February 18, 2006 - Due to a quirk in the scheduling and a bit of luck, the hosting of the OVA 18U Girls Tier 1 Open on Saturday, February 18th was awarded by the OVA to TEAM OTTAWA, the second 18U Girls Tier 1 tournament to be held in Ottawa this season.  The three-court set-up at De La Salle High School had been secured for the hosting of this tournament.  Unfortunately, due to bad weather and the inability of some of the Toronto area and southern Ontario teams to participate, only seven teams were present when the competition started at 9:00am.

The #3 seed 18U CAPS started the tournament well by sweeping Waterloo Tigers Black 17U in two straight sets by scores of 25-20 and 25-23.  Next up for the girls was a very tough York Stingrays team that forced the 18U CAPS to the limit before succumbing 28-26 and 25-23.  The girls' final pool match was against the #2 seed Peel Selects, who always seem to have highly entertaining matches against the CAPS.  This battle would be no different, as the Selects would defeat the CAPS in three close sets, 19-25; 25-17; 12-15.

Based on their second place finish in their pool, the CAPS began their playoff round against the third place team from the other pool, the Toronto Royals.  After a close first set, which saw the CAPS win 25-23, the girls dominated the second 25-11 to close out the match in straight sets.  In the semi-final, the girls were matched against the #1 seed Durham Attack Black.  In a match that went back and forth and had many momentum swings, the girls came up on the wrong end of the score, with Attack prevailing 26-24; 15-25; 12-15.  After losing two straight matches to their two biggest rivals, the CAPS seemed to lack energy and intensity in the bronze medal game, losing 19-25 and 20-25 to end the day in fourth place.

"We seemed to play hot and cold today", stated Head Coach Matt Harris.  "We'll have to be much more consistent in our performances if we hope to defend our 18U Ontario Championship in April."  "We definitely have room for improvement", added Assistant Coach Cathy O'Doherty.  "Fortunately for us, we have two big tournaments coming up in Québec in March to help us prepare for Provincials."

Many thanks to all the 18U parents who were able to help out with the hosting of the tournament, whether it was working in the canteen, scorekeeping or doing other duties.  Next up for the 18U CAPS is the defence of their Volleyball Québec 18U Omnium du Québec title in Sherbrooke.

 

Gold: Durham Attack Black (Oshawa)
Silver: Peel Selects 88 (Brampton)
Bronze: Waterloo Tigers Black 17U
4. National Capitals
5. Aurora Storm Cyclones
6. Toronto Royals

7. Stingrays (York Region)