There used to be a time when Colonel John Hannibal would lead his A – Team to a
well planned victory and after he lit his cigar he would say “I love it when a
plan comes together”. Rob didn’t have a lit cigar in his hand but I'm sure
that’s what he was thinking Saturday in Peterborough after his girls capped off
an almost flawless day with a GOLD medal, winning the 15U Bugarski Cup.
The team was moving well without the ball playing great positional defense and
their offence was strong and relentless. From the sidelines it was a
pleasure watching the hours of practicing Rob’s strategies take effect and
become almost second nature for the team.
The day stated off a little slow dropping the first set 22-25 to the home town
Thunder but once the girls cleared their heads they came back strong dominating
the second set 25-13. Although the score of the tie breaker looked close
at 15-11, the played was dominated by the DA girls and the result was never in
doubt.
Without a break NCVC 15U was next up but they were no match for the DA Girls and
this match was over relatively quickly. We gave up 19 points in the first
set and 8 points in the second causing high levels of confidence to be
everywhere.
The Soaring Eagles were next but it must have been a windy day because they were
grounded quickly and the only soaring that was happening was by our hitters
pounding un-returnable hits time and time again. We gave up 20 points but
it was over two sets and this one was over quick with wins against 16 & 4
points.
Because this was a
two pool tournament there wasn’t a bye for winning your pool so after a short
break we were back on the court for first playoff match against Pegasus Fusion.
It must be nice to be a young teenager because the girls were only getting
stronger while the parents were getting more tired – and they weren’t even doing
anything (besides cheering & eating). The positional play was getting even
better, the serves were stronger and the passing was great. We gave up 11
points in the first set and only 9 in the second for our eighth straight victory
of the day.
Northumberland 15U was our opponent in the semi final and after a shaky start
the team regrouped and rolled to two straight victories giving up only 17 points
in each set.
Our opponent in the final match would be the number one seeded Maverick Colts
from Ottawa. This team had just come off an exciting tie breaker to gain a
birth in the final so they were full of confidence, and their adrenaline levels
were at their peak. The DA girls served early notice that this was their
day with a convincing 25-12 victory in the first set. The Colts tried to
regroup but it was to no avail and the second set wasn’t much different with the
girls scoring a convincing 25-16 victory.
Our second Gold Medal of the year will now hang in the girls bedrooms, and this
team is peaking at the right time – watch out opponents…………
