April 11-12, 2008 - On a rainy
Friday afternoon (late evening for some) the CAPS headed down the 401
to Etobicoke for the OVA 16U Girls Ontario Championships - Tier
3.
Saturday morning, after the girls helped
themselves to a breakfast of waffles, we headed to the Humber College
gym to take on the Etobicoke Titans in our first match.
Maybe it was the waffles, or maybe just the early start, but the girls
came out slowly in the first game and got behind 3-12. They
battled through some long rallies and came back a bit but lost the
game 17-25. With the morning jitters out of their system, the
girls came out strong in the second game taking an early 10-3 lead.
On the basis of some strong digs, good blocks and solid hits, they led
all the way to 23-22, but some late miscues left them with a 24-26
loss.
After over a 2 hour break, they took the
court against the Brant Tornadoes. This time, the team
that took the floor was awake, energetic and came out to a quick
lead. They never looked back (although things did get close) and
won the game 25-23, with a service ace to end it. The second
game was much closer, with our biggest lead at 4 points. Most of
the game went point-for-point, finishing in a disappointing 23-25
loss. The girls took a quick lead in the third and never looked
back - switching sides at 8-2. Strong serving, solid blocks
and some awesome hits gave the girls a 15-8
victory.
Our last match of pool play brought on
Toronto InterClub. Strong consistent play gave the CAPS the
lead from the start on their way to a convincing 25-15 win in the
first game. In the second game, InterClub came out wanting a win
and took the early lead. We didn't let them get too far ahead
and were able to battle back to take the lead at 13-12.
InterClub was able to keep the game close, taking the lead again at
21-23 but the CAPS stayed focused and went on to win 25-23. We
found ourselves second in our pool and off to Lakeshore CI for the
crossover game.
Our opponent for this all-important game
was Twin Bridges. The first game was all about the serve
- theirs and ours. We came out to an early lead but found
ourselves struggling with some strong serving from Twin Bridges.
With the game tied at 16, Erica subbed in to serve. Two
time-outs from the other side and 9 points later, Erica's strong
serves and the girls' consistent play resulted in a 25-16 win.
For the final game of the day, the CAPS came out ready to play (and, I
think, ready for dinner). They took the lead and solid team play
held it through the game, resulting in a big win (25-14). Into
the top 8 for the weekend and on to Jack Astor's for some
well-deserved dinner.
Sunday started later with the girls' first
game after 1:00. We headed to the gym mid-morning for the OVA
Award of Excellence presentations. Emma Gibbons
was presented the award for the CAPS.
Our opponents for the first round of
playoffs were Niagara Rapids Blue. The first game was
close - tied at 11 - but the Rapids were able to pull away 15-20.
A few good hits and solid play brought the CAPS back to a tie at 24.
Unfortunately, the game went to the Rapids 24-26. The second
game started much the same way - tied at 12. Some solid
serving, focus and great digs allowed the CAPS to pull away to a 25-19
victory. On to game 3 - the girls kept up their momentum,
coming out to an 8-1 lead at the crossover. The Rapids weren't
about to give up though, and a few solid blocks on their part switched
the momentum to their side ... game tied at 10 and again at 13.
With the momentum, the Rapids won the game 13-15.
Our last game of the tournament found us up
against the Waterloo Tigers, ranked first coming into the
tournament. The CAPS came out with lots of energy and took a
quick lead at 8-2. Slowly the Tigers crept back with strong
serving and took the lead at 15-16. The CAPS couldn't get their
momentum back, losing 15-25. The second game had the CAPS coming
out in front again on the basis of solid hitting to a 7-3 lead.
Again the Tigers came back to tie the game at 12. Some great
digging and hitting and the CAPS took the lead again, 21-15. The
Tigers, unwilling to let the game go, pulled back to take a lead at
23-21. The CAPS maintained their composure and finished with a
big win at 25-23. On to game 3 (again!). The Tigers took a
quick lead at 6-12. The CAPS came up with some great hitting and
serving and brought the game back to 12-14, but the Tigers finished it
off (12-15). CAPS finished the tournament in 7th, the top 15U
team in the group.
Thanks again to Cathy - always patient,
encouraging and supportive. And a big thanks to Matt for
stepping in to support the team for the weekend.
Finally, a thank-you to the chauffeurs and
cheerleaders (also known as parents) who made sure everyone was where
they needed to be, well-rested, well-fed and ready to
play.
