February 16, 2008 - It's not often
that the 16U CAPS travel on Saturday morning to attend an OVA
tournament, but this weekend the girls got lucky and were able to
sleep in their own beds on Friday night before an early morning trip
to Kingston to participate in OVA 17U Girls Bugarski Cup - Zone
C. The CAPS entered the tournament as the fourth seed with
one goal - a first or second place finish and a trip to the 17U
Provincial Championships in Tier 2.
Things definitely got off to a slow start.
The CAPS' first opponent of the day was the Ottawa Kangaroos
17U. The teams have met several times this season and the
Roos have only managed to take one set. The CAPS won the first
set 25-21, but quickly fell behind in the second, at one point giving
the Roos a 10 point lead. Although the girls fought hard, the
early lead proved too much and the CAPS lost the second set 23-25.
The third set was tight from the first ball and, for the first time
this season, the Roos won the match with a third set victory:
14-16.
Next up were the Durham Attack Red
16U. As was the case with the first match of the day, Attack
pushed the match to three sets. First set went to the CAPS
(25-21) and the second to Attack (13-25). The CAPS were
strong throughout the third and final set, winning the match by a 15-9
score.
The final match of pool play pitted the
CAPS against the Ottawa Maverick Outlaws 16U/HP.
Once again, these teams have met several times this season, with all
matches close. This meeting was no different with the match
again going the distance to three sets, in favour of the Outlaws
(22-25, 25-19, 11-15). So, after nine sets, the CAPS found
themselves in third place in the "A" pool.
After a disappointing morning and a quick
break for lunch, the CAPS hit the court for their quarter-final match
against Astros de Marc Garneau 17U. The rally began in
the quarter-finals and the girls played strongly throughout the match,
managing to shut down the Astros in two straight (25-22,
25-15).
And so, off to the critical match of the
tournament, the all-important semi-final. Since only the
first and second place finishers would advance to Tier 2 for the
Provincial Championships, this was to be the key match of the day for
the CAPS. Based on the results of pool play, for the second time
of the day, the CAPS faced the Ottawa Maverick Outlaws 16U/HP.
The afternoon match was no different than that of the morning or of
any other meeting this season - each set was excruciatingly exciting
(at least for the cheering squad in the stands). The first set
went to the CAPS (25-21) but the second went to the Outlaws
(20-25). With Tier 2 on the line, both teams played to
win, with great defense and hard hitting. And, on their third
attempt this season, the CAPS managed to leave Zone play behind them
with a third set victory: 16-14!
In the final match of the tournament, the
CAPS met Northumberland Breakers 17U for the first time this
season. With the momentum of their big win behind them, the CAPS
came out swinging and defeated the Breakers in straight sets
(25-11, 25-18), ending the tournament in first place.
After much celebrating and picture-taking,
the gang took to the 401 for a short and uneventful drive home.
A heartfelt thanks to coaches Linden and Bruno and a special thanks to
Courtney, the newest 16U CAPS fan for making the trip to Kingston.
The 16U CAPS look forward to the Provincial and National Championships
in April and May. Go Caps Go!!!!!
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