Taking the Wheel

ANTIGONISH - The Northumberland Nighthawks girls volleyball team came away as champs from the 11th annual Wheel Invitational Senior Girls Volleyball Tournament.
The Nighthawks won the Tier II Division in a hard-fought three-set victory over their rivals, the North Nova Gryphons.
The Gryphons took the first set 25-13 and the Nighthawks bounced back to take an intense second set by a score of 25-23. A tiebreaking third set was required and the Nighthawks found their groove and won with a final score of 15-8.
This is the first time in four years that NRHS won a game against NNEC and Nighthawks coach Beth Campbell said she could not be prouder of her girls. Northumberland's Amanda Fitt was named tournament MVP.
Gryphons coach Bev Foster, in her third year at the helm, gave full credit to the Nighthawks for their victory saying: "They really showed they wanted the win more than our girls did."
The teams faced off against each other earlier in the tournament in a tough game with all three sets being close and NNEC coming out with the win. Northumberland went on to play Forest Heights High School and Baddeck High School, winning both games. North Nova also played Baddeck twice and Forest Heights, winning all three games to advance to the final.
The Gryphons squad is led by team captain and last year's team MVP, Brittany MacDonald while returning Rookie of the Year from last season is Bonnie Fraser. Returning solid contributors are: Lyndsey Rivers, Dawn Murray and Hannah LeBlanc. Rookies for the squad are: Amber Baker, Andrea Williams and Kate Skinner.