13U White Reaches New Heights at Bugarski Cup

The DA 13U White teams’ 4th tournament of the season was the Bugarski Cup, on March 7th in Brighton.

The tournament began with the girls facing the number one seeded team, Storm ICE in the first match of pool play. Despite struggling with a new formation and consequently missing a few plays, and a gym ceiling that seemed to be a magnet for the ball, the girls didn’t let ICE’s early wins (14-25, 11-25) defeat them. We saw excellent serves by Sophy Campo #11 and Taline Sarkisovi #18, awesome blocking by Hanna Gianatselis #1 and some great teamwork rallies that made ICE work for the point. While a little disappointed with the results of games 1 & 2, the girls remained composed knowing the game could have been much closer as they were capable of better play than what the scoreboard reflected. In Game 3 the girls returned to a more familiar defensive strategy and a renewed sense of confidence and cohesiveness. Game 3 was incredible! The fans were treated to some spectacular rallies, Emily Ryan’s powerful, low flying ‘Stealth Bomber’ serves, hard, well placed spills by Monika Bischof #10 and Madison Jenkins #12, and lots of amazing defensive and offensive plays. After taking the lead 8-4, White never looked back and this little underdog of a team took Game 3 25-19 against the top seeded team! Woo hoo!

The second match saw the girls meet up with ICE’s sister team, Storm Blizzard. Just off an incredible win, the girls started off with a rowdy team cheer and great energy to get the game started. In game 1 the girls delivered strong serving, great sets and consistent 3 play to take the lead 8-5. Meghan “Tipper’ Cook #3 delivered several strategic tips and Taline delivered a mighty spike off the hands of the Blizzards. White remained strong beginning to end; 13-7, 16-11, 21-16 and handily took Game 1 25-20! Awesome teamwork girls! Storm Blizzard was not however going to lie down and roll over. Game 2 proved to be a battle – despite a few errors on our part, the crowd was treated to great volleyball – super rallies, unrecoverable spills, beautiful sets (Maddison Neill #2) and some mighty spikes. The girls played a hard fought Game 2 before conceding 19-25; a super team effort! Game 3 saw the Blizzard take an early lead and despite heroic individual efforts (there were alot of bodies hitting the ground!), great spikes by Kiana De La Cruz #15 and Hannah Bischof #5, unrelenting tipping by Sophy and 5 awesome serves by Hanna, the win was not meant to be as Blizzard took the game 25-11.

After a well deserved rest and another amazing lunch (which has come to be the envy of many other teams!), the girls returned to the court for the playoffs.

Match 1 of the playoffs saw the girls once again meet up with the Akwesasne Soaring Eagles; a team whose smiles, undying spirit and good sportsmanship are second to none. Meghan C, Emily and Kiana consistently delivered on their serves and with a comfortable lead the team focused on honing their skills, executing well controlled sets and consistent 3 play. While White commanded both games they graciously accepted wins of 25-12 and 25-16. Hats off to both teams for their sportsmanship.

Match 2 of the playoffs, saw the girls face off against the number 2 seeded team, DRVC. DRVC dominated with relentless serves, however White was determined to stay strong and give it their all. We saw awesome spikes by Maddison and Taline, great blocks by Meghan, another streak of powerful serves by Emily and Kiana sacrificed her elbows as she dug deep in an attempt to keep the ball alive! While DRVC won both games 25-15, the girls played amazing games and should be very proud.

In addition to facing the top 2 seeded teams, Match 3 of the Playoffs saw the girls face the third seeded team DRVC Blue. DRVC took the lead and despite best efforts managed to hold on it taking Game 1 25-14. Game 2 once again saw the White team in the underdog position but their passion and commitment was undying. White was determined to give it their all and fought back hard to narrow the gap: 10-4, 14-7, 18-9, 23-13, 23-17, 23-19, before conceding 25-19! It’s amazing what a ‘never give up’ attitude and willpower can do! Great job ladies!

The tournament was a huge success. Congratulations to our sister teams DA Black and DA Red for their support and for winning Gold and Bronze respectively! While White did not come away with a medal, the girls can be extremely proud of the calibre of play they delivered, especially against the top 3 seeded teams. As they say, ‘it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game’. And play the game they did…an awesome display of growing strength and skill, teamwork, a ‘never quit’ attitude and a commitment to keep getting better!

Many thanks as always to the parent and family volunteers for good food, good company, linesman support and tremendous fan support! Special thanks to Coach Troy, and ‘Assistant Coach’ Elio for stepping in, and helping the girls reach new heights in a sport they truly love!

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