Saints volleyball brings home silver

St. Clair may have lost their last game of the season but it was a win because they earned a silver medal at the OCAA women's volleyball championship. "They deserve to feel this accomplishment and making history." Saints head coach Julie-Ann Milling told Powerplay Sports after her team fell to the host Humber in the final three sets to one.

Saturday's championship game was only the fourth time in program history St. Clair played for the gold medal and first time since 1997 when the Saints won the OCAA championship. The medal was the program's seventh and first since the Saints won bronze in 2020.

Beating Humber was a daunting task for everyone in the OCAA including St. Clair who lost to the Hawks twice during the regular season. It was the 4th straight OCAA gold for Humber who have won 15 of the last 17 provincial championships.

"We knew it would be a battle in the finals," Milling said. "Going in we said let’s put the pressure on Humber in their own gym and play free and controlled. I’m so proud of this group because we do have a larger group of seniors leaving us."

Arianna Karl was named player of the game after finishing with 9 kills, a .320 kill percentage and 11 digs. She and Haleigh Kearns were named tournament all-stars.

"This group is a family," Milling said when asked what she'll remember most about this group. "I’ve been apart of quite a few team but I can say I’ve never seen the shared love for each other like this. I will obviously remember our silver medal but that will be remembered more."