Perfection: Lancers, unbeaten all season, claim city title

The Lasalle Lancers senior boys volleyball team swept to a three-set win in the city finals Sunday evening over the Lockerby Vikings. This should hardly come as a shock.

The league's most dominant hitter, Jeff Walton, has teamed with libero Darren DePaolis dating back to their elementary years at Northeastern Public School. And since that tandem forged a partnership with coach Dale Beausoleil, the group has never lost a city final.

In this final year of secondary school competition for the core of the squad, the Lancers have added a small but highly effective nucleus to the Walton-DePaolis duo, including some who have also been part of this team more often than not.

The end result, with Kurtis Brisebois, Connor Cacciotti, Tyrus Cuculick, Matthew Fragomeni, Mykael Kennedy and Dylan Terri all part of the mix, was a 25-22, 25-13, 25-19 triumph, that appeared to be in jeopardy only for a brief sequence in the opening set.

"I think we panicked a little bit," said Walton of the team that entered the contest as favourites.

"This gym looks easy enough to pass a ball, but there's a ton of float on that ball in this gym with the air currents. We just had to settle down. It was good that our coach called that timeout."

The "coach," however, was not the familiar voice of Beausoleil, already committed to a two-game road trip for the Cambrian women's volleyball team that saw him travelling back from London late Sunday afternoon.

"It's a little bit different with him not here," said Walton. "Even if he's not saying anything, but just him being here, adds a little bit of comfort. But Dane (MacVeigh) did a great job out there."

After posting an unbeaten 8-0 regular season record, and coming off a recent tournament win in North Bay, the Lancers are poised to try to earn a berth at OFSAA, with NOSSA playdowns scheduled for the upcoming weekend.

"I'm going to guess that we'll be playing Widdifield in the final," said Walton. "That's who we have faced up against in our biggest matches."

After falling in the final of the Lancer Invitational to the Wildcats earlier in the year, the Sudbury reps twice knocked off their rivals from North Bay.

"We're feeling pretty confident right now, we're ready," said Walton. "As a team, we have to pass the ball really well, and then give options for all of our hitters. If we can have all five guys wanting the ball, and being able to hit the ball at all times, it's ridiculous."

Long known for their basketball prowess, the Lancers added an impressive season of volleyball to the mix this fall, with the Lasalle juniors setting the tone for the seniors, capturing the Division "A" banner with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-21 win over the Lo-Ellen Park Knights.

The victory came just a few weeks after Lo-Ellen knocked off Lasalle in a five-set battle that secured first place overall for the Knights, as the teams recorded identical 6-1 regular season records.

That loss proved useful for the Lancers. "We put in a lot of hard work at practice, it came down to being ready," said setter Michael Babcock.

"Last time, we weren't adjusting to what we were not doing right, especially defensively. They were tipping all over the place, and we weren't able to fix it. This game, we were ready."

Offensively, Lasalle diversified the attack more frequently than during the encounter at Lo-Ellen, where left-side Julien Giroux was the primary weapon.

This time around, Nathan Scully, Cameron Alisappi, Carter Wachnuk and Giroux were all swinging well, making things a little easier for Babcock.

"I just went to whoever I thought would make the best play on the court, whoever was the best option, it really just depends on the defense," Babcock said. "If I notice the block is more inside, I'll probably go to the outside swinger, like Nathan. Tonight, for example, he was really hot, he played really well."

The Division "A" gold medal affairs concluded a long day of high school volleyball drama, with the Division "B" champions crowned earlier in the day.

The Bishop Carter Gators claimed the junior crown with a 25-18, 25-19, 25-7 straight set win over the Chelmsford Flyers, while the Confederation Chargers opened the door for a NOSSA Challenge match, earning senior bragging rights with a 25-11, 25-18, 16-25, 25-18 four set beating of the Lively Hawks.