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Chargers defeat Vikings to defend volleyball title

An expected matchup, the games could have went either way

The 2016-2017 version of the Confederation Chargers girls volleyball team can now share equal billing with the most successful crew, previously, in program history.

A three-set 26-24, 25-19, 25-22 victory over the Lockerby Vikings on Feb. 17 allowed the Chargers to defend their SDSSAA title from one year ago, matching the back-to-back accomplishment of the 2007-2009 Confederation team that featured the one-two power punch of Kristen Bolduc and Trina Czerkas.

The matchup in the final had been an expected one, with the Vikings and Chargers claiming multiple tournament championships, and splitting their head-to-head encounters. On this day, however, the Valley girls were just that little bit better.

"When we played them last time, what shut down on us was serve receive and serving," said Rebecca Smith, sharing coaching duties at Confederation with Jennifer Stobo.

"That last couple of weeks, we knew that we would probably meet Lockerby in the final. We hammered out serve receive and spent a lot of time on serving." 

And when push came to shove, in the final few points, Smith and company stressed the importance of mental toughness.

"We knew that other teams are going to score points, and we needed to move on from that," said Smith. "They're going to make a huge kill, and you have to come back with energy. Volleyball is momentum."

Of course, receiving a top-end performance from veteran attacker Alison LaBrash did not hurt the Confederation chances one iota. The longtime member of the Northern Chill Volleyball Club — the statement was true of more than half of the players on the court in this final — sensed early on that this could well be her day.

"I get very dialed in, and even if I make an error, I don't get down on myself," said LaBrash. "We worked on mental preparation, visualizing our best game ever, a lot of mental focus."

And in a battle where the opponents are so infinitely familiar with one another, every small advantage can be key. 

"They are definitely a tough team," said LaBrash. "They know our weaknesses, we know their weaknesses, so it's usually a back-and-forth game."

After claiming the NOSSA AA banner one year ago, the Chargers will look to make a return trip to OFSAA, albeit as an A status school this time around. 

"Right from the beginning, we've said our goal is OFSAA again this year," said Smith.

"The girls had a great time there last year." 

The gold-medal-winning team included Grace Haapala, Marissa Beeson, Kaitlyn Woods, Destiny Miller, Natasha Gervais, Hailey Mauro, Teagan Langis, Mykayla Beeson, Britney Chevrier, Alison Labrash and Sophia Masterson-Pinedo.

While Confederation is expected to face their stiffest test from the Franco-Cité Patriotes, with the NOSSA A tournament taking place on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23 in Sturgeon Falls, the Vikings will enjoy home-court advantage as they look to make it back-to-back visits to provincials, hosting the NOSSA AA on Thursday and Friday.

In the junior Division A final, it was the Lo-Ellen Park Knights taking down the Horizon Aigles in straight sets, after the teams had finished tied for first place in regular season standings, with both squads posting a mark of 8-1.

In Division B action, the Champlain Requins girls are serving notice that they may be looking to build a program that could rival the boys teams that were coached by Michel Leroux more than a decade ago, upending the St. Charles College Cardinals25-23, 25-17, 25-16 in the senior affair.

Champlain was represented by a lineup of Myriam Bouffard, Marissa Boulet, Emily Gerling, Tasia Lachapelle, Samantha Lamarche, Manon Langlois, Tara Mainville, Hailey Pichette, Taylor Morgan-Soucy, Kyndra Young, McKenna Young and coaches Brianne Plante and Josh Deschamps.

The Chelmsford Flyers thwarted a Division B sweep for the Requins, defeating the Champlain junior team 25-16, 25-18, 25-20, while the midget girls provided easily the most drama of the day.

Going to full five sets, the Marymount Regals outlasted the Lo-Ellen Park Knights 25-17, 25-13, 23-25, 24-26, 15-12 to begin the full day of volleyball competition on Feb. 17 at Collège Boréal.


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