A wild morning of pool play undoubtedly had the Northern Chill 15U Blizzards' boys questioning the authenticity of the pre-tournament rankings at the recent Provincial Cup – Trillium D competition in Markham.

A 22-25, 21-25 loss at the hands of the Toronto Thunderbolts Smash Flare followed by a tough three set squeaker with the host REACH Elite from Markham (25-22, 25-27, 15-11) meant that all three teams were tied with a win and loss apiece. But with set play as the tie-breaker, the Chill dropped to third place, forced to work through a challenging series of afternoon playoff encounters.

The Blizzards, however, did just that, and while they did not earn the gold medal that their #1 ranking might have suggested, a second place silver medal performance was not a bad way at all to kickoff the 2025-2026 OVA tournament season.

With an extra match on the schedule, the Sudbury crew swept aside the 41SIX Sixers from Toronto, 25-10, 25-14, just to earn their spot in quarter-final play. From there, the Chill upset the first place team in Pool D, outlasting the Georgian Cubs Chaos (Barrie) 25-12, 23-25, 15-11.

Now on a roll, the northern lads avenged their morning loss to the Toronto Thunderbolts, relegating the Smash Flare to bronze medals thanks to a triumphant 23-25, 25-19, 15-10 scoreboard. Unfortunately, the Vaughan Legends Impact would await the Blizzards, the GTA reps closing out a day in which they dropped just a single set, defeating a tired Chill squad, 25-17, 25-11.

The Northern Chill 15U Blizzards hit the floor last weekend with a roster that included Selim Ibrahim, Eli Constantineau, Mateo Dudet (sidelined with a broken ankle), Jace Seguin, Clade McDowell, Cameron Desrochers, Izyck Boudreau, Ajay Martin, Skyler Trottier, Bentley Norman, head coach Adam Marolt, assistant coach Cindy Seguin and team manager Valerie Trottier.