Ryan Gaiesky kept his ultimate weapon a secret.
Even he wasn't sure how it would work for the D.P. Todd Trojans until he started using it Saturday afternoon against the College Heights Cougars in the junior A north central junior zone A boys volleyball final at College Heights.
Down 3-0 in the second set having already lost the first set, Gaiesky starting making dents in the hardwood with a devastating lefthanded jump serve, reeling off six aces and eight unanswered points which turned the best-of-three match in the Trojans' favour, winning 23-25, 25-23, 15-10.
"It was important to get a good start [in the second set] and it just carried us through with momentum, said Gaiesky. "I just saw [Trojans senior team player] Keiran Leboe doing jump serves last year and it looked fun so I picked it up this year. That is the first time I've been that consistent with it."
Gaiesky, a Grade 10 setter, was also a standout on defence, teaming up with Malcolm Lambert to feed teammates Cayle Davidson, Brandon Chow, Joel Ingham, Christian Olivera, Cameron Cain enough times to guarantee the Trojans a junior A zone threepeat.
But it was Gaiesky's serves that turned the match into a nightmare for the Cougars. He landed two more aces in the third set.
"There's not much you can do about a serve like that," said Cougars setter Graham Walkey. "Having a left-hand serve, it comes at you different, a little less predictable than a right-hand serve."
The Trojans finished off the second set in an odd way when they were awarded set point because Cougar libero Nick Hansen crossed the attack line and set the ball to a teammate, an illegal move. Olivera scored match point with a serving ace. Gaiesky was named tournament MVP.
"We were almost guaranteed five points when [Gaiesky] went back there to serve," said Trojans coach Jon Lawrence. "It keeps the momentum on our side and fires up everybody. As the setter you sometimes feel out of the offence and you don't get to hit the ball and he gets to swing on that ball and gets him contributing."
The Trojans and Cougars will advance to the provincial junior A final that starts Nov. 21 in Abbotsford. There's a chance Kelly Road will get into the 20-team tournament on a wild-card berth.
n College Heights captured the three-team junior B district round-robin with match wins over D.P. Todd and Quesnel.
