THUNDER BAY – The Westgate Tigers sealed an undefeated season on Tuesday night with a second straight senior girls’ high school volleyball championship.
The Tigers, playing on their home court, needed four sets to dispose of the St. Patrick Saints to take home the title.
The two teams split the first two sets, Westgate taking the opener 25-17 and St. Pat’s rallying late to win the second 25-23. They battled back and forth in the third, the Tigers eventually coming out on top 25-19 to take a one-set lead.
Westgate put the championship away in the fourth in dominating fashion, scoring 16 of the final 19 points to secure the trophy with a 25-10 win.
Outside hitter Payton Kooistra is one of several seniors on the team who can claim championship wins in each of their high school seasons, but said the thrill of winning just keeps getting better and better.
“It’s amazing. This is the fourth year us seniors have won, so it feels really good,” Kooistra said.
Teammate Sasha Wilson, said it’s still hard to believe how many titles she’s won.
“We’ve won every year and it’s crazy. To be undefeated this season and have to play St. Pat’s, who we played last time. We knew it was going to be a great game,” the 17-year-old Wilson said.
“Our coaches kept saying, every time we step on the court the other team wants to beat us so much more badly. Our coaches also said our bench was so deep and I think that’s why we were able to win all the time. We had girls we could pull out and everyone plays an amazing game.”
Kooistra said the Tigers had to get over an early case of the nerves, not wanting to extend the final to a winner-take-all second game on Wednesday night.
“It’s hard when you’ve gone undefeated all season and coming out and every team wants to beat you,” the 17-year-old said of the Tigers 14-0 regular season.
“I think it was just nerves at first. We pushed through and that last set, we were really happy with it.”
For most of the night, when Westgate needed a point, they found a way to feed the ball to Koositra, who routinely pounded winners beyond the reach of the Saints, runner-up finishers during the regular season with a 10-4 record.
Westgate Curtis Michaluk, an 18-year veteran behind the bench, said Kooistra did what she’s done all season, with the championship on the line.
“She’s been one of our go-to girls for about four years now. She always seems to rise to the occasion under pressure and we knew that we could count on her when it really mattered.”
The Tigers will host Kenora’s Beaver Brae Broncos in the NWOSSAA championship on Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m. If a third and deciding game is necessary, it will be held on Saturday at 2 p.m.
