The Whitehorse Elementary Wolves can’t be tamed.
Two points from defeat, trailing by seven, the Wolves fought back for gold at the Yukon Grade 7 Tripleball Championships on Saturday at Porter Creek Secondary School.
“A bit shocked about the comeback and really excited to make that comeback,” said Wolves player Derek Deuling. “It was just so much fun to play volleyball.”
The Whitehorse Elementary Wolves topped the Ecole Emilie Tremblay Grizzlies 22-25, 25-22, 15-13 in the final for the boys elementary volleyball title.
After two very close sets, the Grizzlies looked well in control of things with a 13-6 lead in the third - two points from the title. However, the Wolves clawed back to tie it 13-13 before Andrew Roberts nailed a back-row kill for match point and a missed Grizzlies serve ended it.
“It was a really good comeback,” said Wolves head coach Rene Drysdelle. “I reminded them it’s more about fun and call their ball ... They were cheering, parents were cheering, and that helped a lot.”
“I’m really happy with the result, they worked hard for it. They didn’t miss practices, they practised three times a week during lunch and once after school.”
The Tremblay Grizzlies, who arrived undefeated in the final, had a comeback of their own in the opening set. The Wolves led the entire set before the Grizzlies caught them at 22-22. The Grizzlies then notched three straight points on hits from Antoine Giguere, Romeo Champagne and another from Giguere at set point.
“We were a little demoralized and pretty shocked too,” said Deuling. “(After that) we just put our minds to it and went for it.”
There was almost a replay in the second set. Once again the Wolves led the entire set before the Grizzlies caught up at 22-22. This time it was Whitehorse Elementary’s turn to close it out with two kills from Liam Diamond and another on set point from Aiden Harvey.
“I’m really proud of my team, they played really well,” said Grizzlies head coach Marc Champagne. “We had a great season, just the progress we’ve seen this year with the players. In particular, they showed great sportsmanship and really good team spirit. They kept encouraging each other right to the end. I’m proud of them.”
The Wolves, who last won the boys title in 2009, went undefeated during the regular season but lost to bronze-winning Selkirk Elementary in round robin to start the championships.
The Selkirk Coyotes took the bronze with a 25-11, 25-20 win over the Elijah Smith Eagles.
Whitehorse Elementary had four teams - two boys and two girls - compete at the championships. One of the girls teams won bronze.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com