Making the jump to the OVA Championship flight for the first time this season, the Northern Chill 15U girls may have surprised an opponent or two at a recent tournament. Truth be told, they may have even surprised themselves just a touch.
Seeded ninth in a nine team event entering play, the Chill earned a split in their pool, taking a pair of close games against the Thundercats Black (York Region), 26-24, 26-24, before dropping a pair to the Leaside Lightning U14 crew, 14-25, 11-25.
Needing a quarter-final victory to ensure a top four finish, the Chill again proved their ability to emerge victorious in the tight affairs, downing the Kawartha Krushers Vets (Lindsay), 25-23, 25-23.
And though they were certainly not outclassed in medal round action, fourth place was the end result as the Sudbury girls closed out play with losses to the Storm Twister (Aurora), 24-26, 15-25, and the Leaside Lightning, again (21-25, 25-23, 8-15).
“We started the day with incredible energy, shocking our opponents a little,” noted head coach Joanna Castonguay. “We just couldn’t sustain the same energy throughout the day. Caliber wise, we belong in this division, and being so close to a medal will hopefully give us more motivation moving forward.”
In terms of individual highlights, Castonguay noted the play of Josée Beauchamp. “She played consistently well all day and gave us a spark when we needed it.” The team of Maggy Davidson, Emily Ayotte, Kiera Brabant, Julianna Toppazzini, Isabelle Scratch, Kyla Parsons, Fyscher McQueen, Bella Martelli, Faith Charbonneau, Sydney Nicholls and Danielle Stinson are back in action next weekend, travelling to Barrie yet again.
