Pre-provincial Prep in Buffalo for the U18's
April 18th, 2010

Nothing like a road trip to bring a team together. This week-end the U18's headed down to the beautiful BNCC in Buffalo for a final tournament before Ontario Championships at the end of the month. A nice team dinner on a cold Saturday night in Buffalo and an early start on Sunday against 10 unknown teams.

The Interclub U18 girls have often had trouble getting off to a quick start at tournaments and at the BNCC Springfest tournament was no exception losing the first set 25-20 before jumping all over NFVB 17 Blue in the second to take the game 25-14. Next up was Permiere 18 who put up a fight but lost both matches with scores of 25-22 and 25-19.

The final match of pool play was against Xtreme Inferno the number 1 seeded team in our pool who had beaten their 2 previous opponents by an average spread of 7 points. This proved to be one of the best matches of the day with Xtreme taking the first match 25-22 and Interclub digging deep for the second match 28-26.

Coming out of pool play ranked second we were on a collision course with the KW Predators, the 3rd ranked u18 team in Ontario. First we had to overcome the NFVB white team who pushed us to a close 27-25 win in the first but then ran out of steam in the second and lost 25-17. Up next the battle of Ontario.

As great as some of the play had been on the Interclub court earlier in the day, that first game of the semi final was outstanding. With many of the girls dealing with sore legs, sprained hands and various bumps and bruises this was a leave it all on the line match. In my opinion this was the final, with the two best teams forced to meet in the semi-final. The first set was close the whole way with all of the girls stepping up their games to the next level. Right down to the end they fought this see-saw match but couldn't turn around those last couple of points and lost the first one 25-23. From there we seemed to lose the wind out of our sails and momentum shifted to their side and up early they never looked back and went on to take the second set 25-11.

Thank you ladies for your adaptability all day long. I truely believe that we are ready for Ontario Championships in 2 weeks and I bet that it won't only be the KW Predators that hope that they stay clear of us.

U18's Fall 1 win short of Premier
Jan 23rd, 2010

“Going into the McGregor Cup on January 16th our 18U girls were ranked 12th so they needed a good showing to remain in the Championship tier. Our first match was against 4th ranked Niagara Rapids and the girls came out strong, taking the match 2-0. Our second pool-play game was against Forest City Green 17U. It was tough match with both teams playing well, but Forest City came out on top 2-1.

Coming 2nd in our pool placed the girls against Burlington Blaze, who finished 3rd in their pool. This was a critical game to win as it ensured remaining in the Championship tier, and the girls came through with the big win. However the surprise win of the tournament was their next game against Peel Selects. Not only did Peel place 1st in their pool, but our IC girls have yet to beat Peel Selects in the last 2 years. But this was all about to change. Having dropped the first set the girls played an amazing second set and you could see the momentum shifting. Peel was struggling to stem the tide by trying to get the ball to their star right side hitter at every opportunity, but IC proved too strong. Interclub took the 2nd and 3rd sets. This set Interclub on the path to the gold medal round, with only one team standing in their way, Storm Vortex. Every set was a nail-bitter to the end, with the score tight all the way but the win went to Storm Vortex in 3 sets. Storm went on to win gold. Their last game was against the Etobicoke Wildcats, losing the bronze medal in 2 sets.

The team finished the day in 4th place, a tremendous move up from where they started the day in 12th. This puts them in good position going into the Feb 6th tournament in London.

Great day girls!”

18U Girls Maintain Championship Division Ranking
Dec 5th, 2009

Following a first place tournament finish at the Northumberland Invitational the 18U girls faced their first true challenge at the Provincial Cup on Dec 5th. A quick drive along the 401 to Jacob Hespeler ranked 7th in the Championship Division, the girls had their minds set on a top 4 finish to move them up to the Premier division for the next tournament.

A very strong pool and a slow start to the day proved to be too much to overcome going into the first round of the playoffs. Coming out of their pool third and a tough crossover loss had the girls scrambling to hold onto their Championship ranking. With the bottom 3 teams going down to Trillium for the next tournament the girls had to win both of their final matches to stay on top.

The offence started to click in the fourth game and it carried through until the end of the day securing a 9th place finish at their first OVA tournament of the year. Although they have their work cut out for them to prepare for the next tournament on Jan 16th I want to congratulate all the girls for their mental focus and determination as they fought their way through a tough day.

Thanks to all the parents for their help and support throughout the day.

On another note the team and I want to send out our best wishes to Hayley as she works through her pain and fights to get back on the court in the new year. Our thoughts are with you.

Steve Turner-Head Coach