16U Boys in Black are Back

After making a brief stop in tier two, where the U16 boys Black team won all matches to reclaim their place in the top bracket, they made their return to the Premier division in the Bugarski Cup on Saturday.

Match one against host club, MAC, was a slow starter for our boys who couldn’t find their passing arms at 9 am. They lost their only match of the day, falling behind early and not being able to make up the deficit in two closely contested sets.

Match two against the Tigers saw some changes in the line-up with Spencer ‘lefty’ Baron controlling right side with repeated blocks and attacks that had the Waterloo boys wondering which way to turn as the ball whizzed by them to the floor. Setter Jordan Boucher was steady at the helm as he steered the team to a two-straight-set victory and set the standard for his team mates for the rest of the day.

T. West was the final opponent in pool play and unfortunately for them it is also where setter Chris Lam and team Captain, power hitter, Alex Dawson ‘found their range’ they were unstoppable! Although Chris mixed up the attacks, he relied heavily on the consistent success on the left side. As in every match, you can’t be sure of anything, until coach Wojcik brought in closer Steve Sattz to ensure another two straight set victory.

Match one of the medal round was a three-set barn burner against Northumberland, however the DA boys were able to continue their winning ways by relying on middle Alex Elliot to drive balls over, around, under and through his former team mates. Coming in to pass up a storm in the back court was another former Breaker, Patrick Wilson. Pat was able to move in and out of the back court throughout the day and provide steady passing and much needed rest for both power hitters and middle players.

Archrival Crush was next on the schedule, and two close sets later, there was no question whether the DA passers had found their arms. Back court reliever Joey Nuguid, who played a critical role in every set of the day, put up a steady flow of ‘dime balls’ allowing former crush setter Chris Lam to make full use of middle ‘treVOR’ Grant. Trevor spent almost the entire day on the court, passing, blocking and attacking with little opportunity for rest, he left with a great smile and a well deserved piece of hardware.

The gold medal match was time for redemption, a return visit from Mountain Athletic Club. The team relied on the Coleman brothers, Nick and Lucas to bring their special type of intensity to the court. Lucas with his jumping, attacking and blocking skills on the right side, Nick with his relief work in the middle and steady and consistent float serve in the opening set were able to get the boys started on the right track. A little loss of the passing arms in the second set gave coach Flynn a bit of concern but nothing to be worried about as they went into the third and final set. All the team needed was great blocks, powerful hits and perfect passing, exactly what they were getting from left side player Robert Wojcik all day long. Rob served 64 jump serves (no floats) and missed only 8 of them throughout the day, check my math, but I think that is 87.5%. How’s that for a closing statistic to go along with a Gold medal!

all photos...