Durham Attack
U14 Red journeyed to Kingston on November 4 to compete in the Provincial Cup.
The team was both excited and anxious about how the day would unfold. Of the
team, 6 players were on the 13U Red team last year, 3 are from other Durham
Attack teams, and 3 are new to the club.
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Pool Play
Fortunately, it turned out that their anxiety was unnecessary.
The team combined skill, spirit and cohesiveness to win all 3 pool
matches.
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The first set pitted Attack 14U Red against Ottawa’s National
Capitals. Game one had some great competitive moments, with a final
score of 25-14. Game two was a bit closer at 25-19. Attack Red
demonstrated good communication on court. Serving was strong and
consistent.
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DRVC 14U Blue was the team to beat in set two. The first game
fell to DRVC 16-25. Attack Red rallied to win the second game
25-19. The tie-breaker provided parents and spectators with our
morning dose of adrenalin (perhaps enhanced by the excess of caffeine
in our systems to fuel the 6:00 a.m. commute to Kingston). The
entire game was hard fought, with the score creeping up to 16-16.
The girls refused to relinquish control of the ball during an
incredible rally and took the serve. Attack 14U Red finally put
the game away at 18-16. The team was elated and the parents put
on a fine emotional display (demonstrating great cheering form).
Attack 14U
Red was thrown to the Ganaraska Wolves in set three of pool play.
Our team served hard and hit strategically. The Wolves struggled
to return the ball, and had trouble with their rotation. Attack
won easily 25-9. However, in the second game, the Wolves were
much stronger, tying the score 3 times. Ultimately, Attack
persevered to win 25-21.
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Play-offs
In the
play offs our cross-over match was against the Pegasus Dynamite of
Kingston. Attack Red demonstrated excellent serving with strong
support from the team in blocking, digging and hitting. We took
both games 25-11 and 25-18.
In the
semi-finals, Attack Red faced the very strong DRVC 14U team (who went
on to win Gold). Our team conceded the first game 13-25.
The second game saw another loss at 16-25. Attack Red made some
exceptional plays, but also committed too many unforced errors.
We moved
on to the Bronze Medal match against DRVC Blue. They put up a
good fight in the first game, but Attack Red’s superior play resulted
in a 25-21 victory. Blue showed signs of fatigue in game 2,
while Attack pushed on to win 25-12.
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Durham
Attack 14U Red finished the tournament with a Bronze Medal. It was a
wonderful day – the team demonstrated strength across the board.
Play was equally strong regardless of who was on-court. The
coaches mixed it up a bit with line-ups, giving all players broad
experience in our first tournament of the season. We left
Kingston about 9:30 p.m. exhausted but happy.
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A medal
result was even sweeter given the hard work last year as a 13U team
(where despite playing well, the team never made it to the medal
rounds). A note to our current 13U’s – take heart, play hard,
and know that you’re building a strong foundation!
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Congrats
Durham Attack 14U Red!! |
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