|
|
|
 |
15U-Burgundy takes another trip to Trenton
(PHOTOS)
By Sue Jones
January 17, 2009 — This weekend the girls went back to Trenton for the OVA 15U Girls McGregor Cup – Zone D. Instead of a painfully early morning, the girls travelled down together in two vehicles with the coaches in a third, and everyone stayed the night. After a team meeting and a quick swim, the girls hit the hay and got rested up for their big day, we stayed beside one room of girls and across the hall from the other. I have to admit, after travelling with other teams as manager/chaperone, I was nothing short of thrilled that they were asleep not long after their lights out curfew (very thin walls) and up before their wake up calls, fully knowing how late these nights can be!
After a great breakfast at the hotel we were off to CFB Trenton for our first match against Kingston Pegasus Fusion. I missed much of this game taking care of keys and cell phones (inside joke), but was able to catch glimpses of their greatness between runs back and forth to the car. The girls were on the money; passes to the setter, sets to the hitters and hitters finishing the job. The serves were good, the passing was good, and the girls seeemed chipper and happy to be playing. It was a good match and a nice start to the day. They finished the match 25-19 and 25-12.
The second match, we headed over to Marc Garneau School and we’ll say it was the change of scenery that made a difference here. The girls were up against the Embrun Phoenix. It was a tough match, and the girls had a tough time returning serves and attacks. With each missed pass/serve/or set, the girls heads seemed to get lower and lower. Phoenix, being a tough team with a lot of strength behind their serves and hits, capitalized on this with a finish of 7-25 and 10-25.
Match three, the girls were up against Peterborough Thunder. The girls had been to the cafeteria for lunch a little down time and seemed to be a little rejuvenated for this match, shaking the last match off and moving forward. They were focused and playing well for the first set. Passing was on, most serves were staying in and the girls were given an opportunity to set up an attack. The parents were cheering them on and the coaches were really pleased over all with their effort, finishing a very strong 25-13. The second set proved to be a little tougher for the girls, as their passing was not as strong and they faced some trouble with serves. There seemed to be some problems with not knowing if they should be taking a pass (they’re still very polite!). They were not talking on the court like in the first set and things just unraveled. The girls fell in this set 16-25. The third and final set started off rough. The girls were down 2-11 and even some of the parents seemed to be losing faith. They had allowed the first 8 points to be won against them, mainly on serves. This team had two very strong servers, sending rockets over the net. Finally, after a well timed time-out by the coaches, the girls pulled it together to bring themselves back up to 10-12! Unfortunately it just was not enough and Thunder took three more points to end the match 10-15.
The girls finished third in their pool and had a break before playoffs. A little more food, music and foosball and they were ready to go!
First match of playoffs, the girls were up against Kingston Pegasus Rampage. They struggled a little with passing the short serves, as well as passing and setting onto the net, but were still able to pull a win out with a 25-23 finish. Once again, it seems the girls had a strong start and then began to run out of steam. They worked very hard the entire second set, but again struggled with the basics and found themselves falling to Rampage 17-25. The final set of the match was a nail-biter for all playing and watching. The girls worked hard and came back from a deficit, only to fall in a heart-breaking 13-15 loss.
The girls then played their final match of the day against Akwesasne Soaring Eagles. It seems they had had enough of volleyball for the day and fell flat, on the court and even in their attitudes. They worked hard at times and made some great passes, but they struggled with their passing and setting and were unable to set up an attack. The Eagles were picking up just about everything the Burgies could throw at them and just kept sending the ball back over. The long day seemed to be getting the better of the girls and it seemed you couldn’t buy them inspiration as the match went on to finish 24-26 and 20-25.
According to Coach Irena, “For me as a coach, the best match of the tournament was against Rampage, where we never gave up and managed to work through being physically drained and tired. Although the score might not have worked out in our favour, we were noticed by other teams, parents and spectators for our spectacular attitude, sportsmanship and the determination to never give up! All-in-all, in that match, we did not get defeated!”
Many thanks to parents for getting the girls to and from the tournament and supporting our Burgies! Also thanks to Coaches Irena and Jessica for their time, efforts and many pep talks to the girls!
“I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you’re a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you’ll win – if you don’t, you won’t.” — Bruce Jenner, Olympic Gold Medalist, Decathlon
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
| Photos below submitted by: Amy |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Top
|
|
|
