Girls 13U Black Wins Bronze Medal in 13U Tier 1 Ontario Championships

The Girls 13U Black team finished the 2008 Provincial Tier 1 Championships by bringing home a Bronze medal for Durham Attack!

The girls entered the tournament ranked 5th and despite not always playing their best, the first day saw the girls dig deep when it counted and win each of their round robin matches against Forest City Blue, Barrie Elites Black and Scarborough Titans Ice. The girls then finished off a perfect Saturday by beating Aurora Storm Blast in the dreaded cross-over game.

Having thus earned a late start to play Sunday, Coach Mark allowed the girls an extended curfew, which the girls took full advantage of! If they weren't swimming in the hotel pool, or watching movies, they could be found hanging out together loading up on snacks and discussing . . . . what else . . . . boys!

Sunday began with the presentation of the OVA Awards of Excellence and the winner for the 13U Black team was Layton Risto. In presenting Layton with the award, Coach Mark made the following comments:

Layton is a young lady who is always smiling and has a wonderfully positive and infectious attitude. She is an athlete who always gives 100% effort - every practice and every game. Layton is very coachable and is dedicated to continually trying to improve her game, which is perhaps why she is one of the most improved players on the team this season. Layton is also the consummate team player - she is forever cheering on and encouraging her teammates and is clearly committed to contributing to the team's success in whatever way she can.

The first match Sunday saw the girls play what was perhaps their best volleyball of the season in dominating the Peel Selects team in the quarter-finals. Speaking with the coach of the Peel Selects team after the match, she made the comment "Our team couldn't compete against your girls today, they just didn't know what hit them."

Following a change in venue, the stage was set for the semi-final match against the number 1 ranked Forest City Green team, who had yet to lose a single match all season long. The girls played a hard and determined match against Forest City, particularly in the second game, losing by a close score of 25 -22. The girls had suffered their first loss of the tournament, to a very talented team that would go on to win the Gold medal, but the girls had played incredibly well and served notice that Forest City better look out next year!

After having a bit of time to re-group (as well as consume a large quantity of clementines!), the girls were ready for the Bronze medal game against Aurora Storm Twister, the number 3 ranked team in the tournament. Aurora Storm Twister was a team the girls were very familiar with, having played them four times this season, and having won three of the four matches. This match was being recorded by a local television crew with four television cameras to capture the play, yet the girls were focused and wanted this win. After dropping the first game 25-18, the girls fought hard and won the second game 26-24. Before the start of the third tie-breaker game, Coach Mark and Coach Julie asked the girls how much they really wanted to win this match and they then challenged them to commit to one another that they would each do whatever was needed to in order to win. The girls then had a huddle of their own and emerged saying they were going to win, no matter what it took. The tie-breaker game was to say the least intense, with some amazing plays and some amazing saves, and in the end the girls were true to their word, they did do whatever it took, including one handed dives and running into walls, to win the game, the match and the Bronze medal.

It was an exciting and deserving end to a great weekend of volleyball and all the girls on the team should be very proud of themselves! Not only for the way they played, but for how they worked together as a team and for how they conducted themselves.

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