Dayton Presidents Cup Tournament

This past weekend, the 18U Black team traveled to Dayton, Ohio, to play in the Presidents Cup. We were slotted in the 18U Open division, which is by invitation only, and attracts the top 18U teams in the United States. PrepVolleyball National Club Rankings listed six of the seventeen teams in our division as in the top 40. This included #1 ranked Club Z Orange, #7 Asics Munciana and #10 Piedmont, as examples. Due to the venue being smaller and all in one location, it was a great scouting opportunity. Each game we played had anywhere from 10 to 30 scouts watching, and for the most part, they would watch the entire match. Our coaches were quick to tell the parents that a top-ten finish would be a great accomplishment here. There were an additional 18 teams competing at the club level, many of which would be a top-ranked team in the O.V.A. If you want to know how we did, read on!

Our first match on Saturday was at 8 a.m. against Toledo VBC. Six of Toledo’s nine players are already signed, which is a good indicator of how good they were. Our girls were pumped, and we avoided that Durham Attack traditional slow start! Both sets went point for point, but we managed to win both games 25-21 and 25-19.

After completing our refereeing duties, the girls played the second match against a team from Illinois called Shank You Flash. These kids did not live up to their name, as their passing and defense were right on. This team was much quicker than the Toledo club, and they gave us everything we could handle. The first two games were split 25-18 and 14-25. Once again, in true Attack fashion, our girls stepped up and took the tie breaker 15-8.

Our third match of the day was against nationally-ranked Tennessee Elite VBC. They did live up to their “elite” name, and again we witnessed a team that had near flawless passing and were very quick. Our girls dug in and took the first game 25-17. The elite team refused to back down, and took game 2, 21-25--our second tie-breaker in three pool matches! Once again, our girls showed why they are the best team in Ontario, and closed them out 15-7.

Our last match of the day was against a team from Kentucky called NKYVC. This team matched up very well against us in both size and skill. Again, a number of their players are already signed with U.S. colleges. The first set was a heart-stopper! Three times our girls went down game point to them. Three times we came back and finally, took the first set 29-27. The second set was much the same—being tied at 23, we won the next two points to close them out! Our girls were full measure for their mental toughness and never-say-die attitude. In the eyes of the tournament organizers, this was the upset of the day! We were no longer being mistaken as the unknown team from Durham, North Carolina. Our girls served notice that Canada was here!

Our first match on Sunday, and our last pool match, was against the #1 ranked 18U club in the United States. Club Z Orange have all nine of their players signed to top U.S. schools, which shows their talent and depth. Our girls seemed to sit back and let them take the first set, losing 15-25. In the second set, Attack came on strong. Both coaching staffs sat back and enjoyed a very hard-fought game two. There were no timeouts until Club Z took a 21-20 lead. Two errors on our part, after the timeout, gave this talented squad all they needed and they took game 2, 21-25.

This single pool loss put us 2nd in the pool of 6 teams, and therefore, we advanced to the silver bracket, rather than the gold. With two more matches to play, we could finish no better than fourth and no worse than sixth. Coaches Williams and Gosse wisely decided to use these matches to do some lineup experiments. With girls in different positions, the idea was to see what flexibility we had for use in future tournaments, especially Nationals. Despite the changes, we battled the nationally-ranked North Carolina Piedmont VBC, dropping both sets. The Piedmont coaches were so impressed with our girls, they invited us down to North Carolina to train with them and play in a tournament.

The last match of the day was much of the same, with the girls trying different things and the coaches looking at ways to improve us down the road. Once again, we dropped the last two matches (22-25 and 22-25), although with a set lineup, we would have won easily!

Here are some things we parents learned at the tournament:

1. The top clubs like Club Z charge $10,000 to play. Other top clubs are between $3-10,000!
2. The top clubs practise every day for two hours, except when they are in a tournament (about 12-14 tournaments per year). They practise year-round!
3. The coaches are paid—some up to $50 000/year, so the next time you see your attack coaches, thank them profusely for their volunteer time.
4. In this tournament, there was a huge difference between the skill level of the 17U’s we watched and the 18Us. There were very few kids on the 18U open teams “playing up”. There were no 17U's on the 3 gold-medal round teams or the Piedmont team. This demonstrates the depth and skill level in the U.S. (yes, I know there is a population difference!)

When you take into consideration the points mentioned above, it is a testament to the resolve of every player on our team, as to how competitive they are. The best thing for us was what we already knew. Our girls stood up to some of the best teams in the U.S. and they battled them hard. We finished sixth out of thirty-six teams, because we are skilled and passionate about the game. Thanks to the coaches and Don Vukson for all the work they put into this tournament!

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