By Larry Moko
A motivational tactic by St. John Henry Newman Cardinals coach Brian Pavlic during a time out may have helped lift his team to victory.
It happened Thursday midway through the third set of Newman's senior boys' high school volleyball semifinal against the visiting Bishop Ryan Celtics.
In an unusual move aimed at changing the flow of the match, Pavlic motioned his players away from the front of the bench and spoke to them in the privacy of an adjacent equipment room.
It was the first and only time this season the Newman coach has resorted to that strategy.
The Cardinals went on to win the match, 2-1 (25-21, 25-17, 13-25, 31-29).
"In the third set we started losing focus because fatigue set in," Pavlic said. "I tried to make some breaks in that fatigue by pulling the guys into the room to change the momentum. It didn't work in the third set, but it ended up working in the game."
Three-time defending champions in Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic competition, Newman will face the ACMT Jaguars on Tuesday, Nov. 5 for the 2024 league title.
First-pace ACMT took its semifinal, 3-1, over the St. Jean de Brébeuf Braves (25-13, 30-28, 20-25, 25-18).
"The boys weren't playing up to their potential," Pavlic added, "so I wanted to take them out of the environment and give them a talk outside the court. Just to try and spark them to put their play into a different gear."
Setter Paolo Fazzari scored the deciding point on a two-handed volley in the dramatic fourth set. And Pavlic said it was "fitting" that he should be the player to end the match.
"(Paolo) was struggling a little bit," the Cardinals coach said It should give Paolo a little more confidence going into the championship game."
Said Fazzari: "It felt amazing to win. I made some mistakes but I kept my mind in the game and got through it. (Coach Pavlic) just said for us to keep our composure and make less self-inflicted errors. That's what we did."
Second-place Newman (11-3) got the jump on third-place Bishop Ryan (8-6) thanks mainly to the big swings of Anthony Rotella and Daniel Guagliano.
The Celtics were led by left side Lucas Das Neves and the assist-making of Aaron Joseph.
"Together they did a really good job of getting us back into position where we could compete and potentially win the game," Celtics coach Rich Minken said.
"Both teams played awesome. It was a lot of fun to watch. Newman played unbelievable defence."
Minken is a former Newman player and assistant coach at the school under Pavlic during the past three years.
"It was different coming into this environment being on the other side," Minken said. "I'm proud to be part of this coaching staff as well."
Newman lost twice to the Jaguars during the regular season -- 2-1, then 2-0.
ACMT has chosen to enter the Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference playoffs against A schools, while Newman's GHAC action will be against AAA competition. Both semifinals are scheduled for Monday, Nov. 11.
Earlier Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic quarter-finals saw ACMT down the St. Mary Crusaders, 3-0, Newman top the Cathedral Gaels, 3-0, Bishop Ryan edge the Bishop Tonnos Titans, 3-1, and Brébeuf defeat the St. Thomas More Knights, 3-0.
Photos by R.F. (Bob) Butrym, RFB Sport Photography
More photos on the HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page here