17U Black Secures 4th Seed at 18U Provincials

Well, we are certainly consistent when playing up a year! For all three 18U Tier 1 tournaments we have placed a solid 4th. Each time playing well but seeded in a position to meet our 18U Black team in the semi-finals. Each time meeting KW Predators 18U in the Bronze medal game. And each time we have come up just a few points short. If we can figure out a way to get just a handful more points as we head into 18U Provincials then we'll be in the medals, which is our goal.

But top four is really important at this final 18U tournament, as the top four get the top four seeds at the 18U Open Provincials in three weeks time.

Video Highlights

Pool play vs. KW Predators 18U	Pool play vs. National Capitals 18U and Aurora Storm 18U
Cross-over vs. Aurora Storm 17U; Semis vs. Durham Attack 18U	Bronze medal match vs. KW Predators 18U

Pool Play

We played extremely well in pool play. Placed into the toughest pool, we faced National Capitals 18U (silver medalists at the first tournament), Aurora Storm 18U and KW Predators 18U (Bronze medalists at every tournament). We started a bit slow against the Caps, who are a big team with lots of hitting. But we picked up steam in set 2, and took them in a tie-breaker. We immediately played Aurora Storm 18U, taking them in just two sets, though they were tough.

Then a great match against KW Predators 18U, a long match with plenty of long rallies which kept us busy all around the court. We surprised them by winning the first set convincingly. They adjusted and took set two. The tie-breaker was close but KW eked out the win. We meet this team the last match of every 18U tournament, and though we've yet to win, we're getting closer each outing.

Volleyball Canada was watching our matches and they commented "This 17U team plays very good defense!" Which is a real compliment and a sign the team is developing, as we have always been known for our killer offense. And when I look back at the videos our defense was really strong, especially in pool play.

Play-offs

Our cross-over was against Aurora Storm 17U, who we often meet in 17U playoffs. We came out hard in set one, took control, and never looked back. We fell behind in set two but managed things well and squeaked out a two-point win, exactly the prescription for team development. This sets us up for 17U Provincials next weekend, where we go in seeded 5th due to taking a tournament off to go to Las Vegas.

Next, as in the prior two tournaments, we faced out sister 18U team in the semis. And again we played our weakest match of the tournament against them, though we took them to a close tie-breaker. We had some great rallies but in the end they prevailed. Our compliments to them for hanging on with setter Rachel Vukson sidelined with an injury. They are a great team, but there is very little difference between us when we have a good day. Luckily, since they placed 2nd and we placed 4th, we won't meet them until the finals at 18U Provincials. Maybe every cloud does have a silver lining.

To finish the day we again faced KW Predators, as is our tradition so far in every 18U tournament. They are a big team with some huge hitters, and they play very strong defense. At this point the girls were pretty demoralized for losing a semi-final match they could have won. So they started out slow and were pretty quiet on the court, dropping the first set. Something happened in set two and they decided they still wanted to win this, and we took set two. The tie-breaker was close, but it slipped out of our grasp, and again, for the third straight tournament we finished 4th.

Which is a pretty great finish, again. Though as 16U Black we won the Silver twice last year in 17U tier 1, the competition is much tougher this year. As you move up through the age groups the competition gets tougher and the teams get closer every year, especially when playing up a year.

So a 4th place finish with wins over Caps 18U, Aurora 18U, Aurora 17U, and taking Attack 18U and KW Predators 18U twice to close tie-breakers is a great tournament. As one of the parents commented "All that separated us from winning was less than a handful of points in three sets. With a a little more energy and a little more motivation our girls will be there."

all photos...