Josh Dahmer and Tyson Schollie reach for a block during the final set against Fort Frances in the NorWOSSA final Thursday night. Photo by Chris Marchand

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

By Chris Marchand

The Dryden Eagles Senior Boys Volleyball team finished an unbeaten season, last week with a NorWOSSA final win over the Fort France Muskies.

The Eagles would wobble only once in the match, dropping a single set in a focused and dominant gold medal performance in an exciting early evening match, 25-22, 25-23, 18-25, 25-17, 15-8.

The squad dispatched Kenora’s Beaver Brae Broncos in the semi-finals 25-22, 25-17 and 25-19.

A visibly relieved coach Jen McMaster said the final two sets, as Fort Frances applied pressure to their game, were closer than the score reflected.

“I’ve spent four or five years with some of these guys and it just really means a lot to me to see them win a championship,” said McMaster.

Team members say great communication is at the heart of their success — something that was proven in the third frame when Fort Frances pulled ahead to steal the set.

“We just stopped communicating,” said Kevin Gardam. “It got real quiet out there.”

“Our game is better than that and we stopped playing our game,” added Jamie Kennedy. “We got over it, though.”

In preparation for NWOSSA this week, McMaster says no great changes will be made to a formula that has thus far resulted in an 8-0 record and an unsurpassed ‘sets won/lost’ column (24/10).

“We know what our strengths are and we’re going to keep going with them,” said McMaster. “We have some really good passing and serving schemes on the go. We know who our key hitters are.”