Beginning the 2017-2018 season in “Championship” flight, the goal for the Northern Chill 14U Black girls was simply to hold their own as tournament play kicked off last month in Barrie.
And while the young local crew may have struggled a little to gain their footing in the morning, the afternoon would see them close out play ranked higher, provincially, than where they started the day.
The Chill were certainly not outclassed while dropping both ends of their pool play, beaten 17-25, 20-25 by Markham Unity North and 25-21, 23-25, 12-15 by the Etobicoke Titans Helios.
Things were looking a little desperate when the northern crew lost their cross over game to the winless Storm Cyclones from Aurora, 19-25, 17-25.
The coaching duo of Vanessa Chorkawy and Stacy Carter were not about to let the girls feel sorry for themselves, closing off with a bang. A 25-19, 25-10 triumph over Barrie Elites Blue provided the initial boost, with an unbelievable come from behind 25-16, 18-25, 15-13 win over Storm Tsunami 13U (Aurora) capping their showing off nicely.
It should be noted that the Chill were trailing 0-8 in the third set of their finale, rallying to close the gap to 6-13 before securing nine straight points with Emma Coutu at the service line.
Sliding into a tie for fifth in the nine team tournament, the locals bumped their Ontario seeding from 44th to 30th, a top quartile team given the 125 entries competing in this age group.
“Not only did Sophie Gaffney help to settle us down with strong defensive play, she demanded the ball on the back and forth rally that was match point, pounding the ball cross court for the win,” said Chorkawy.
The coaching staff also highlighted the improvement and increased confidence of Brianne Perreault, showcasing some encouraging runs on both the attack and the service line.
“The girls settled in after a morning of nerves and not being sure they belonged in championship flight,” said Chorkawy.
“They are ready to challenge that 30th place ranking every day in practice.”
The remainder of the Chill 14U Black roster includes Erin Wiseman, Mackenzie Selk, Rory Frantz, Alexa Gordon, Grace Perrier, Haven Fournier, Alexia Lemay-Evans, Hayley Bertrand and Kayla Presley.
