Senior Boys Volleyball at OFSAA

By Keira Ha

Current Events In November, Earl Haig’s Senior Boys’ Volleyball team secured fifth place in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA), accomplishing more at OFSAA than any team in Haig history. This season, the Senior Boys’ Volleyball Team played against approximately 12 other teams, emerging victorious in league play, playoffs, regionals, and finally, elimination-based matches at cities. Only the teams with the highest scores advance. Earl Haig competed in the AAA division, against schools with populations of over 950 students.

Sr. Boys Volleyball Team 2024

Despite a successful season, the team faced some challenges. Outside hitter Eric Wan described a match against AY Jackson as one of the season’s lowest points. He partially attributed their first loss to the team being distracted by the crowd. “With every loss, we regrouped and came back stronger as a team. It felt like every challenge only made us stronger,” said Harrison Kwon. In the regional finals, they played against AY Jackson again. “Everyone thought we were going to lose, but we were able to pull through and win the match in 5 sets,” said Phoenix Hsuen. Kwon recalled fearing the match would be their final game. However, the team secured a memorable win, as their only five-set thriller of the season.

When asked about his volleyball future, Hsuen says he intends to play recreationally after high school. Similarly, Wan expressed a desire to continue playing volleyball. “I don’t have the height, time, or skills to be on a competitive post-secondary team,” says Wan. “I might play a few intramurals here and there but nothing like varsity.”

During OFSAA, the team grew close. Kwon explained that after their matches, the team would play Nintendo Switch Volleyball and Super Smash Bros while drinking ice-cold coke in one of their hotel rooms. Kwon credited his memorable experience to his teammates: “Constantly surrounded by amazing players pushed me to grow and become a better player I’ll truly miss the seniors next year. Hopefully, they can watch our playoff games next year at OFSAA.”

Hsuen reflected on his OFSAA experience: “We unfortunately placed dead last at OFSAA last year. Through consistent effort and dedication to the sport, our team was able to place 5th in the province this year. Go Haig State!”