Wolves capture WECSSAA “AA” volleyball championship

By Ron Giofu

The North Star Wolves senior girls volleyball have accomplished one of their goals with their eyes now set on the next one.

The Wolves hosted the L’Essor Aigles last Thursday night and defeated them in three straight sets to capture the WECSSAA “AA” championship. The top-seeded Wolves won 25-12, 25-8 and 25-13.

“We played good enough to win,” said North Star head coach Jeff Miller. “We were clearly the better team. Our kids what they had to do. We served well and put pressure on their receivers.”

Miller pointed out L’Essor played at a different tier than North Star and while they have good players, they faced a team that played Tier 1 this season.

“They weren’t ready for what we were going to throw at them,” said Miller.

Miller said the Wolves hit a rough patch late in the season but a tournament in Chatham-Kent helped them right the ship and they’ve improved since then.

“We’ve played pretty well the last little bit,” he said.

North Star controlled the play in the first two sets but encountered some trouble early in the third set when L’Essor’s top player was serving. The visitors took a 6-1 lead in the third set but Miller said once there was a player rotation, the Wolves were able to reverse the momentum and take control.

Assistant coach Mary Ewer said this is the program’s 13th WECSSAA championship since 2006, dating back to the General Amherst High School era. Overall, she was pleased with how they played against L’Essor last Thursday night.

Many of the players have never played in a packed gymnasium before and Ewer believes they were excited to do so.

“Our offense came together well,” said Ewer. “Our defense was very well done.”

The Wolves served well and tried to keep the ball away from L’Essor’s best players, she added. Ewer said the Wolves are “a great bunch of girls to coach” and the players attend every practice.

“They have fun but they practice hard,” she said.

Afften Essenpreis, the team captain, said they came into the WECSSAA “AA” final ready to play.

“I think we were confident the whole game,” stated Essenpreis.

The support of the crowd last Thursday night made a difference, she added.

“We really appreciated all of the fans coming out,” said Essenpreis. “A lot of this we owe to them.” Essenpreis believed they served well against L’Essor and they were able to use strategies a Tier 2 team like L’Essor may not have seen during the regular season. While crediting the opposition’s top players, she added they “let up a bit too much” at the start of the third set before turning things around.

The Wolves host the SWOSSAA “AA” championship Thursday night (Feb. 23) at 6 p.m. and Essenpreis said they are confident heading into that. The goal is to make the OFSAA “AA” provincial championship tournament in March 6-8 in St. Catharines.