THUNDER BAY – The Westgate Tigers have found the secret to volleyball success – just don’t lose.
For a second straight year the senior boy’s team is headed to the NWOSSA championship against Kenora’s Beaver Brae Broncos with a perfect record.
The Tigers, who dropped just a single set during the regular season, a second straight 12-0 campaign, weren’t perfect on Monday night.
But they were definitely the better team in the championship match.
After dropping the second set 25-27 at the hands of the Hammarskjold Vikings, a team seeking its first boys’ volleyball championship in 33 years, the Tigers started the third set on a 13-0 roll on the back of Ian Campbell’s serve, cruised to a 25-10 victory and closed it out in the fourth, downing the Vikings 25-17 to claim the crown.
“It means a lot for Westgate volleyball,” Campbell said. “I know my coaches ... work hard. They work on the boys and girls teams, so to come out after all these years and go back-to-back means a lot to them and means a lot to the players.
It was the 12th title in school history, the fifth since 2005.
The loss in the second set was definitely a wake-up call, Campbell said.
But it also wasn’t enough to press the panic button.
“They’re a good team. We’re going to drop a set, that’s going to happen. But it kind of woke us up, was the cold water in the face. We just looked at it like this is it, this is our big chance and we really went out there and got those first 13 points,” Campbell said.
“It’s definitely a team effort. I just served the ball in. They’re the ones making the digs, making the swings, making the blocks. I just start off the rally.”
Westgate coach Curtis Michaluk, in his 20th year behind the Tigers bench, said this year’s team is a special one.
“We’ve got kind of unusual group of players who kind of live and breathe volleyball. It makes my job as a coach and my assistant coach ... that much easier every day.”
Westgate had to scrape out a 25-21 win in the opening set, trailing only once, by a single point.
Down 24-19 in the second, they rallied to prolong the match saving a total of seven set points before the Vikings finally prevailed when Westgate’s Gabe Viau couldn’t convert a kill. They put it away in the fourth, again trailing for a single serve, jumping in front 18-12 and essentially trading points the rest of the way.
The Tigers will host NWOSSA, starting on Friday.
