January 21, 2006 - 36
different 18U Ontario girls volleyball teams traveled to 4 different
locations across the province to participate in the OVA 18U
Challenge Cup over the weekend. Our CAPS arrived in Ajax
where the fierce competition of the top Tier 1 group of 8 was
to take place. The CAPS were faced with a fight to hold on to
their first place position, earned when they captured the gold medal
at the Tier 1 McGregor Cup in hometown Ottawa last
November.
Coach Harris and the girls had their work cut out for
them.
At 9 AM the girls faced their first
opponent of the day, DRVC 17U (Ashburn). A succession of
service and receiving errors by the CAPS allowed the rival team to
have the advantage that they needed to take an early lead and hold it
to the end. However, the CAPS took the next two close sets and
the match by scores of 23-25, 25-23 and 16-14.
Next up in round robin play, Forest
City (London) got their swing at the CAPS. The first set
stayed close all the way to 14s, before Forest City took the lead and
finished out the set with a 19-25 victory. The CAPS hit back and
rolled through the second set (25-16), but somehow lost their momentum
and went down to defeat in a closely contested third set
(16-18).
The third and final match of pool play saw
a refocused CAPS team victorious over the Falcons (Scarborough
) in 2 sets: 25-20 and 25-21.
Going into the quarter-finals 2nd in their
pool, the CAPS were pitted against DRVC 18U. The
victor of this match would make it into a top 4 position and play for
a medal. The first set loss, 21-25, left the team in a 'must-
win' position to force a third set and that is exactly what the
girls did. They went on to win the match, locking in their spot
in Tier 1. They also now had an opportunity to position
themselves for another medal.
The semis brought the CAPS face-to-face
with Attack Black from Oshawa, who had taken home the silver
medal from Ottawa in November. This would prove to be the
toughest battle of the day, with both teams wanting the same thing -
to take home the gold.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair
until a tie at 20, when Durham went on a roll, took the next 5 points
and a 20-25 victory. Again, the CAPS were in a position of
having to win the second set to force a third. It looked like
that was going to happen, until Durham decided they were not going to
give the CAPS that opportunity. The second set was hard fought
on both sides, but ended in a loss for the CAPS by a score of
25-27.
The CAPS then turned their focus to the
Selects (Peel) in the bronze medal game. The girls lost the
first set, took the second, but succumbed to their opponent in the
third by a score of 10-15.
As was evident throughout the day, the top
teams at 18U are all contenders for a medal of any colour.
Although disappointed to have gone home empty-handed, the girls have
maintained their place amongst the top 4 teams in Ontario - which is a
proud place to be, for sure.
On behalf of the team and parents, we would
like to express a huge thank you to Matt, for his excellent coaching,
time and commitment to our girls. Also, a special thanks goes to
Sherry Fetterly, for making all of the driving arrangements; to Dan
and Ann, Ross Fetterly and Paul Ledas for driving the girls safely to
and from Toronto; and, once again, to Cathy's sister's family, the
Diosis, for opening up their home to our team. Your generosity
is very much appreciated.
Good luck to the girls as they head to
the OVA 18U Tier 1 Open, which will take place on February
18th.
Results/OVA 18U Girls Challenge Cup -
Tier 1:
Gold: Durham Attack Black
(Oshawa)
Silver: Forest City (London)
Bronze: Peel Selects
(Brampton)
4. National Capitals
5. Scarborough Falcons
5. DRVC (Ashburn)
7. DRVC 17U (Ashburn)
7. Stratford Stingers
