Some early season OVA tournaments feature a wide spectrum of competing talent, but that wasn’t the case for the Northern Chill 15U Girls earlier this month in Sturgeon Falls.
With plenty of talented teams on hand for the Provincial Cup tournament, the locals walked away with a solid baseline for future growth, in the opinion of head coach James Schweyer, all while securing bronze medals to open the 2016-2017 campaign.
The overall competitiveness was evident right out of the gate as the Chill split their pool play games, sweeping past the Aurora Storm Twister (26-24, 25-16), before they were beaten by the West Nipissing Wild (21-25, 24-26).
A key cross-over triumph over the North Bay Lakers (25-12, 25-20) paved the way to their appearance in the Final Four, where the Aurora Storm girls evened the score on the day, taking their semifinal rematch 16-25, 25-23, 15-9.
Battling the Markham Unity with third place on the line, the Sudbury squad prevailed in three hard-fought sets, registering a 25-11, 23-25, 15-9 win.
“This tournament provided a strong start to the season,” said Schweyer.
“The intensity of our team on defence, and their ability to recycle balls to keep the play alive was exciting to watch. The team learned how to play under pressure, and experienced the highs and lows that go along with sport.”
Learning from their first tournament experience of the year were the group of Ayla Jones, Amelina Iturregui, Katie Staffen, Emma Squires, Hailey Selk, Emma Bissonnette, Amber Jacques, Erika Brown, Katia Legros, Lauren Jeanneault, Brielle Chicoine, Symantha Welsh, and the coaching staff of James Schweyer, Nathan Squires and Sheldon Root.
The team is back in action, in terms of their OVA tournament schedule, on Jan. 15, travelling to Pembroke, site of the Challenge Cup Trillium “H” event.
