In order to truly compete with the Ontario volleyball elite at 17 and 18 years of age, teams must get exposed early to playing top of the province competition. The Northern Chill 13U Heat Wave girls are wasting little time climbing that ladder.
After capturing gold in their first tournament of the year, the locals followed up with a second place finish earlier this month in 6v6 McGregor Cup – Trillium action in Maple. The end result is expected to lead to a promotion for their next set of games next month, leading into provincials in April.
Seeded first in the nine-team event, the Chill placed first in Pool A after morning victories over both Titans Kara from Scarborough (25-21, 25-22) and the Durham Attack Crimson (25-9, 10-25, 15-12).
In quarter-final play, the Sudbury girls made short work of the Venom Vipers from Richmond Hill (25-5, 25-22), but needed a third set to subdue the Durham Rebels Falcons 25-13, 14-25, 15-10 in the semi-finals.
It would be an all-northern championship affair as the North Bay Lakers Rapids downed the Chill Heat Wave 25-19, 25-16 to earn gold and kickoff what will hopefully grow into a very healthy Highway 17 rivalry for a few years to come.
Once again, head coach Tanis Van Wallegham witnessed plenty of positives, right across her roster, starting with the tandem of Julia Moulaison and Bree Strickland, who she described as the “most consistent for us on the court that day, strong contributors to points being won in each of the games they played.”
“Elie Lopes was our most improved player and had her best moments in this tournament as a newcomer to the sport, “ added Van Wallegham. “She served very well after just getting the hang of her overhand serve in the last few weeks. She has also worked hard on developing her passing and setting skills to be more reliable in the games.”
Rounding out the Northern Chill 13U Heat Wave roster are Kaiyah Hasner, Morgan Gauvreau, Olivia Cormier, Adrienne Young, Maya Chretien, Danika Drolet, Kendra Vanwallegham, Hailey Villeneuve, Brinley Evans and assistant coach Bree Edwards.
