March 29-30, 2008 - This
year's OVA 15U Girls Ontario Championships/Tier 2 were held
just down the road in Petawawa, at Dundonald Hall. What an
outstanding facility, with 3 courts together and enough room for a
running track around the courts, ideal for warm-ups! The 4th
court was beside a gymnastic center, again, with plenty of room around
the court. This was a dream location for a volleyball
tournament.
First up in pool play were the Toronto
Aces. The girls came out strong, but to no avail, losing in
3 sets, 22-25, 25-16 and 13-15.
Our second pool play match was against
Milton Storm. This time, the girls dug down deep and didn't
let up, winning in 3 sets, 19-25, 25-13 and 15-9.
Our third pool play match was against
Peel Selects 93. This was our most convincing win of the
day, as the girls took it in 2 straight, 25-23 and 25-20. This
put us 2nd in our pool.
On to the cross-over match against the Toronto West team.
The girls know how important the cross-over match is, and this time
the nerves showed, nothing could settle them down, and they lost in
straights, 21-25 and 18-25. This put us in the bottom half for
the playoff round on Sunday.
Off to the hotel for a quick clean-up and
then on to Kelsey's for dinner - everyone had a great time and great
food, with many birthday celebrations at all the tables, including one
at ours. Happy birthday Victoria! Back to the hotel for a
good night's sleep.
On Sunday, our first match was against
DRVC Blue. The girls looked terrific, confident and played
their game, winning 26-24 and 25-15.
Our last match of the day was against
the South County Bandits Teal, playing for 9th or 11th place.
Again the girls came out strong and won the first set 25-12. In
the second set we were up 13-6, feeling like we were on to a sure win,
but something changed and the momentum shifted, resulting in a match
loss (19-25, 9-15).
Congratulations girls. We went into
the tournament seeded 13th, and came out in 11th place overall... baby
steps. Watch out on April 12th, the 16U Provincials may be our
day!
Thank you so much to Lianne, who made all
the arrangements, and to coaches Cathy and Devon for their continued
support, encouragement and patience.
