Eden High School Flyers Capture 2006 OFSAA Boys Volleyball Championship
It was a fitting end to the All-Ontario Senior Boys Volleyball championship in Dryden. Top ranked Eden High School and the Cinderella story of the tournament, John McGregor met for the second time in two days in the gold medal game Saturday night.
In round-robin play, the John McGregor Panthers out of Chatham upset the Eden Flyers of St. Catharines to claim the Pool ‘A’ title.
When it came to playing for Ontario gold, the top ranked Flyers made sure the same result would not be repeated with a convincing three-set win.
A determined Eden club stormed out of the gate with a 25-21 win.
The next two sets went back and forth, however the Flyers came out with consecutive 25-22 victories.
“We’re certainly flying high now. It was a great experience,” Eden coach Albino Pereira said.
The Flyers finished third at last year’s OFSAA championship and to return and win gold offered a great sense of accomplishment for the team.
“We lost three starters from last year, but the guys improved by leaps and bounds. It is a great group of guys,” Pereira said.
As for John McGregor, their amazing story finally came to an end. The squad, who were runners up in the SWOSSA finals, finishing second to the OFSAA bronze medalist St. Christopher Cyclones, and were almost denied a trip to Dryden.
“The passion of the players, coaches and parents prevailed and everyone came here with the intention of working hard and giving it all,” Coach Eryn Smit said.
He added, “I’ve got eight guys on this team, seven who aren’t returning, we wanted to win it for them. We are not a huge school but we are a proud school and we are proud to take home silver.”
The game was played before a sell-out crowd at Dryden High School.
In the bronze medal game, the St. Christopher Cyclones from Sarnia breezed past the Ingersoll Blue Bombers in straight sets 25-21, 25-13.
