More Success for the 15U Blacks as they Defend National Title in Moncton

The 15U Girls' team travelled to Moncton this past weekend to compete in the 15U Eastern Canadian Volleyball Championships. The team entered day one of competition as the defending National Champions and were seeded #1. They quickly demonstrated, leaving no question in anyone's mind about this seeding and why they were ranked #1.

They started day one by defeating the Moncton Roofers, The Griffons from Gatineau and the Burlington Blaze from Ontario, all easily in two straight sets.

Play on day two was a repeat of day one with the team quickly, again in two straight sets in every match, shutting down all the competition they faced which included the Durham Attack Red (who played amazingly well) and Defensa teams from Ontario as well as the Elans Blanc from Quebec.

Sunday morning brought about day three tournament and the championship round of play. The first game of the day was the quarter finals and we faced off against the home town favourites, the Bleu & Or team from Moncton. The Blacks with GOLD in their sights, beat the Moncton team in two straight sets. The semi-finals saw our girls face off against the Forest City team out of London, Ontario. This match, without a doubt, was the best display of volleyball skill execution of the tournament. The girls basically put on a skills clinic as they executed play after play with precision and next to no unforced errors. This match was a Mother's Day treat for all the Attack mothers who were watching, as the girls played picture perfect volleyball, to win this match easily in two straight sets and a chance to defend their national title.

The final game, once again, had Attack facing the Defensa team out of Burlington. This match ended up being a real nail biter and had the adrenaline of all the players, coaches and parents pumping through veins from start to finish. The girls, uncharacteristically, made numerous unforced errors throughout the match that saw them fall behind in the score repeatedly but they demonstrated what it is like to be true champions because when they needed it most, this team dug down deep and behaved like true champions and came back from some rather large deficits. In the end, the Attack indeed lived up to their "ETTB" motto this weekend and are focused and looking very much forward to heading out to Calgary, where they hope they will face more intense competition from start to finish.

Congratulations to Jazmine White for being chosen to the All Star Team and to Emily Betteridge who was identified as the MVP of the tournament. Special mention must be given to Candice Ottey, who without a doubt picked the biggest tournament of the year to have her best performance...the sign of true champions.

All photos...