The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

34 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2012 Sr. Hawks ride momentum to Halton volleyball title Anyone who doesn't believe momentum is a major factor in volleyball might want to talk to the Loyola Hawks. The Hawks finished an improbable run through the Halton senior girls' playoffs Thursday at Sheridan College, defeating the Holy Trinity Titans 25-18, 19-25, 15-7 to win their second AAAA title in three years. Loyola entered the playoffs with a 5-7 record after losing four of their last six regular-season games, but then upset the Christ the King Jaguars in the Halton quarter-finals and surprised the Nelson Lords in the semis. "I told these girls it didn't matter what happened in our league. Playoff time is a clean slate and it's all about heart and playing as a team," Hawks head coach Toni Babic said. "I'm so proud of them because I knew they had it in them... It was about taking momentum and running with it." Loyola's championship team in 2010 also had a sub-par regular season, losing four of its first seven contests. But those early struggles were primarily due to injuries. Hawks captain Lindsay Logan said her team turned things around this season when players began spending more time together. "We just didn't click for a long time," said the 17-year-old Logan, who delivered the title-clinching point Thursday with a kill that the Titans were able to dig but not keep in bounds. "We started hanging out a lot more and got really close. When we're loud as a team on the court, everyone plays a good game." The opening set of Thursday's final was tied 15-15 until the Hawks scored 10 of the next 13 points. Trinity answered with a convincing win in the second set, finished off by a pair of aces by Jessica Silva, but Loyola grabbed early control of the decisive set and won comfortably. It marked the Hawks' first win over Trinity in four meetings this season. -- Jon Kuiperij Loyola ousted in GHAC semis, Trinity advanced Though Loyola defeated Holy Trinity in last week's Halton girls' volleyball AAAA final, Trinity entered yesterday's (Tuesday's) action as the lone local team still eligible for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) tournament. The Titans hosted Hamilton's Cardinal Newman yesterday in a Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference (GHAC) championship game that ended after the Beaver's deadline. The winner would represent GHAC at OFSAA. Trinity defeated St. Jean de Brebeuf 3-1 in the GHAC semis Monday in Hamilton, while the Hawks lost 3-1 to Cardinal Newman at Loyola. ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER Lindsay Allingham of the Loyola Hawks (23) pounds the ball past the block of Holy Trinity's Jessica Silva (foreground, left) and Kendra Wynter. Loyola defeated Trinity 25-18, 19-25, 15-7 in the Halton senior girls' volleyball AAAA final Thursday at Sheridan College. UNBEATEN: Jr. Eagles finish off perfect season Months before the high school junior girls' volleyball season began, Wendy Shute was already excited about the Abbey Park Eagles' chances. "I was reading the (Beaver) in August and saw an article about a couple provincial champions who were coming to Abbey Park," recalled Shute, the Eagles coach. Those provincial champions were Tori Gorrell and Sarah Williams, who teamed up to win the Ontario under-14 beach volleyball title last fall and went on to finish fifth at nationals. Half a year later, Gorrell and Williams helped the Eagles finish off a perfect season Thursday at Sheridan College. Abbey Park defeated the Assumption Crusaders 25-17, 25-17 in the Halton AAA final to remain undefeated in league play -- not just in bestof-three matches, but also in sets. The closest the Eagles came to losing a set was Dec. 19 against Notre Dame, when Abbey Park pulled out a 26-24 win. This year also marks the first time Abbey Park has ever won a Halton girls' volleyball championship. "I'm hoping this is the start of a dynasty," said Shute, adding that the leadership of Grade 10 setter Sarah Scott was also key to the Eagles' dominance this year. Abbey Park started a bit slowly Thursday, trailing the opening set by four points in the early going before taking charge. The Eagles scored 12 of the first 16 points in the second set and, after Assumption drew within 15-11, scored the final five points of the set to clinch the championship. Lana Fernley, who coached Assumption along with Natasha Kuzmar, said she had the same optimism as Shute before the season began. "We knew our girls were strong when we first saw them in tryouts," she said. "We just weren't expecting Abbey Park to be so strong." -- Jon Kuiperij Abbey Park's Tori Gorrell powers the ball past an Assumption Crusaders opponent during Thursday's Halton junior girls' volleyball AAA final at Sheridan College. Gorrell and the Eagles won 25-17, 25-17 to finish the league season without having lost a single set. ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER