Durham Attack | Girls 13U Black Leave Their Mark in Quebec

At their first out of province competition, the Attack’s 13U girl’s Black team set their sights high as they boldly arrived in unfamiliar surroundings April 14th, hoping to leave their mark in Joliette, Quebec. In the under-14 tournament, the girl’s played outstanding, finishing 3rd in their pool, and 10th out of 23 teams.

Pool C play opened against strongly offensive 14U Drakkar, a team that played with a strength and maturity that compromised the 13U defense. The girls struggled to regain their composure, taking their insecurities into the next pool game and falling in the first set against Celtiques Blanche (20-25). But that was where it was to end. The girls rekindled the passion that had been so evident in the Tier 3 provincials and rallied to steal the second set from the Celtiques (25-23). With their first win under their belt, the girls rode the wave of their momentum and went on to beat Espoirs (25-15, 25-13), Horions (25-22, 25-7) and Elans (25-13, 25-16), guaranteeing them a spot in Division 1. While tremendous efforts by all highlighted the tournament, outstanding serving by Evan Parrot, Emily Betteridge and Sarah Horne complimented the defensive plays of Jodie Mitchell, the team’s star libero.

As for the parents, dynamic officiating provided diverting and constant entertainment.

With the back-to-back wins of the previous day, the girls moved into round robin playoff action against Volitives, the tied for 1st place finisher in Pool D. The Durham Attack team, having placed 3rd in regular pool play, were welcomed into Tier 1 but found the challenge too strong to maintain the spark. Falling (13-25, 15-25) to Volitives, the girls tried to remain focused as they rallied to take the first set against Aigles (25-22). But it was not meant to be as the girls lost (23-25) and a heartbreaking 3rd set (13-15) to end the tournament in a 10th place position.

Many thanks to all the supportive fans from the 14U Black team that cheered and chanted the girls during their ups and downs. Their sportsmanship and comraderie over the two day tournament was heartfelt and warmly appreciated by both the parents and 13U teammates.

With a 10th place finish overall, the girls are well positioned for next year to take the Quebec Inter-Provincials by storm, and aim to make the same impact when they challenge the rest of the country in the Eastern Nationals this coming May.