The Capitals 18U Girls team has been quietly making its way up (and down) the standings in Ottawa-Carleton Volleyball League (OCVL) play on Thursday nights.  Since the league lost it's hold on the facilities at Algonquin College, the girls have been playing mostly out of the Nepean Sportsplex every Thursday evening since mid-September.  The 18Us started off the season ranked 13th out of 40 teams, slipped briefly to as low as 15th, but have hovered in the 8th-10th positions for the last 5 or 6 weeks.  To-date the CAPS have amassed a record of 7 wins and 4 losses.

"As much as we'd like to get out of the Sportsplex and in with the top teams at Cité Collegiale again, our brief stint there just didn't seem to bring out the best in the girls' abilities", said Head Coach Cathy O'Doherty.   "We've made the first step to get back into the Top 8 with our strong performance against Party On - we'll just have to keep working hard and take better advantage of the opportunity at Cité next time around."

The OCVL offers the girls the opportunity to play every week against seasoned veterans of the sport.  "The game here is really different from the OVA", commented team captain Tess Edwards.  "You can go ahead and pound the ball, but these ladies are so experienced and such smart players that they will mostly always read you and be there waiting for it.  They really force you to play with your head, to tip, roll, play smart defence.  If we go as far as we hope this season, I'm sure our games in the OCVL will have had alot to do with it."

Anyone who would like to come by to see some spirited play and to cheer on our 18Us can check out their schedule at http://www.ocvl.com/womens.asp.  Click on the National Capitals link for a bar chart showing their progression through the season.  The Capitals' next match is on Thursday, December 16th at 8:10PM against Coach O'Doherty's former team, Six Pack, currently featuring our own 14U Girls coach Diana Dowthwaite.