A few points here; a few points there.

Arguably, more than any other year in recent memory, the OFSAA volleyball fate of a trio of local high-school boys’ teams rested on finding a way to squeeze out a win in those super tight matchups this November – battles that often extended beyond the 25-point plateau.

The trend was established early for the Horizon Aigles as the Val Caron school opened play at the OFSAA “AA” Championships in St Catharines with a 27-25, 26-24 squeaker over the Crestwood Prep College Lions last week.

By the time they trimmed the Nottawasaga Pines Timberwolves 27-25 in the fourth set of the bronze medal encounter Saturday afternoon, the Aigles had soared to their second podium placement in the past three years, also claiming bronze when the team hosted OFSAA “A” in 2022 at Cambrian College.

Though Horizon fell in the SDSSAA final to Macdonald-Cartier and were therefore forced to travel the “AA” school pathway at NOSSA and beyond, this was a crew that was not about to be intimidated moving up one level of play.

“This team is basically just a run-back from 10th grade and we won NOSSA that year,” noted right side attacker and grade 12 student Nico Dalcourt. “We were feeling pretty confident. Our mindset was to have fun and play the game as we know it and not get into our own heads.”

“Coming into this year, we knew we had some talent coming up (from juniors) – and great coaches,” added left-side turned libero Logan Trottier. “As seniors, we knew this would be our chance to go to OFSAA. With the help of our coaches, we were able to get there.”

The Aigles finished 2-0 on day 1 thanks to a 25-22, 25-20 win over St Augustine (Brampton) and then split their matches on day two, beaten by the #1 ranked St Mary’s Mustangs from Owen Sound, 18-25, 16-25, but rebounding to topple the Aldershot HS Lions (Burlington), 25-16, 28-26.

Finishing second in Pool A, coach Guy Perreault and company were now up against the top team in Pool B, the Sir Oliver Mowat Mustangs (Toronto) who had dropped but one set to this point.

This quarter-final, however, was anything but a few points here or a few points there.

“I think that was the best volleyball we played all year,” said Dalcourt, looking back upon a 25-22, 25-21, 25-17 sweep that ensured Horizon a shot at a medal. “In that game, everything clicked. Our defense was phenomenal – we were covering everywhere.”

Starting the season as a “go to” hitter with the Aigles but forced to pivot following an ACL injury sustained at practice with the Northern Chill, Logan Trottier returned to the team for the SDSSAA semi-final with Lo-Ellen, embracing his new role as a setter.

For the grade 12 student who will celebrate his 17th birthday next month, moving away from a background that had seen him spend time as a middle, a left side and a right side over the course of his volleyball career was not nearly as big a leap of faith as his coaching staff might have presumed.

“I had never played (libero) before, but I was always really confident in my passing,” he said. “I am a smaller middle, so I always relied on my speed, my agility and my vertical. Making the switch to libero was easier for me since I was always a smaller middle.”

The Saturday semi-final would see the Aigles take the eventual gold medal winning Louis-Riel Rebelles from Ottawa to five sets, beaten 12-15 in the fifth and deciding set before turning things around quickly against Nottawasaga Pines, to the tune of a 25-8, 22-25, 25-18, 27-25 victory.

“There were a couple of teams that looked really intimidating, at first, but once we got to know their style of play, we were fine,” said Trottier. “Our coaches would analyze every game and get a feel how they played. It gave us an upper hand.”

The Lo-Ellen Park Knights not only joined the Aigles in St Catharines, they actually bettered Horizon in pool play, winning eight of nine sets to capture Pool D. Unfortunately, Nottawasaga proved to be their undoing, but not by much as the Sudbury reps fell 22-25, 18-25, 25-22, 22-25 in the quarter-finals.

Competing at the OFSAA Boys “A” playdowns in Chatham, the SDSSAA and NOSSA gold medallist Macdonald-Cartier Panthères posted a 3-1 record in their pool (losing only to Hamilton District, 25-27, 24-26). Up against Monseigneur-Bruyère in the final eight, the Panthères went five sets before being sent home thanks to a 14-25, 25-16, 25-22, 26-28, 12-15 setback against the team that went on to finish 3rd overall.