WCSS Wolves volleyball finish eighth in province

DUNROBIN – The West Carleton Secondary School (WCSS) Wolves have done it again; the boys AAA volleyball team has qualified for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) as Ottawa’s representatives for the first time in more than 10 years.

The Wolves ended up finishing in fifth place overall at the OFSAA tournament played Nov. 21 to Nov. 23 in Kingston.

The Wolves played six regular season games, winning all six of them. At the end of the regular season, they had won 18 sets, only losing one set all season, which qualified the team for the provincial high school championship. While the Wolves were at OFSAA, they went undefeated in the round-robin, not losing a single set in any of their round-robin games. Unfortunately, the Wolves lost in the quarterfinals, which is still a major accomplishment for the team.

This year’s team was made up of coaches; Mr. Ashfield and Mr. Elliott, Captains Wally Lucente and Lukas Weyand, as well as Will Anderson, Grayden Talbot, Fisher Cation, Greg Hare, Zachary Ng, Colton Lecuyer, Daniel Madge, Grayson Comeau, and Ethan Dugal.

While talking to the boys about their season, coach Elliott and captains Wally Lucente and Lukas Weyand were very passionate about the hard work their teammates put in to achieve this accomplishment.

 “I thought it was really successful,” Weyand said. “I thought we had a great season, and I thought we played well for most of it. There were a few ups and downs, but I think overall it was awesome. I think a big part of being a captain was keeping the team focused. Our team tended to not take everything so seriously, especially when it was an easier game, so our easier games ended up being harder for us because of the mental side. We were not as locked in, so I think part of being captain was keeping the team focused and keeping them focused on winning.”

Though he was on the sidelines the whole time no one had a better concept of what was going on in the players’ heads than the coach. Elliott played a pivotal role in leading the team to OFSAA.

“I think we had a goal this season to compete for a city championship and once we knew there was at least a second birth for OFSAA we knew we had a good chance of making it there,” Elliott said. “That was another goal we were able to establish for ourselves. You know we lost to Franco Cite in the city championship, but we got there. Which was impressive for us as a school, and then to make it to OFSAA and compete above what was expected of us, and end up as one of the top eight teams in the province was something that we can all be proud of. Then next year there are a lot of returning players, so I think we are going to be able to carry that mindset and that goal to do the same thing next year to compete for a city championship and hopefully make it back to OFSAA.”