11 of our girls from the National Capitals 16U Girls volleyball
team traveled to Newmarket on February 12th to participate in the
OVA 18U Bugarski Cup - Zone B. It was a day of ups and downs
that would test the girls' ability to communicate their way through
the toughest matches.
Their first game in the day was against one of the strongest
teams at the tournament, Durham Attack Red from Oshawa.
The CAPS battled hard but were defeated in two tough sets, 19-25 and
18-25. The second match of round robin play had the CAPS playing
a strong game against Blue Water Blizzards from Owen Sound and
winning in two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-17. In their third
match the CAPS easily dominated the Kirkland Lake Northern
Stars to a quick victory in two sets of 25-10 and 25-8.
"With every match they're doing better and better - we need
to keep stepping it up. All the girls are playing well and
everyone is having a good game. Now we need to step it up as a
team," commented Acting Head Coach, Lorraine Robichaud.
Going into the quarterfinals in 2nd place in their pool, the
National Capitals played against another home town team, the 18U
Mavericks from Ottawa, who had placed 3rd in their pool. The
presumption was that it would be an easy win, but on the court the
girls were faced with a very enthusiastic group of Mavericks girls who
were highly motivated to beat them. And they did. Where
the CAPS had been very communicative in round robin play, they now
became quiet. The CAPS' desire to win and self-confidence were
not as strong as the Mavericks, who took a quick lead in the first
game 17-3. The girls clawed their way back but by the time it
was over the score was 21-25. Having bridged the gap so
closely, it was thought that our girls were on the right track for
game 2 and that maybe we would get to play 3 sets, but the girls once
again went down to defeat, 25-20. This loss knocked the
girls out of medal play. The girls now had to go back and play
for 5th against the Northern Stars, who they quickly defeated in two
sets of 25-6 and 25-6.
"I think the girls know that they should have won that match
against the Mavericks, but the girls just weren't mentally ready to
win. This tournament gave us the opportunity to see that we need
to get stronger mentally. The girls need to become more at ease
in intense situations." - Acting Head Coach, Lorraine
Robichaud.
The 16U girls next see action at the OVA 16U Girls Tier 1
Open in at U of T Scarborough on February 26th.
