February 17-19, 2007 - Winter
weather returned to extend our projected 10 hour drive to Washington,
DC into a long 13 hour drive for the inaugural Capital Hill Classic
Volleyball Tournament. Despite the lengthy travel, all
vehicles enjoyed good spirits, non-complainers and some talented
singers (Katee and LC).
The 18U CAPS were ranked 7th in this tournament based on the
organizer's knowledge of our play, as the US teams are categorized
based on US tournament statistics, which we were unable to provide.
Thirty-two 18U teams were in our division, with 122 teams in total
competing at the beautiful Washington Convention Centre, walking
distance from our Grand Hyatt hotel.
Saturday competition matched the CAPS against teams from Delaware,
Washington and Maryland. Our players started the tournament
confident and represented Canada proudly with their strong athletic
ability. They finished undefeated in their pool on Saturday by
defeating:
First State (Delaware)/2
straight matches: 25-15, 27-25
MDVC (Mason Dixon Volleyball
Club)/2 straight matches: 25-17, 25-14
FCA (Maryland)/2 straight
matches: 25-9, 29-27
The top two teams in each division advanced
each day to compete in the gold medal round on Monday. Once
again, the 18U division played in the morning wave of matches,
starting at 8am and finishing by 2pm. This provided time to see
the spectacular sights of Washington, such as the White House, Vietnam
Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, Capital Hill, Union
Station and, of course, fit in some shopping and fine dining.
Sunday would prove to be more of a challenge for the girls as we had
the pleasure of scouting some of the strong US teams that we would
meet and defeat to advance on Monday. Many people were surprised
that there was a Canadian team in the competition and enjoyed asking
all associated questions: How long was the drive? What you mean
you didn't fly?? (much to our amusement). Their skilled play
continued and the CAPS would finish the day second in their pool.
Two day record: 10 wins in12 sets. The CAPS played:
Valley Forge (Pennsylvania)/2
straight matches: 25-23, 25-23
PVA (Pennsylvania)/2
straight matches: 25-14, 25-16
Metro America (Washington)/1
for 3: 21-25, 26-24, 10-15. This match was hard-fought, against the
number one ranked team in the tournament.
Monday morning was relaxing with a start
time of 11am, which meant well-rested players, time to check out, pack
and be at the gym for 10am to compete in the gold medal round of the
tournament.
The quarter-final match paired us with the Tampa Bay 16U team.
These talented young players were not a team to be underestimated,
however the CAPS never let them into the match, winning by scores of
25-15 and 25-11.
Semi-final round play paired the CAPS with Virginia's Richmond
Volleyball Club. Both teams played well and RVC showed
amazing spirit and ability to control their play to their advantage.
The CAPS battled hard but were defeated 24-26, 20-25 to end our quest
for the gold/silver final. RVC went on to battle Metro America
for the championship win but unfortunately the CAPS were on the road
to try and make it home before 2am.
Our girls demonstrated their ability to
compete against the strong US teams. Some special mention of
outstanding play goes to Erin O'Doherty with consistent kills and
passing and Jessica Zeroual for her outstanding blocking, winning her
the tournament 'Best Blocker' Award. All players will take this
experience back to the gym and continue to improve and prepare for our
end of season championships.
The return trip was more than we could have
asked for, with dry roads, no accidents and no further snow/ice
storms. Thank you to Phil Mostert, Bob O'Doherty, Dan Beaudry
and Paul Ledas who drove the entire trip without complaint. As
always, without great coaching we would not be able to experience
these great opportunities. Thank you.
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