March 3, 2007
- Rise and shine! It is 5am and
we are off to Joliette, Quebec with the goal of capturing the
Volleyball Quebec Omnium du Québec 18U gold medal and bringing
home the banner to the National Capitals Volleyball Club for the 3rd
straight season!
Coach Cathy O'Doherty communicated the
goal of this tournament clearly to the players: "This is our last
opportunity before the final Tier 1 OVA tournament, Provincials and
Nationals to bring all your hard work in practice together and compete
the way you all can play. We'll work on our offence and
communication - do your best and let's win this one."
Undefeated during round robin play, the
CAPS defeated:
Envolley bleu de Sherbrooke:
25-11, 25-13
Celtique F18 de Montreal:
25-17, 25-18
Vipères Oranges des
Laurentides: 25-11, 25-17
Citadens de Vaudreuil: 25-23,
25-14
Envolley vert de Sherbrooke proved
to be an swift defeat in the semi-final match: 25-12, 25-11. The
CAPS played with determination, confidence and broke the dreaded trend
that has been the 'monkey on our back' up to this point in our
season - the dreaded bronze medal match.
As we had hoped, the final gold medal match
would pair the CAPS against the tournament host Libellules de
Joliette. These Quebec players had also gone undefeated
throughout the tournament and the girls knew this would be a
hard-fought match.
All were aware that if the CAPS could shut
down their two strongest hitters, the momentum of the game would shift
in our favour. After two strong kills by Libellules' #2 and
#5, our fearless Laura Ledas stepped up and shut down the next
attempt. Sarah Fetterly, our amazing libero, then
proceeded to pick up the next big hit for a perfect pass to Katee
Luecke who then set up Erin O'Doherty for a beautiful
kill of our own. One of Sarah's teammates pronounced, "We
think Sarah has superpowers. She comes out of nowhere and makes
these amazing passes, and she is awesome!"
The next two big Libellules hits were also
blocked by Laura Ledas and would shift the momentum of this
game and pump our players to realize that they could physically and
mentally control this game. The first game was dominated by the
CAPS, 25-14.
A change in lineup for the second set would
boost confidence in all players of this highly skilled team.
Claudia Seguin's consistent play and especially strong serving was
key throughout the tournament. Kalyn Mostert's blocking
and hitting at the net would continue the momentum towards our quest
for gold. Katee Luecke's ability to control the game with
highly skilled shoots, steps, and metre balls is a strong testament to
her hard work and excellent coaching.
All players competed hard and contributed
to a strong second set 25-18 win and dominant tournament victory with
a 12-0 winning record and a GOLD medal!
CONGRATULATIONS.
Family that had made the special trip to
cheer on the girls deserve a special thanks: Ross Fetterly, Luke and
Eve Luecke, Claudia's brother, Kalyn's dad, brother, grandparents,
aunt and cousins, Denis L'Heureux and Chantal's aunt, Helène
L'Heureux.
Thank you Cathy for your perseverance,
continuing mentorship and excellent coaching of this very appreciative
group of lovely women.
Related stories:
