February 4, 2006 - We've often heard rumours that there are "Volleyball Gods" floating around out there and that they eek out volleyball justice to refs, linesmen, obnoxious fans and (from time-to-time) nasty front row players.  The Volleyball Gods are trusted to ensure balance where there has been injustice.  Well, if there actually are such things, the 15U girls got a taste of their mischief over the weekend in London at the OVA 15U Girls Challenge Cup/Tier 1.  For reasons that will hopefully be clear sometime 'down the road', forces conspired against our girls to relegate them, at day's end, to 15U Tier 2 for the next OVA tournament.

Starting the morning in a bit of a rush, the CAPS faced off against Pakmen (Mississauga), who had moved up from Tier 2 and were determined to prove that they belonged in this tournament.  A quiet CAPS team had difficulty with service reception, and went down in straight sets: 21-25, 22-25.  It was instantly clear that some of the gremlins from Burlington had yet to be exorcised.

The girls' quickly regrouped for their next opponent, Aurora Storm.  After dropping the first set 17-25, the CAPS service game kicked into gear as they stormed back to take the match (25-11, 15-8).

With only a brief 20 minute break for snacks, the third match of pool play began against Georgetown Impact, a team the CAPS had beaten for the bronze medal in December.  The match was close but, in the end, Impact would exact a little revenge, emerging victorious: 26-28, 24-26.  Despite sharing a three-way tie for second place, the CAPS suddenly found themselves 4th in their pool, after the tie-breaker.

Heading directly (no break, again) into the first round of playoffs against Etobicoke Titans, the girls (and we parents) were under the impression that a loss could relegate the CAPS to Tier 2 for the remainder of the season.  This seemed highly unusual but, on such a frenetic day, there wasn't much time to sort things out.  The girls just needed to get out there and win!  So, taking to the court with some desperate energy, the CAPS played inspired defense (nice pancake Jorie!) and battled hard to 21s.  Then, three mystifying and potentially spirit-breaking line calls ended the set in the Titans' favour before anybody could really absorb what had happened (22-25).  Suddenly, like clockwork, the Volleyball Gods stepped in - this time balancing things in the CAPS' favour - as the girls roared back to steamroll through the next two sets and the match 25-10, 15-7.

After only time enough for a sigh or two of somewhat misplaced relief, the girls then quickly took to the same court again to play the always strong Forest City Green (London).  Despite their best efforts (Rebecca showed what she was made of when she flashed that trademark smile after being packed in the face on a block!), the match never really seemed to generate any of the heat we saw from the matchup the week before in Burlington, and the CAPS came up short, losing in straight sets: 17-25, 22-25.  This loss put the team out of medal contention, and kept them in the T2 danger zone.

Switching courts to play their 6th match of the day and 4th straight without a break (I don't think we can blame this on the Volleyball Gods), the CAPS found themselves once again facing Aurora Storm and their high-flying, magenta-haired wing hitter.  This time, Storm came out with their serves blazing which kept the CAPS from establishing any consistent offense.  End result: CAPS lose in three: 21-25, 25-15, 7-15, and expose themselves to yet another match for 'all the marbles'.

The last match of a relatively short, but exhausting day (and the girls were tired too!) was against yet another team from pool play: Impact.  There was much on the line here and, for the first half of the match, it looked like the CAPS "wanted it" more.  With well-placed hits from a relatively fresh Leah Spas securing the last 4 points of the first set and five consecutive points in the second, the CAPS rode the momentum for, well, one-and-a-half  sets!  After a 25-18 first set victory and a smooth 13-9 second set start, those Volleyball Gods reared their heads again, and Impact was suddenly alive with energy.  The Gods are supposed to provide balance, but what had the girls done to deserve this?!?  Impact turned things around and took the set 24-26.  The CAPS were then handed their toughest loss of the season: 9-15 in the third.  This meant 8th place for the CAPS and what we thought was a move to Tier 2 for the balance of the season.  A day that had started off with the hope of hardware for this great group of kids had ended in tears.

So, might the Volleyball Gods be looming above in clouds rimmed with a silver lining for our 15U CAPS?  Yes, of course!  The rumours of permanent relegation were untrue - our CAPS will indeed get their shot at Tier 1 Provincials, so long as they finish in the Top 4 at the OVA 15U Girls Bugarski Cup/Tier 2 in late March.  Perhaps all the upset and confusion of London and the drop to T2 is simply the Gods making sure that our CAPS develop a proper appreciation for the quality and talent that exists at the Tier 1 level, and that they reapply themselves to the serious work that it will take to wrestle a Provincial Championship away from these other fine teams.

So, rest easy girls - your goals are still within reach.  They've just been realigned for the moment by those crafty Volleyball Gods.

Much thanks to Coach Cathy for taking the long trip out London way, to the parents who made the long trip and encouraged the girls throughout the day, and to the friends of Connie Daymond who graciously offered up their vacant home to the entire team while they were away on vacation.