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A final trip to Provincials with the 18U Girls
(PHOTOS)
By Paul Edwards
April 13, 2009 — The 18U CAPS headed to RIM Park in Waterloo over the weekend to participate in their next-to-last tournament together, the OVA 18U Girls Ontario Championships. Perhaps it was apropos that four of the NCVC’s five teams and all their accompanying fans were in attendance this weekend to provide such loud and vocal support for our wonderful group of CAPS veterans as they competed in their last OVA event together.
Day 1 saw the girls move through Pool G without too much difficulty, winning all 6 sets in 3 matches against Georgian Bay Vista, Burlington Blaze and Niagara Rapids Blue 17U. The volleyball highlight of the day had to be seeing former setter Rebecca Crosier (does anyone remember 14U?) step in to give her setter a welcome break in the Rapids match. Typical of Rebecca, I hear she was frustrated at the success rate of the quicks she ran with the middles! Whether you think so or not, you did a great job Bec!
A great day of volleyball was followed by a wonderful and proud moment for the club as we were given the pleasure of watching our girl Lauren Carter receive the OVA’s highest honour for a female athlete, the Evelyn Holick Award. The throng of fans in attendance all seemed as happy as we were, a testament to the impact Lauren has had over her seven years in the sport. To celebrate Lauren’s award, the team headed to Jack Astor’s for dinner, followed by banana splits prepared by the Carters. Chocolate Easter bunnies and comical cards were distributed by the coaches to top off a great day.
Day 2 began with a straight sets victory over Georgetown Impact 17U, followed by a 1-2 loss against MAC 17U from Hamilton. But the big match of the day was certainly the showdown against Aurora Storm for first/second place in pool. Set 1 was a war, ultimately ended by a brave net call against our setter as she attempted what we all thought was a successful dump to “the bucket”. (Did your hip really touch the net Lauren? ; ) Set 2 saw the CAPS rally back to even the match by a thrilling score of 27-25. The tiebreaker was back and forth but ultimately ended up in favour of Storm. The girls were now faced with a bit of a wait to see where all the teams had finished and how the crossover would look for Championship Monday.
A 3-way tie put the CAPS in 2nd due to points differential, leaving them to cross against Georgetown Impact 18U in the morning. That Day 3 match went smoothly, with the CAPS forging ahead, despite some deft ball-handling by the Impact setter. CAPS win 2-0 and break into the Top 8.
So the quarter-finals would match our girls up against last year’s National Champions, Durham Attack Black. Certainly not the draw these girls deserved, but the girls took a deep breath and readied themselves for what would need to be an epic battle if they were to crack the final four in their final Provincials. Finding out you have Attack in the quarters is one thing – finding out you have Attack in the quarters without the services of one of your go-to hitters is quite another. Unfortunately for Rebecca Crosier and the 18U CAPS, a sudden and worrisome malaise would keep her from this big showdown. The girls put up a great battle for sure, and the volleyball was fun to watch, but Attack took both sets by 5, ending our CAPS’ dreams of an Ontario Championship in their last season together.
A 4-way tie for 5th was certainly not the result these girls had been working towards all season, but sometimes things aren’t understood until a little time has passed, when everything seems to make a lot more sense. One thing for sure – this team has danced consistently over the years with the very best in the OVA, and we are all very proud and happy to have been witnesses on your long and amazing OVA journey together.
Thanks to all who made this weekend possible, including Coaches Hannay and MacLennan, as well as Jeremy’s brother Allan who helped out on the bench for the last half of the tournament. (Get well soon Michelle!) Thanks to the Greens for coordinating the weekend, to Julie, Karen, Mary Clare and Connie for flipping/scorekeeping, and thanks to Guy and Geoff for waving the flag at the corners.
A special thanks is reserved for our 16U, 15U-Navy and 15U-Burgundy CAPS and their families for stopping by to be such wonderful fans whenever their schedules allowed. The fan support was amazing!
Next stop, Ottawa...
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| Photos below submitted by: Paul Normand |
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