April 6, 2008 - The CAPS' OVA
17U Girls Ontario Championships-Tier 1 weekend started out
differently this year - we left early for some extra practise with
the Brock Badgers Women's Varsity Volleyball team in St.
Catherine's. Coach Lucas Hodgson ran us through some of their
regular drills, followed by a scrimmage to get some touches on the
ball before our big weekend.
A not-so-good and oh-so-slow game against
the Scarborough Titans didn't start our day out all that
well. We were slow to react and made lots of mistakes, losing
both games (23-25, 23-25).
Next up was Durham Attack Black -
the most effective team in the division - both offensively and
defensively. We redeemed ourselves from our first match, playing
like a winning team and grabbing leads of 5 points in both sets.
Despite huge blocks, amazing digs and some key hits to get Attack
worried, we ended up losing by scores of 23-25 and 20-25. I
think it was our best match ever against Durham - a bit of a victory
despite the outcome.
We went back to the hotel for some food,
naps and time to regroup before our final pool play game against
Georgian Bay Vista. There were no problems in the first set
which we won 25-15. The second set was a little shaky, with a
few more errors, but we still came through with a 25-21
win.
Coming 3rd in our pool wasn't the best
result, so we had to pay the price for our mistakes from earlier that
day - a crossover match against the #2 seed Peel Selects.
Down 8-1 in the first set, we were forced to make a huge comeback.
We battled through that crazy deficit, all the way to the end, winning
26-24. We suffered a mental lapse in the second set and lost
25-14. Determined to prove ourselves worthy of a spot in the Top
8, we pushed hard and persevered to an incredibly exciting 15-10
victory... and the girls went wild!!!!
A filling dinner and some good REM prepped
us mentally for the quarterfinals on Championship Sunday morning
against the tournament's #1 seed Aurora Storm Typhoon (no one
can accuse us of having an easy trip through this
tournament!). Everyone was super excited to play the quick and
strong Storm team. We quickly adjusted to their tempo, got some
big blocks up and kept the pressure going all the way to a dramatic
26-24 victory! Motivated and pumped for the next game, and
determined to stake our claim to the Top 4, we led the entire way,
taking it one point at a time. We never let up and finished the
game with a pretty insane 25-14 victory and a spot in the semis!
It was one of our best matches ever and a highlight of our season, for
sure.
Coming up against Durham Attack
Black again in the semi-finals was intimidating. We
weren't as quick or aggressive as we needed to be in the first set,
losing 16-25. With a bit more fight, and a little feistier
attitude, we played more consistently and were neck-and-neck for most
of the second, only to lose 19-25.
But our day wasn't over yet. We
pushed hard for the bronze medal against Pakmen, from
Mississauga. Physically and mentally tired after an exhausting
and thrilling weekend of volleyball, we didn't quite have enough
fight left in us and lost the match (18-25, 16-25), settling for the
antique bronze. Although we didn't pull through in the end, we
were all pleased with our performance, with the amazing moments from
an amazing weekend, and happy with a fourth place finish in
Ontario!
According to Coach Hoey, "The team
demonstrated the best defense I have seen all year against Aurora.
That dedication to the ball is what we have been working on so hard
for the last 8 months and it was really nice to see it take shape."
He added, "The girls proved - in one of the most important
tournaments of the year - that they can compete and win against the
best teams in the province. I am excited for the challenge of
Nationals to see where our new-found commitment to defense can take
us"
A special congrats to Laura Edwards,
who was chosen a Tournament All-Star! You really deserved it
Laura!
Thank you to the Brock Women's team for
letting us scrimmage with them, to the parents for cheering loudly and
for driving us all the way to Welland, and to our coaches, Matt and
Jess for your dedication. And Chris - we were thinking of
you! Awesome work this weekend
ladies! Everyone was amazing! I can't wait until 18U
Provincials back in Waterloo, and (of course) Nationals in our home
town!
- Lauren #11
