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CHICAGO — Cheers turned to tears when a girls’ volleyball team learned they wouldn’t be able to go after a city title because of budget cuts.

The 5th and 6th grade girls’ volleyball team from Oriole Park Elementary School won their network in the playoffs last week.

“They were told they weren’t able to go to city finals because there’s no money,” said Jennifer Nallen, a mother of one of the players.

And the team’s coaches, who are volunteers,  say they didn’t officially find out CPS had chopped the championships until the day before last week’s game.

It caps a season that almost didn’t happen after district officials announced they were eliminating central funding for elementary school sports.

Parents say they would have gladly raised money to keep the championships, if they had known it was in danger.

The 7th and 8th grade girls’ volleyball championships will continue.