It took more than two years and six major volleyball tournaments, but the Porter Creek Rams senior boys volleyball team finally managed to pull off a victory over rival Vanier, putting an end to the Crusaders' hopes of a third-straight triple crown.

The 28th annual Dawson Invitational Volleyball Tournament was held last week in the Klondike, with crews from Mayo, Faro, Whitehorse and Haines Junction battling for the coveted medals.

While all the teams put in impressive performances, the focus in the senior boy's and girl's categories once again fell on the rivalry between the Rams and Crusaders. It's a school rivalry that has picked up speed in the past couple of years, especially in volleyball.

At last year's Dawson Invitational, Vanier managed to pick up the gold in both the senior boy's and girl's categories, and also went on to finish first in both at Super Volley.

It wasn't until the Yukon championships that the tide started to turn, at least as far as the girls were concerned. Playing on their home court, the Rams came back from a 1-0 deficit after the first set and put an end to Vanier's hopes for another triple crown.

The boys, however, continued to struggle at the Yukon championships against a dominant Crusaders team, led by Dennis Boyd and Tory Wiebe. Vanier was able to claim its second-straight triple crown.

Determined to write a different story this season, the Rams headed to Dawson focused on the task at hand. The first major tournament of the year, it provided a chance for both the senior boys and girls to start off on the right foot.

The senior boys got better and better as the tournament went on, said head coach Sukh Sandhu, and were 'lucky enough' to play two round-robin games and the semifinal against the host Robert Service School. Lucky, because it prepared them for Vanier.

'Dawson is a really strong team,' said Sandhu. 'They have two really strong hitters and they're tough to beat.

'We were behind 24-21 in the first set, but came back and won that. Then we just went from there. It was really good for our psyche.'

Heading into the final, Sandhu said his team was like 'a pack of wolves', anticipating a chance to redeem themselves against Vanier.

'I didn't want them to get too pumped, just be really focused. I wanted them to worry about the big things, like consistency. The rest just takes came of itself.'

The Rams were once again in tough against the Crusaders, with Wiebe still leading the way. But Porter Creek's Kaleb Dawe was equally up for the task.

'Tory, he's pretty scary out there,' said Sandhu. 'He's definitely taken it to another level. You don't get much sleep before you play him.

'Kaleb was pretty amazing for us. He came to play.'

In the end, it was Dawe who would walk away with the gold, ending a long drought for Porter Creek. Mike Kelly, who coached well-known Yukon volleyball player Scott Price now playing for the University of Calgary Dinos returned to help Sandhu with coaching this season.

Vanier's reign began when Price and Kelly left the Rams a couple of years ago. Now, Kelly and Sandhu are trying to get the Rams back to the successful level they were at before.

It's kind of the beginning of a new era I think,' said Sandhu. 'It's a lot sweeter when you're on the other end of a 15-13 score, We lost all our games by scores like that last year.

'I think there were some tears for our guys when we won. It was awesome.'

Sandhu said he was really proud of every single player on the team, adding he's never seen them more ready to play than they were over the weekend.

With only three returning players this year, it's taken some adjustment, but luckily, most of the athletes grew up together.

Tim Beaver, Sina Kazemi and Chad Curlew are three of the basketball players who decided to take on volleyball this year as well.

'We kind of made a deal with the basketball coaches,' explained Sandhu. 'One of the things Vanier does, is they have most of their kids playing both sports, which has helped them achieve a lot of success. You can see the cross-training and things you get from both sides.'

It paid off immediate benefits for the Rams in Dawson, as Beaver quickly became a key component.

'I taught Tim how to play middle in seven weeks,' laughed Sandhu. 'And he was just a force in the final.'

Now, Porter Creek will concentrate on the Super Volley finals, scheduled for Nov. 24-25, followed by the Yukon championships. Sandhu said he plans to give his squad plenty of rest over the next couple of weeks, so they can stay healthy for the big tournaments ahead.

'We have a lot of respect for Vanier. They've got a great coach with Dwayne Stoker, that's why they win so much.

'(But) we're going for Super Volley. We're going to try and win as much as we can.'

The senior girls will also head into Super Volley with visions of a championship trophy in their heads. They clinched gold in Dawson with a victory over the Crusaders, thanks in part to the admirable play of Jasmine Mooney, who was battling an illness throughout the weekend.

'The girls were awesome too,' stated Sandhu. '(Mooney) especially, because she was so sick and she still managed to get through it and rise to the occasion.'

The Porter Creek senior boys and girls weren't the only teams to achieve success at the Dawson Invitational last weekend.

The Rams also took gold in the Grade 9/10 girls division, with host Robert Service and picking up the silver. F.H. Collins captured the Grade 9/10 boys gold over Robert Service.

J.V. Clark School (Mayo) beat Robert Service in the grade 7/8 boys competition, while the Robert Service Grade 7/8 girls team defeated the St. Elias (Haines Junction) squad to take the gold.