Cougars claim own tournament
Callaghan downs Truro team in final
The host M.E. Callaghan AA Cougars are the champions of the 2017 Callaghan Boys Volleyball Classic.
The Cougars defeated the Bible Hill Huskies in straight sets in the gold-medal match on Saturday. It’s the first time the Cougars have won their own tournament since 2012, and it’s their eighth win in the event’s 41-year history, which is Canada’s longest-running junior high volleyball tournament.
After five years of attending, Bible Hill is still in search of its first Callaghan Classic championship.
In the final, Callaghan was clinging to a 12-10 lead about halfway through the first set before tournament most valuable player (MVP) Emmett Gaudette went to the service line and opened up a 24-10 lead. Bible Hill would score four times before a sideout gave the Cougars a 25-14 win. Gaudette went right back to work starting off the second set. The Cougars were up 9-0 before the Huskies got a sideout. The Huskies closed to 12-8, but a five-point rotation by Connor Ellsworth would give the hosts a 17-8 lead. Callaghan was leading 22-13 when Sam Hackett went back and served up the next three points for the championship. Bible Hill was the only team to defeat the Cougars during the tournament, finishing pool play at 4-0 (won-lost). The Cougars were second in Pool A with a 3-1 summary, followed by East Wiltshire Team One Warriors (2-2), East Wiltshire Team Two (1-3) and Stonepark (0-4).
In Pool B, the Summerside Owls and Queen Charlotte both finished 3-1, but Summerside took first because of its headto-head win over Queen Charlotte in pool play. The same scenario gave Place des Jeunes from Bathurst, N.B., third place over Hernewood after both teams posted 2-2 records. M.E. Callaghan A finished 0-4
In the quarter-finals, the eventual champions defeated Bathurst 25-12, 25-14, and East Wiltshire Team One edged Queen Charlotte 25-19, 25-27, 15-7.
The Cougars advanced to the final with a 25-16, 25-15 sweep of the Owls, and the Huskies got there with a 25-16, 25-19
semifinal win over the Warriors Team One.
The Warriors defeated the Owls 25-23, 23-25 15-13 to win the bronze medal.
East Wiltshire Team Two edged Hernewood 12-25, 2516, 15-13 in the seventh-place match, and Stonepark took ninth with an 18-25, 25-16, 15-5 win over Callaghan A. There was no fifth-place match. The Queen Charlotte Coyotes won their eighth All-Star Cresting most enthusiastic team award. Tournament organizers acknowledge the following sponsors for their support: Tignish Credit Union, Alberton Bakery, Tignish Co-op, Eugene’s General Store, F.J. Shea & Sons, Saunders Variety, Team First, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Markan West, Richard’s Quality Auto, Ravenwood Stairways, All-Star Cresting, Elmsdale Corner Gas, Buchanan Signs, Mazerolle Photo and Mill River Experience.