BY TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The 2024 Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) volleyball best-of-three championships will be in full swing for the junior and senior divisions respectively at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium today at 4pm. 

The sudden death playoffs in both divisions saw top seeds sent home and underdogs prevail at the CI Gibson and DW Davis Gymnasiums yesterday.

The junior division will feature the SC McPherson Sharks versus the HO Nash Lions in both the girls’ and boys’ championship matchups.

In the senior division, the CI Gibson Rattlers advanced to the finals to face the senior girls of the Government High School. The Rattlers’ senior boys will take on the CR Walker Knights in the championship series.

Junior Division

The pennant-winning SC McPherson Sharks sent the fourth seeded AF Adderley Tigers home 2-1 in a three-set thriller in the junior girls’ division.

The Sharks opened their playoff campaign with a dominant 17-7 victory in the initial set. The Tigers showed signs of life in the second set and took the win 17-12. The third set came down the wire as the Tigers and Sharks were locked at 7 apiece, but the latter sealed the matchup 15-8.

Sharks head coach Da’Nai Minus said persistence was the name of the game in the three sets played.

 “Persistence and playing our game. We have a chant where we say whose game do we play and we say our game. We have to play our game first and foremost and we cannot play anybody else’s game. AF Adderley did a really good job and in that second set we got a bit relaxed so in the third game we had to regain our focus and keep putting the ball up and over,” she said.

Coach Minus was relieved to advance to the finals but is anticipating a tough matchup against the HO Nash Lions, the two-time defending champions.

“It feels awesome. It is amazing and I am always extremely excited but also humbled to play against coach Patty. She is awesome and her team is always one of our rivals but it is an honour. We are ready and we will be ready,” she said.

On the other side of the bracket, the second-seeded HO Nash Lions toppled the third seeded CH Reeves Raptors 2-0 to face the Sharks in the junior girls’ championship.

The defending champions showed why they won the last two titles in the junior girls division matchup against the Raptors. The Lions intimidated the Raptors in straight sets with identical scores of 17-6.

Coach Patricia “Patty” Johnson is expecting it to be a fight to the finish against the Sharks today.

“After our last game, SC had a very good game and they did not let anything drop to the floor so hats off to them. We have to fix it where we do not let anything drop. It will be 0-0 until someone lets the ball drop  and we do not want to be the one to let anything drop,” she said.

Coach Johnson said that the Lions played without fear against the Raptors which led to the win.

“The girls were unafraid. Coaching girls is very difficult. A lot of people do not understand that,you can have one team today and a different team the next day. Tomorrow [Today] whoever sweeps the floor will win the game,” she said.

The Sharks had a second team advance to the volleyball championships, this time in the junior boys’ division. SC McPherson upset the pennant winners AF Adderley 2-1 in a three-set showdown.

SC McPherson took set one in convincing fashion 17-7. The Tigers pounced in set two for a 17-12 advantage. When it was all said and done the Sharks pulled off a 15-8 win in the final set for the championship berth.

Sharks head coach Rashaun Culmer was proud to get revenge against the Tigers on Tuesday.

“In the regular season, they beat us in three sets and we know our team is better but we made mistakes. Coming into the playoff game we matched up against them and handled business this time,” he said.

Coach Culmer said the junior team improved remarkably this season and it feels good to make it to the final stage.

“It feels good because these boys I think did not win any games last season. To win games this season, finish 4-3 and come into the playoffs and beat the pennant winners is a great feeling,” he said. 

The Lions sent the defending champions LW Young Golden Eagles packing after three grueling sets in the junior boys’ matchup. HO Nash claimed set one 17-4 but the Golden Eagles managed to clinch set two 17-15. LW Young made some errors in the final set while the Lions capitalised 15-6. 

Senior Division

The pennant winning CI Gibson Rattlers booked their trip to the senior girls finals with a 2-0 sweep of the fourth seeded RM Bailey Pacers. The Rattlers downed the Pacers in straight sets 19-10, 19-9.

CI Gibson’s senior boys team also secured a spot in the finals for the second straight season. The Rattlers defeated the second seeded Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves in three sets 19-17, 15-19 and 15-6 in a rematch of last year’s championship showdown.

The Government High School Magic senior girls closed the curtains  on the defending champions CV Bethel Stingrays in straight sets 19-13, 19-10 in a rematch of last year’s finals.

The fourth seeded Knights ended the season early for the pennant winning GHS in three sets 19-11, 10-19 and 15-10.

The GSSSA volleyball championships commences at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium at 4pm today.