Posted by Greater Sudbury Northern Life 
With high-school girls volleyball playoff action set to
begin as early as tomorrow with tie-breaker games, the twists
and turns of the story-lines at play provides plenty of
intrigue for fans of secondary school athletics.
In the Senior Division A girls volleyball grouping, the
Confederation Chargers appear well-positioned to defend the
city championship they claimed last February, with an upset win
over Marymount.
Coach Laura Aubertin and company have sailed through regular
season play with an undefeated mark and, when equipped with
their full roster, have looked equally as impressive in
tournament action.
Don't read too much into the fact that the College Notre-Dame
Alouettes and the Horizon Aigles met in the final of the
Charger Challenge last weekend while Confederation were sent
packing in the quarter-finals. With their one-two punch of
Kristen Bolduc and Trina Czerkas away for a club ball
tournament, the Chargers are an altogether different team.
Meanwhile, the Alouettes have surprised some by climbing to the
point of posing the biggest threat to the Confederation dream
for a repeat run to a city title, as Notre-Dame easily disposed
of the Aigles in the tournament finale on Saturday.
The playoff quarter-finals should provide plenty of drama as
the talent gap between the likes of Lockerby (Vikings), St.
Charles (Cardinals), Lasalle (Lancers) and Lo-Ellen (Knights)
is relatively small.
The post-season excitement is likely to be heightened just a
little as Notre-Dame and Lo-Ellen have both opted to compete at
the AAA level (both are currently AA schools). With Widdifield
and West Ferris of North Bay hosting the OFSAA AAA championship
this year, NOSSA will have three berths into the event,
prompting the decision of the Alouettes and Knights to
challenge the Vikings and Lancers for the ticket to the
all-Ontario play-downs.
The Confederation Chargers appear well-positioned to defend the city championship they claimed last February.
While the Marymount Regals - city finalists one year ago -
are likely to miss the playoffs altogether this year, fear not,
the next wave of young talent, being assembled by Tammy Jutila,
is already showing signs of contending at the junior level,
losing out to Lasalle in the championship final of the Charger
Challenge last weekend.
And with none of the top-end junior girls teams managing to
duplicate the Confederation seniors' unbeaten record in league
play, the race for the city crown is even more wide-open.
Meanwhile, in Division B play, the Macdonald-Cartier Pantheres
appear to hold the inside track in looking for a sweep of the
junior and senior championship banners.
In most years, the entire Sudbury Lady Wolves girls hockey
contingent gains automatic entry into the OWHA (Ontario Women's
Hockey Association) provincials in mid-April. Such is the
benefit of representing a geographic area, which typically sees
only Sudbury, North Bay and Manitoulin fielding teams in the
Ontario championships.
And given that the three associations compete in varying
classifications, there is no need for head-to-head play-downs
to qualify. But that won't be the case this year for coach Joe
Fabiilli and the Bantam A Lady Wolves, after the OWHA decided
to bump the North Bay Ice Boltz up one level, from Bantam BB to
the A level.
Unlike some hockey organizations where the level of play is
dictated strictly by a population base, the OWHA allows for
some discrepancy, permitting teams to choose their proper level
of competitiveness. The provincial body also maintains the
right to amend the teams' choices based on tournament results.
This past Sunday, Sudbury welcomed North Bay to the Edgar
Leclair Community Centre for game one of the best of three
affair. So far, so good for the locals, who may not have played
their best hockey of the season but were good enough to secure
a 2-1 win.
Randy Pascal is the voice of Persona 10 Sports and the founder of SudburySports.com.
