The 2024 Yukon Indoor Volleyball Championships featured two hard-fought finals.

The Champs took place April 5-7 at the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse.

The finals were Sunday afternoon.

The girls final featured the Subzero 17U team versus the Heat Yukon 18U team.

In the hard-fought, competitive match, Subzero won the first set 26-24.

(The games go to 25, but the margin of victory has to be two points).

Subzero took the second set, 25-21.

Subzero coach Hayli Deans said, “It was super-exciting. This was the third time we got to play this team this tournament. Our girls just came out and competed really well. I was proud of how they stepped up and showed improvement over the weekend and brought it. Really shows how they’ve learned to be competitors and pull off a win in a tight match.”

Subzero got a measure of revenge on the Heat, as they split the first match and the Heat beat Subzero in the second match they played. Only the final matches were best-of-three sets.

Deans said she thought the key to winning was “aggression from our team. Lots of times in volleyball, players can come out and be a little timid. Scared to make mistakes, that sort of thing. It happens all the time and I felt like, especially in this last match, they showed that they really wanted to win. They wanted the ball. They wanted to be out there.”

Deans added the team is going to the B.C. Provincials in two weeks in Richmond. She said she is “super-excited” about the season-ending tournament.

Deans said her team’s victory will definitely add momentum to their title bid at the B.C. Provincials.

“We don’t get too much competition here in the Yukon so getting a tournament like this a couple weeks before provincials is really important to help us prepare.”

As for the U18 Heat, they’re off to Nationals.

The boys final featured the U17 Subzero North Stars against the U18 Subzero Black Ice.

The 17U team edged the 18U Black Ice 25-22 in the first set.

The 18U Black Ice bounced back to take the second set 26-24.

The U18s completed the comeback with another hard-fought win, 17-15.

Cy McDowell was player of the game for the U17 North Stars.

Leian Evalarosa was named player of the game for the U18 Black Ice.

After the game, Piper Wolsky gave a “promposal” to the Black Ice’s Sebastian Tajonera and was serenaded by his teammates. Tajonera explained what happened.

“My girlfriend’s graduating this year and she’s going to prom and she’s been wanting to ask me and I guess she found the finals a good opportunity to ask me. It was really sweet of her.”

Of the volleyball match, Tajonera said, “It was a very intense game. They got us in the first half and the second set was really close too, but we dug deep. There was some struggle but we found energy in ourselves to win it.

“The third set, we climbed up to a bit of a lead. They gave us a bit of scare with that comeback, but once again, we found more energy and more fight in ourselves to finish off the game.”

When asked if there was a rivalry between the two Subzero teams, Tajonera replied, “Definitely. Most of their starters were most of our teammates for Arctic Winter Games. A lot of us are really close friends and I guess, being good friends makes good rivalries. It’s always really fun playing with them. They’re a really strong group.”

Tajonera said the key to victory was “pushing a set that my hitters can hit well and trusting my hitters to put the ball away. Our passes were really good too.”

Tajonera added, “Everyone contributed really well to the win.”

He said the team is going to Nationals in about a month at the Expo Centre in Edmonton.

“We’re going to be looking to get a good placement there.”

The Expo Centre will be a familiar place for Tajonera.

“I’ve been to Nationals three times and that’s the only place I haven’t won a medal in, so I’m hoping to get that last piece right there.”