The outcome may have been different had the ball dropped an inch or two shorter.

Porter Creek Rams player Robbie Borud tracked the ball to the baseline after a deep volley by Vanier Crusaders setter Mason Gray.

Turns out Borud made the right call by letting the ball drift out.

In doing so, the Rams edged out the Crusaders in the Grade 11/12 boys final of the Yukon Championships at the Canada Games Centre on Saturday in three sets, 25-19, 20-25, 16-14.

"That was a good leave,” said Rams power hitter Robin Smith, who was named tournament MVP. "If I was back there I probably would have taken it. It's hard to watch a ball that close. Robbie, he's a pretty smart player, he's clutch.”

Rams coach Mike Kelly agreed.

"He made a good choice,” Kelly said. "They put basically put two of their last three points out of the court, and that's what won it. You could maybe give up those points early on in the game, but at the end of the game, those ones hurt.

"The last few points, we were making sure that we didn't give them any easy points.

We wanted them to earn everything they got, and we weren't going to throw away points.”

The Crusaders took too many unforced errors in an otherwise point-for-point final set after missing a series of serves.

The Rams reached eight points first in the third set to switch courts at 8-7.

But the Crusaders pushed back when Mike Hunter smashed a backcourt shot to give his side the first lead of the set at 11-10.

Gray and middle hitter Henry Kedziora followed up that point with a play the pair had been running successfully all game: a quick, short set for a hit down the middle the Rams blockers seemed unable to read.

From there, the Crusaders lost their footing, gave up the lead and failed to come back.

"When it got tight in the end, it was basically three unforced errors that made the difference,” Crusaders head coach Russ Tait said.

"Those service errors are uncharacteristic of our team. He's serving a tough deep ball, and an inch shorter and he's a hero; same with the ball Mason was pushing.

"It's really high-caliber volleyball. The first set you really got to get going, and it's grit and determination to go from there.”

The Rams settled first in the opening set, exposing the gap the Crusaders left behind the block.

The Crusaders modified their lineup in the second set, Kelly noted, with Charlie Kedziora moving from libero to power.

"When they have one more option that's really consistent, it might be a point here or there, but that's how close it ends up being,” Kelly said.

During round robin action, the Crusaders beat the Rams twice in three sets.

No excuses in the finals, though, Tait added.

"Congratulations to PC That's the way the season should end – 16-14 in the third – so that could go either way. But that's fine, this was their tournament,” Tait said, noting that all but one of his players are in grade 11. "We'll be back next year.”

The tournament all-star team is as follows:

Mason Gray, Michael Hunter and Albert Spycher, each from Vanier, Jeremy Mann (PC), Tanner Coyne (FH) and Justin Dragomon (Dawson).