with veteran Grade 12 leadership knew they had to slow things down.
“In between every point we come together as a team and try to calm each other down,” Donaldson said.
“We all know our strengths, we all know our weaknesses and we all know how to make each other a better team so we worked together.”
Westgate responded by winning the third set handily to stay alive.
The Tigers seemed well on their way to forcing a fifth set, leading 20-12 in the fourth before reverting to their earlier form and letting the Saints sneak their way back in. The edge was cut to 22-20 before a timely kill from Erin Prystay propelled the Tigers to finish the set.
Given a new lease on life, the Tigers knew they had to take advantage.
“Once (the Saints) won the first two sets we knew it was going to be a struggle to come back but after we had won the fourth and were going into the fifth set we knew we had to come out strong and play how we play,” Donaldson said.
The fifth set was tense at the beginning, with the two teams deadlocked 4-4 in the opening stages. That was when Westgate surged, winning four of the next five points to sit ahead at the changeover.
Learning from their earlier inability to finish, the Tigers took seven of the match’s final nine points to seal the deal.
Westgate now advances to the best-of-three regional championships, which they will host beginning on Friday. The winner of that series advances to provincial championships, which will be held in Dryden.
