January 28, 2015
1116
The girls won the 2015 BESC championship banner in an exciting tie-breaker game in Sauble Beach, allowing them to win back-to-back district championships.
Ripley’s first opponent was Highpoint of Dundalk. Ripley got off to a slow start, losing both games by scores of 25-21 and 26-24. The Ravens were able to regroup and come back strong against Bayview of Owen Sound, winning 25-12 and 25-6. In the last set in round-robin play, Ripley defeated Hepworth, 25-9 and 25-1,6 earning a spot in the semi-final.
In the semi-final, Ripley played undefeated Northport of Port Elgin, coached by one of Ripley’s all-time favourite teachers, Ed Lehockzy. Ripley’s powerful and accurate serving proved to be too much for its opponents as the Ravens won two games straight, 25-17 and 25-14.
The Ravens advanced to the championship final for a rematch with their first opponent, Highpoint. Ripley continued the strong serving and excellent passing in the final but fell short, losing game one, 25-23.
In the second game, the Ravens bounced back with a convincing 25-13 victory, forcing a tie-breaker game.
Ripley dug in deep with excellent serve receive and, combined with superb hitting and blocking, won the tiebreaker, 16-14. Way to go, RAVENS!
The Ripley Ravens girls championship volleyball team includes back, coach Mr. Cassidy (L), Sarah Cassidy, Aysha Machan, Ashley Uzzell, Desirae MacLennan, coach Mr. Quinn and Kennydi Nicholson; and in the front, Tori Fry (L), Larissa Chalmers, Madison Beishuizen, Serena Rutledge, Emma Twolan, Maddy Gallant, Abby MacDonald, and Magen Huehn; photos courtesy of the coaches
The boys played in Wiarton. Their first game in the round-robin format was against Mildmay. They soundly defeated their opponents by a score of 25-12 in both games.
Their second match was against Beaver Valley, a team they had met early in the season at the OSCVI tournament. After trailing by eight points early in the first game, the boys dug in and defeated Beaver Valley by a nail-biting 27-26, before easily taking the second game, 25-11.
The last match of round-robin play was against the home team Peninsula Shores. Once again, the Ripley squad’s talent proved too much for its opponents as the boys won both games, 25-16 and 25-13.
Placing first in their pool allowed them to challenge the second-place team in the Pool B, in a best two-out-of-three match. Once again, the Ripley boys put together a sound game of passing, spiking and blocking at the net to claim both games from Derby, 25-16 and 25-10.
The finals proved to be a lengthy match against old rivals, Northport. The Ravens worked hard a s a team and claimed the first game, 25-20, before losing the second game by an identical score. This forced a third game to 15. Determination and strong play led the Ripley boys to a 15-10 victory and the title of Bluewater champions.
This group of players had an outstanding season. The boys attended four tournaments: OSCVI Invitational, Walkerton Riverhawks Invitational, Southwest Regional, and the Bluewater championship, and claimed all four championships. Well done, team! Miss Grubb and assistant coach Shaun McCarthy are proud of your hard work in preparing for these tournaments, as well as your sportsmanship and team play.
The Ripley Ravens boys championship volleyball team includes, back, Alex Roppel (L), Shayne McCarthy, Cam Lamont, Carson Watson, Luke Richardson, Malcolm McLennan, Kyle Henkenhaf, Wes Ellis, coach Miss Grubb; and in front, Carson Rutledge (L), Darren Newman, Tanner Reid, Mathew Johnson, James Greenwood, and Cole Snobelen; absent, are Graeme Robinson and assistant coach Shaun McCarthy
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