Hillary Haining just couldn’t envision ending her high school volleyball career with a loss.

The 17-year-old, Grade 12 student remembered what it was like last year when the E.L. Crossley Cyclone fell short of their goal of making it to OFSSA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations) and was determined to turn things around this time.

“Last year we didn’t make it and I really want to this year, so I thought about it a lot, that I wanted to make sure I made it on my last year,” Haining said after the Cyclone defeated the Lakeshore Catholic Gators 25-10, 25-17, 22-25, 25-19 to capture the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association (SOSSA) AA championship Thursday at Holy Cross.

“I came in confident. I feel like our team really works well together and I knew we’d be really loud and that we’d all come together.”

Haining, who plays at the club level with the Niagara Rapids, was all smiles on the court after posing with her teammates and coaches for pictures with their SOSSA medals.

“It means a lot to me because all of these girls have grown up together and we all started in elementary school together,” she said. “So it’s been really cool to be able to bring our way up and really have perseverance in that last set.”

Haining was named team captain this year, a role she takes very seriously.

“I was really honoured to be asked to do that and it was with my two best friends too (Mila Burattini, Kali Hill),” she said. “I think I’m definitely just being kind of a leader and making sure I’m encouraging everyone and bringing everyone up. And I think because of me being a middle and a captain, I just want to make sure that I’m constantly lifting others up and telling people what to do that don’t have my experience.”

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