15u Red at Nationals

Durham Attack Red attended their first Nationals and had a great time. This team suffered many setbacks throughout the past season. They had 4 different coaches and went to Nationals with 2. They started with 12 players and went to Nationals with 8, including an injured Micaela who sprained her ankle and tore ligaments 5 days before Nationals. Micaela, along with the rest of the girls, didn’t let that stop them. They put their hearts and injured limbs into the tournament and played very well.

Day One was a good beginning with the team coming out second in their pool. Onto Tier One!

Day Two was a much tougher round but the girls played very well. They started the day playing against Durham Attack Black and impressed them with their skill and tenacity. Scores were 25-20 and 25-17 for Black.

The girls were hoping to take the next round from Quebec’s Elans Blanc but failed to take it in the tie-breaker with a score of 10-15.

Next up was Defensa, the team that ended up battling Black for gold. The girls gave Defensa a run for their money taking a game from them. But the tie-breaker once again ended with a score of 10-15.

We decided to take a break from volleyball at this point and went to Magnetic Hill to be amazed. After rolling volleyballs and cars up and down the hill (still not sure which way we were going), we went back to our accommodations at the Crystal Palace and hung out in the pool, hot tub and the amusement park, where the girls hit the jackpot and won 2000 tickets!

Day Three saw the team in Tier Two and in a quarter final with Burlington Blaze. The girls had a slow start but moved on with scores of 25-22 and 25-15.

The semi-finals put the team against Celtique Rouge out of Montreal. That team was also not happy to be in Tier Two and powered their way to win two straight sets against Attack Red with scores of 25-19 and 25-21.

And so ended Attack Red’s National quest for gold. (The Celtique’s went on to win Tier 2 Gold). Our girls knew they had played well and didn’t stay sad about the loss. Instead, the team stayed to cheer on their Attack Black sisters and were happy to see them maintain their championship standing.

Coach Joe Stewart summed up the feelings when he said “As long as the girls leave with a smile on their faces, what more do we want?”

Truly, a great ending.

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