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15U-Burgundy in Trenton: Playing up is hard to do
(PHOTOS)
By Sue Jones, with photos by Lianne Normand and Mirna Mastilovic
December 6, 2008 — This weekend the Burgies travelled back to Trenton for their first 16U tournament, ‘playing up’ an age level at the OVA 16U Provincial Cup. We had a rough start to the day thanks to the weather. It was another 4am wake up call and 5am drive. Not long after leaving Ottawa, we hit ALOT of snow, all the way to Trenton, but we all arrived safely and in time for a good warmup for our first match.
The girls started the tournament playing against the “Oh my goodness they’re tall” 16U Ottawa Mavericks Outlaws. The girls were very nervous, but took to the court, knowing this was going to be a great experience for them. Nerves definitely got the better of the girls, their passing was off and they were a little unsure of themselves and each other on the court. They pulled out some great plays, and set the ball up numerous times, but were up against some big blockers. They worked hard and kept their spirits up. The end result on the scoreboard did not reflect how hard they worked, as they fell to the Mavs 5-25 and 4-25. But the Mavs had very kind words about our Burgies. I was the linesman for this game and told the Mavs on the bench that our girls were all new but one. They were very impressed with their effort at the 16U level, especially for being so new with the club. Thanks Mavs!
The second match of the day was against another Ottawa team, the 16U Ottawa Kangaroos. Again, nerves were a bit of an issue, and the girls’ biggest hurdle was their passing. When they were able to get the ball up for their setter, good things happened, with some strong hitting at the net. They worked hard and forced the Roos to also work hard for every point – there were no easy points handed out. The girls were a little more aware of where they needed to be on the court, but as their coaches Irena and Jessica mentioned, they also need to be aware of each other and trust each other. “Trust is a very big part of this game”. The girls worked hard, but perhaps lost their focus a little and fell to the Roos 10-25 and 13-25.
The next match had the potential to be the most nerve-racking for the girls. They were up against the National Capitals 16U. They knew they were going to have to work hard and focus on each play and work with each other to take any points away from the CAPS 16s. Their first game was tough, falling 8-25 to their older clubmates – they realized they were going to have to do a little more in order to make this a tougher match. In the second set, the girls came out cheering and playing together well. They trusted each other more, passed better to their setter and hit the ball over with some oomph and assertiveness. They scored 17 points on their 16U ‘sisters’ and made them work hard for their own 25.
Fourth pool play match was against Belleville Ravens. The girls came out strong, and by mid set, were up 10 points. They lost their focus a little, lost a few serves into the net, and were not always able to get their passes up to the setter. They battled back and took the first set 25-22. The second set also started strong, and stayed that way. They worked hard, hit well, and rallied around each other with every point, and – more importantly – every missed point. They finished strongly, 25-13.
Now the wait...
The girls finished fourth in their pool of five and had to wait many games until playoffs. The girls took some time to eat and cheer on their clubmates. They also took in a great game between the Mavs and Roos. When our time to play finally came up, the girls were relaxed and ready to play!! We were up against the other 4th place finishers, Trenton Astros. The Burgies were looking really good, serving, passing and hitting well. They were up by 7 when Brenna passed a perfect pass to Amber, Amber set a perfect ball for Sara and Sara finished with a great kill. Unfortunately, she came down on the side of her foot and sprained her ankle. She was very brave about it, but was unable to finish the match, as the swelling had already started. The girls continued on and forced the Astros to work even harder. The first set finished with a nail biting 25-27 loss. In the second set, the girls played well, again looking and sounding much more relaxed (the LET'S GO cheer seemed to do it!), and keeping up their assertiveness from the first set. Again, they worked hard, but fell to the Astors 17-25, finishing the weekend in 8th place!! Not bad for their first 16U tournament!!
Sara was taken care of on the way home by Kim and Brenda from the Navy team, so we knew she would be in good hands (thanks girls)! Irena contacted her yesterday and she is already starting to feel better, being able to put some weight on the foot. Great to hear Sara!!! :) Before this story was posted, Taylor and I ran into Sara at the grocery store, all smiles and walking well! YAY!
Coaches Irena and Jessica were very happy with the Burgies’ effort and the level of play they have been showing so far this season. They were up against some tough competition and for the first time were able to experience using a libero. According to Coach Irena, “The most important thing to note is that the scores do not reflect our ability as a team. When we play well, we make the stronger teams work for their points, and we force them to make mistakes. Our game depends on our confidence as well, and being in our very first 16U tournament stumped us and affected our confidence in our skills and abilities.” She added, “As the day went on, we were able to shut that pressure out and perform much better than earlier in the day. The girls feed off of each other’s energies on and off the court. It’s important for us to keep that in mind and be supportive of each other. Learning to trust your teammates is key in a sport like volleyball.”
Special thanks to Coaches Irena and Jessica and to all of the parents who safely drove through the snowstorm to and from Trenton!
To succeed...You need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you. — Tony Dorsett
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