November 12, 2005 - The CAPS
15U team headed to Madoc to compete in the OVA 15U Girls Provincial
Cup - Zone E this past weekend. Seeded 2nd, the CAPS knew they
would have to finish in the top two to earn their spot in the Tier I
division of 15U OVA competition.
The morning saw the girls playing
inconsistently throughout pool play, with flashes of strong serving
followed by not-so-great serve receiving. However the girls won
their pool with victories over Astros de Marc Garneau (25-7,
25-15) and the Ottawa Kangaroos (25-10, 25-17). The first round
of playoff action found the girls facing the host Madoc Centre
Stars. The team focused on the task at hand, and with strong
serving, combined with solid passing to set up kills from the middle
and outside, they won in straight sets 25-9,
25-12.
This was not the goal of the day, however,
so the girls stayed focused and ready for their semi-final match
against Kingston Pegasus. The CAPS team not only served
with confidence, but they got their passing game together to once
again set up strong outside hitting and timely kills from the middle.
In the end, the CAPS assured themselves a trip to the gold medal match
with an impressive 25-10, 25-17 win.
The gold medal match was one the girls had
been looking forward to since last year when they faced Durham
Attack Black and lost a heartbreaker by 3 points in the 3rd set.
However, they never really allowed themselves to get into any sort of
rhythm. Error after error rattled the CAPS and stopped them from
getting into their usual groove of strong serving and effective
hitting. The first set ended abruptly in a 25-11 Attack
victory. The girls did their best to battle back in set 2, with
Coach O'Doherty using her bench to try to get something going, but
the match momentum remained in Attack's favour. The CAPS
dropped the second set 25-18, and were forced to settle for a silver
medal.
Much like her players, Coach Cathy
O'Doherty was disappointed but unconcerned after the match.
"We were beaten by a team with better skills today - that's all.
We'll just have to get back in the gym and keep working hard.
There'll be plenty of opportunities to show what we can do against
the top teams as the season continues."
The team will have a week to practice
before traveling to Vaudreuil to participate in the Volleyball
Quebec 15U/16U Omnium on November 19th. Thanks to all the parents
who traveled in the early morning to support the girls, and to guest
assistant coach Newton Noor for helping on the bench during the day.
Congratulations to the girls for qualifying for Tier I play again at
the 15U level.
Results/OVA 15U Girls Provincial Cup -
Zone E
Gold: Durham Attack Black
(Oshawa)
Silver: National
Capitals
Bronze: Kingston Pegasus
4. Astros de Marc-Garneau
(Trenton)
