Taking to either side of the net Friday night in the girls Supervolley championship was the Porter Creek Rams and the F.H. Collins Warriors.

The two teams had battled hard throughout the season with their last match against each other coming in the Dawson City Invitation Volleyball Tournament, where the Warriors came out on top 2-1.

All in attendance at Vanier were treated to a five set thriller, with back and forth action and skilled volleyball from each team.

In the first set the Rams got out to a quick start, jumping on the Warriors, taking an early 13-7 lead. The Rams were playing cohesive volleyball, serving strong, picking up everything swung over onto their side of the net and minimizing their mistakes.

The Rams grew their lead to 21-13, a deficit the Warriors could not overcome. Every time the Warriors had a positive play the Rams were able to respond, negating any momentum. The Rams rode their defence to a 25-15 first set win.

In the second, the Warriors were able to tighten up their game, resulting in a much closer set. The Warriors began finding middle attacker, and semifinal’s player of the game, Emma Boyd who led the way for the Warriors offence, gaining a small 16-14 advantage.

Caelon Workman of the Rams answered the Warrior’s attack with huge kills of her own as the Rams overcame the two-point hole to retake the lead 20-19. The teams traded points thereafter until Workman found a hole in the block to make it 24-23. Setter, and player of the game, Sarah Hardie won the final point for the Rams on a nifty dump, off the second ball.

Down but not out, the Warriors took it to the Rams in the third, opening with a 6-3 lead. The Warriors began passing the ball to their setter and were able to generate their offence, getting contributions from all attackers. The Warriors lead grew to 18-10, on the strong attacks of Boyd. The Warriors took the third set 25-14 after another booming attack from Boyd.

The fourth set echoed the second set. Both teams put forward their best effort, leading to a tied set at the halfway point. The Rams were able to take a 22-20 lead, but only managed to score one more point, as the Warriors were able to claw their way to a 25-23 set win.

In the fifth and deciding set the Rams were able to take the early lead, as Hardie was able to find all her attackers, who were able to find the holes in the Warriors defence. The Rams were the first team to eight as the team’s switched sides of the court.

The Rams were able to grow their lead to 14-10. The Warriors won the ball back but missed their last serve to give the Rams the set and the championship 15-11.

After losing the third and the fourth after winning the first two sets, Rams head coach Natasha Bilodeau was not worried that her team could respond in the fifth.

“There is always ups and downs in volleyball, but the ability to grind will always win you games,” said Bilodeau. “I’m always nervous from the very beginning to the very end in every game, during every set. What I’m most proud of in this team is that they can grind, they are OK taking losses, taking the lumps, knowing they can pull it out.”

Hardie, who accepted the championship banner, said she was a little nervous after losing the third and the fourth, but that the team is a resilient bunch.

“I think we fought really hard and took the W,” said a smiling Hardie. “We were a little nervous but we fought it out. I love my girls and you guys did great!”

Peter Grundmanis, executive director of Yukon Schools Athletic Association says it was a well deserved finals.

“We witnessed a really good final,” said Grundmanis. “Playing the fifth game was indicitive of how close it really was.”

The Ram’s senior boys team squared off against the Vanier Crusaders in the second game of the Supervolley championships Friday. The Crusaders, who went undefeated through the regular season, were finally taken down in straight sets 3-0.

In the first set both teams came out swinging hard, and the result was back and forth volleyball in the early stages. The Rams were able to create separation by ramping up their defensive intensity, pushing ahead 18-13.

As the set continued the Rams’ offence was getting contributions from all positions. The attacks of the offence were not particularly hard hit balls, but they made the Crusaders scramble, forcing them into errors. When the Crusaders were able to control the ball, the Rams blocks were able to stifle the heavy hitters on the other side of the net. Navarro Davies finished the first set with a kill to give the Rams a 25-17 win.

In the second set the Crusaders came out the aggressors. They were attacking every ball with bad intentions and the intensity was being rewarded, as they pushed to an early lead.

The Rams were able to draw back even with the same defensive play that led the way in the first set, to even the second at 14 apiece. The Rams were able to grow a lead behind the player of the game for both the semifinal and finals, Seth Carey.

With the Rams leading 22-18, the Rams played in control and stayed within themselves, following the same game plan that was instilled in the semifinal game. Jesse Goodman won the second set for the Rams 25-20.

The Rams kept the momentum they had built in the second, rolling into the third. They jumped out to a quick 8-1, forcing the Crusaders to take an early timeout. After the timeout Quinn Howard was able to energize his team with two huge kills in a row, squaring the set at 15.

The Rams answered the Crusaders run with a huge attack out of the middle by Kyle Slockley. The two teams played side-out volleyball and were tied at 19 all, until the Rams were able to score using their block to build a 23-20 lead.

With the score 24-20, setter Cameron Ryles stepped to the serving line for the Rams. His serve forced the Crusaders to send a free-ball back over the net. Rams libero Brett Walchuck passed the perfect free-ball, and Ryles sent a highball outside for Carey, who crushed the ball into the middle of the court giving the Rams the Supervolley championship.

Although the Rams were unable to take a set off the Crusaders in the regular season, Carey says his team always knew they were capable of beating them, attributing the team’s defence to being the difference maker.

“I’m pretty pumped, we worked so hard to beat them,” said Carey, still holding the championship banner. “We lost to Vanier all the other times, so it’s pretty awesome to come out on top. We always had them close, but never took a set off them, but we always knew we could do it.

“Our defence was the best,” said Carey. “We didn’t let any balls touch the ground without anyone laying out for it. Our defence definitely won it.”

Rams head coach Derrick Bilodeau’s message to the team was take care of the things you can control and the rest will come.

“We were just trying to stay consistent on our side of the court, and make good plays on serve and defence,” said Bilodeau. “They’re (Vanier) a good team, but we’ve been slowly inching our way closer, and I knew it was a matter of time before we played good enough team play to beat them. This is really awesome for these guys, I’m really happy for them because they played really well.”

With both Porter Creek teams winning the Supervolley finals, no team will be taking home the “triple-crown” honour this year. To win the triple-crown a team must win the Dawson Invitational Volleyball Tournament, the Supervolley Championship and the the Yukon Championship, which will take place in mid November.