January 12-15, 2007 -
Spring-like weather provided an amazing trip to Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania for our 18U girls to compete in the Martin Luther King
Kickoff Classic. Five wonderful chaperones and 13 talented
volleyball players headed south to compete in this annual favourite on
the 17U and 18U calendars.
The 18U CAPS were pooled in Tier 8C for the first day of
tournament play with teams from North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New
York. It did not take long for us to appreciate the skill level
and determination of all the US clubs in attendance.
Equally determined and skilled, the CAPS were able to finish
first in their pool on Saturday by defeating:
1.
Norlanco 18 Blue (Lancaster, PA) in 2 straight matches: 25-9,
25-20
2.
NYC Jrs. 18 (New York City, NY) in 2 straight matches: 23-14,
22-14
3.
Diamond 18U (North Carolina) in 2 straight matches: 22-14,
25-15
Luckily our team was able to play in the morning wave of matches
starting at 8AM and finishing by 2PM. This gave us plenty of
time to see the spectacular sights of Philadelphia, dine amongst
friends and enjoy watching our 17U team compete in their
division.
Sunday would prove to be more of a challenge for the girls as the
level of play increased.
It was with great pride that we overheard parents and coaches
discussing our team's excellent play, skills and their ability to work
together. This was apparent in their phenomenal play throughout
this next day of competition. They would finish the day
undefeated:
1.
Hard Rock (New Hampshire) in 2 straight matches: 25-21,
28-26
2.
SCVBC (Trenton, Pennsylvania) in 2 straight matches: 25-14,
25-18
3.
Atlantic Valley in 2 straight matches: 25-14, 25-18
The girls were able to 'sleep in' Monday morning until 8:15 as we had
big plans to head to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and run the
'Rocky' stairs. This was a highlight of our sightseeing that
included the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Historic Downtown
(Philly Cheesesteaks and shopping), and Christ Church, with its 200
year old tombstones.
Expectations were high to continue our success into the GOLD
Round quarter finals. The girls were rested, excited and nervous.
Our first match paired us with Connecticut JR Volleyball
Club.
This match caught us by surprise as the Connecticut JRs pressed
hard to gain an early lead and continued to dig, hit, block and
dominate the game for a 14-25 CAPS loss. Coach Cathy O'Doherty
rallied the girls, challenged them to continue their level of play
and, with great determination and skill, the CAPS won the second set,
25-21.
The final tie breaker would be a 'heart breaker' of huge
proportions for the CAPS. At 14-11 the girls needed to put away
one more kill to advance, however the Connecticut team held on
point-for-point, with the match ending in an 18-20 CAPS loss.
We finished our day disappointed and started into the 8 hour
drive home. Travelling north into winter, we arrived safely home
before midnight. Despite the ONE disappointing loss all weekend,
the 18U CAPS can be proud of their accomplishments in this
tournament.
Congratulations girls, it was a pleasure to watch your phenomenal
play!
