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Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell Broker of Record 905-844-4444 BROKERAGE I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2007 39 Big-stage jitters hurt Tigers Blakelock juniors drop volleyball final to Georgetown By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF NET MEETING: Andrew Zamora of the T.A. Blakelock Tigers Blakelock (in green) attempts to power the ball past a Georgetown Rebels opponent Monday at Sheridan College. College. HERB GARBUTT / GARBUTT O AKVILLE BEAVER BEAVER The T.A. Blakelock Tigers had already knocked off one giant, but they discovered doing it on a big stage is a completely different story. Blakelock came into Monday's Halton junior boys' volleyball championship on a playoff run that included eliminating the defending champion Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils in the quarter-finals. However, playing in front of approximately 400 vocal fans at Sheridan College, the Tigers started slowly. Although Blakelock improved as the match progressed, it never fully recovered against Halton's other volleyball power, the Georgetown Rebels. The Rebels won 25-11, 25-23 to lay claim to their second Halton junior title in three years. "Our guys aren't used to playing in front of this many people," said Blakelock coach Steve Jobbitt. "With this environment and all the excitement, the fans cheering, I think they had the jitters and the nerves got to them at the start." For Georgetown, such games have become common place. In the past 10 years, the Rebels have played for the Halton junior and senior titles 13 times. So while the Rebels missed last year's Halton final, they still have an air of confidence about them. "Just watching them warm up, you could see they were pretty good," said Blakelock captain Lucas Jacques. Georgetown took an early 5-1 lead in the opening set. After Blakelock narrowed the gap to 5-4, the Rebels ran off five straight points. The Tigers would not cut their deficit to less than six points the rest of the way. It looked like the Rebels might coast to the title as they opened up a 4-1 advantage in the second game, but the Tigers began to settle in after Evan Anderson delivered a hard spike. "They weren't making their hits like they usually do (in the first game)," said Blakelock assistant coach Cheryl Robinson. "Once they made a few, they got their confidence back." "We started to pass better and we were getting our hits over the net," Jacques added. The Tigers tied the game 5-5 and the teams traded points to 11 before Georgetown opened up another four-point lead. It remained that way until the Rebels got match point at 24-20. But just as the Rebels thought they scored the clinching point and began celebrating their victory, they were called for a net foul. As if they didn't want to see the Rebels celebrate again, the Tigers battled back to take the next three points before Georgetown secured the victory for good. Jobbitt said had his team managed to pull out a victory in the second game, it could very well have been a different result. "I really think the momentum had shifted," he said. Blakelock hopes the momentum will follow the juniors as it moves into the senior ranks after an 113 season, including playoffs. Andrew Zamora, Albert Shoihet, Alex Mann, John Newhouse, Evan Sinclair and Andrew Wood, along with Jacques and Anderson, should give the team a solid foundation as it tries to lessen Georgetown and OT's holds on Halton volleyball supremacy. Meanwhile, players like Jeff Belford and Josh Lundy will likely help the juniors remain competitive next sason. "We had a successful season and, to be finalists in Halton, the guys should be proud of that," Jobbitt said. A SALUTE TO OUR VOLUNTEERS FOR A GREAT 2007 SEASON!! Our Annual Volunteer Appreciation Evening was held at Town Hall honouring he volunteers who contribute their time & dedication to the success of the club CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR AWARD WINNERS FOR AN OUTSTANDING JOB WELL DONE! JIM TONKIN PRESIDENTS AWARD ­ DAN PASTORIC JOE HINNEN VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD ­ CHRIS CURREY YOUNG VOLUNTEER AWARD ­ KAITLYN MACNEILL OUTSTANDING FEMALE YOUTH PLAYER ­ MARLEE MARACLE OUTSTANDING MALE YOUTH PLAYER ­ PIOTR OBYRTACZ RECIPIENTS OF THE HOUSE LEAGUE COACH OF THE YEAR AWARDS: Sandro Peruzza, Chris Gigeris, Carlos Fassler, Neil Akey, Rob Roman, Claude Gauthier, Anna Lourenco, Tim Noble, Loris Dumanian, Pel Borea, David Hensby, Stephen Novak, Tom Tithecott, David White, Mike Foerster, Michael Sproule, Robert Bonadeo, Tarek Othman, Zoltan Kozak, Bob Moffat, Danny Antunes, Tom Hunter, Craig Samuel BMO SPIRIT OF SOCCER RESP AWARD RECIPIENTS: Kristen Abraham, Leland Bailey, Liam De Souza, Ella Griffin, Juliana Zografou, Jeaven Rehal, Amanda Abraham, Courteney Bone, Jeff Belford, John David Sant REMINDER: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2007, 9AM - 12PM OAKVILLE TOWN HALL - OAKVILLE & TRAFALGAR ROOMS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 504 Iroquois Shore Rd., Unit #11, Oakville, ON L6H 3K4 Tel: 905-849-4436 Fax: 905-849-3677 Thanks to our Proud Sponsors: The Oakville Beaver A Proud Sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club