October 29, 2005 - The 16U
CAPS traveled to Trenton for their 1st tournament of the 2005-06
season last Saturday, the OVA 16U Provincial Cup - Zone
F. We were all grateful for a pool draw that gave us a
10AM start because it meant Friday evening was spent at home.
Everybody arrived at Marc Garneau HS in plenty of time, in spite of a
missed alarm and trouble with skunks(!).
The girls' first match was against
Northumberland Breakers - Leah Hofmann smoothed away any
pre-tournament jitters by pushing the team to an early lead with a
string of 8 consecutive service points. Leah was also
particularly effective at the net with some big blocks during the
middle of the game. Caitlyn McGeer finished things off with a
big hit to seal the 25-18 victory. That proved to be as close as
anyone would get to the CAPS during pool play. They rode the
momentum in the second set to a 25-7 win.
The second match-up of the day was against
the host Astros de Marc Garneau. In the first set the
CAPS jumped out to an early lead, then dropped a few points due to
unforced errors. Nonetheless, the end result was a 25-14 win.
A somewhat stronger performance in the 2nd set produced a 25-12
victory. As morning play continued we got a glimpse of the
great things to come this season: Haley Wolfenden's new, and very
tricky-to-return jump float serve, Kalyn Mostert's huge hits
(earning her the nickname of The Tank), Megan Sim's great
passing skills, Karin McDowell's ability to drop balls into just the
right hole and Emily Kyte's versatility/ability to hit balls from
any position.
In the day's final pool match the CAPS
met Pegasus Black from Kingston. It was a fairly even
game until the scores reached double digits. The CAPS then broke
things open, with Becky Billings serving 10 points in succession to
grab a 20-9 lead. Pegasus regained some of those points as our
girls faltered, but the end result was a 25-17 win. Set 2 ended
with the same score, however this time it was a see-saw battle up to
16s, when the girls kicked it into gear and finished things off.
As with the previous and later matches of the day, the setters - Leah
Beadle, Sofia Sturova and Gina Morphy - not only did a great job
covering the court to setup hitters, but each also demonstrated an
ability to deliver aggressive and point winning
kills.
The CAPS finished first in their pool,
which pitted them against the 4th place team in Pool B, Pegasus
Flames, for the quarter final round. Gina served us out to
an 8-0 lead and the team never looked back. The second set was
not close as the girls went on to a 25-9 win. In the end it was
probably unfortunate that the CAPS were not more challenged in this
match, because the next round was to prove much more
competitive.
The semi-finals pitted the 16U CAPS against
the 15U CAPS. The 15U team, led by Coach O'Doherty,
came out highly motivated, focused and full of a desire to win.
The full story of this game is probably best described in the 15U
website story, here. Suffice it to say that this semi-final loss
will serve as a lesson that the 16Us must use to their advantage as
the season progresses. That's what the game is all about.
The 15U CAPS were organized, played with heart, and the players and
coach earned our congratulations.
So it was onto the bronze medal match
against cross-town rival Ottawa Mavericks. As in a number
of the other matches during the day our CAPS jumped out to an early
lead. They continued to build on that lead throughout, with
great hitting by Becky Billings. Caitlyn McGeer served our CAPS
to the finish with 5 unanswered points for a final score of 25-12.
In the second set the girls raced out to an early lead once again -
leading at one point by a score of 16-6. Some big blocks and 4
consecutive points made it look like the Mavericks were going to
challenge the CAPS, but the girls kept control, wrapping things up
with a 25-16 victory to secure the
bronze.
Over the course of the day the CAPS swept
all their sets except for 2. Coming away with a bronze medal was
perhaps a little less than the team had hoped for and expected, but
all in all it was a great tournament. Coaches Harris and Miner
provided perspective with their comments: "The girls have been
practicing hard to learn new systems - this was the first test.
It was also the first chance for us to try different mixes of players
in game situations. We had a few stumbles at times today, but
this is a very talented and dedicated group of young women. When
it all comes together they're really going to
shine."
The 16U CAPS play next at the OVA 17U
Provincial Cup in Kingston on November 5th. They extend a
unanimous 3 cheers to the 15U CAPS on their gold medal performance.
Thanks also to the parents for driving, cheering and providing the
best lunches of the tournament.
