Talk about not setting the tone in your first match of the day.

Setting aside an opening encounter that bore very little resemblance to a series of great match-ups after that, the Northern Chill 14U Blue Ice girls overcame both their 5th place seeding (pre-tournament) and a second place finish in pool play to earn bronze a few weeks back in Barrie.

Part of the nine-team field that contested the TLS McGregor Cup – Championship E tournament at Eastview Secondary School, the locals looked a little out of sorts out of the gates, beaten 20-25, 9-25 by the Barrie Elites Thunder.

A 25-22, 25-23 triumph over E381 from Etobicoke in game two served as a much better indicator of the competitiveness of the Sudbury crew, as well as the closeness of the games that would ensue.

Facing C2 in their quarter-final affair, the Chill eked out wins by scores of 26-24, 25-23 over the Thundercats Eclipse from Vaughan, moving through to the Final Four.

The Sudbury girls nearly made it a “double eclipse” day, going right down to the wire before succumbing to the Milton Edge Eclipse, 16-25, 25-18, 11-15.

With a chance to secure some hardware still within their grasp, the Blue Ice fought tooth and nail, going the distance before toppling the Venom Vipers from Richmond Hill, 20-25, 25-17, 16-14.

The Blue Ice squad brings together the collective strength of Kylan Batchelor, Laura McNeil, Khloe Warren, Gabrielle Fantin, Parize Julian, Melodie Savoie, Kallie Smith, Mylia Rivard, Talia Beaudry, Jaylynn Kring, Cloé St-Amant, Dylan McGee and team staff Geneviève Rivard (head coach), Jeff Mason (assistant coach) and Jennifer Warren (manager).