Northern Chill U17 girls medal at provincials

It would take until the third weekend of the Ontario Volleyball Association Championships, but the Northern Chill Volleyball Club have added another set of medals to their collection.

The latest haul came courtesy of the U17 girls, competing in the Division II tournament just this past weekend. En route to earning their hardware, coach Craig Thomson and company also seemed to encounter far more sets that would go right down to the wire than any of the other Chill teams.

The U17 Chill opened with a 2-1 record in pool play on Day 1, falling 21-25, 25-17, 12-15 to Ms Pakmen (Toronto), but picking up victories against both Forest City Blue of London (25-22, 25-12) and the Waterloo Red Tigers (27-25, 26-24).

Re-pooled for Day 2, the Chill took on all comers, upending the Georgian Cubs of Barrie (25-19, 25-12), the Waterloo Tigers Black (25-18, 25-19), as well as earning a measure of revenge against Ms Pakmen (25-22, 25-19).

As fate would have it, those two teams would meet in a Tier I quarter-final rubber match, with the Northern Chill keeping the momentum going thanks to a 25-16, 25-20 triumph over the Pakmen.

The hot streak would be dampened by the Chatham-Kent Chaos in the semifinals (24-26, 25-20, 11-15), though the locals did manage to fight back to earn Division II Tier I bronze with a 24-26, 25-23, 15-13 win over the Aurora Storm Hurricanes.

OVA Provincials kicked off back on March 28-30, as the U16 Chill made the trek to RIM Park in Waterloo. Competing in the Division I grouping with the very best in the province, the U16 crew struggled to find the winning formula.

Coach Joanna Castonguay and the ladies lost six straight sets on Day 1, falling to the Kitchener Predators Purple, Etobicoke Titans Black and Toronto Diamonds, and did not fare much better when the pools were shuffled for Day 2.

Losses to the Niagara Rapids Black from St. Catharines (22-25, 20-25), the Barrie Elites Black (21-25, 25-21, 6-15) and Ms Pakmen of Mississauga (21-25, 27-25, 14-16) meant that the Chill U16 crew would open day three with a Tier 2 Round of 16 matchup.

Despite a decent start, the Chill eventually succumbed to the Guelph Grizzlies, losing 25-19, 7-25, 6-15 and eliminated from any further play. The Northern Chill U14 girls took up the charge the very next weekend, faring somewhat better than the U16 crew.

Also competing in the Division I grouping, the northern girls posted a 2-1 record in pool play on Day 1, besting both the Orillia Suns Nova (16-25, 25-11, 15-12) and Woodstock Warriors White (25-22, 25-22), but beaten by the Georgetown Impact (23-25, 9-25).

Things were somewhat tougher on Day 2 as the Chill encountered the Richmond Hill Thundercats (25-13, 23-25, 9-15), Ottawa Maverick Gold Diggers (25-18, 9-25, 11-15) and Burlington Hurricanes Blue (12-25, 17-25), losing all three times.

A matchup on Sunday opposite the Peterborough Thunder did not have the Sudbury girls faring any better, eliminated in the Tier 2 Round of 16 by scores of 24-26 and 15-25.

Finally, the Northern Chill U15 girls also travelled this past weekend, joining their U17 clubmates in Waterloo. Competing in Division II, the locals came up empty-handed on Friday, beaten by the Ottawa Maverick Ambush (21-25, 17-25), the Burlington Defensa #2 (25-19, 21-25, 15-17) and Etobicoke E381 Blue (23-25, 24-26) in round-robin play.

A different set of adversaries suited the U15 girls just fine on Day 2, winning two of the three matches they would contest. The team opened with wins over the West Nipissing Wild (25-22, 25-16) and Georgian Cubs of Barrie (25-13, 25-23), before being handed their only loss of the day by the Barrie Elites Black (25-18, 17-25, 10-15).

Heading into playoff Sunday, the Chill survived the Tier 2 Round of 16 with a 25-22, 25-20 win over the Forest City Blue of London, eventually sent packing by the Hamilton Smash Purple, 19-25, 18-25, in the quarter-finals.

The U18 and U13 Northern Chill teams will close out the 2014 Provincial experience, with both teams taking part in the final tournament at RIM Park on the weekend of April 25-27.