Three games are a given the first two days of OVA (Ontario Volleyball Association) Provincial Championships. Day three: not so much.

The Northern Chill 17U Blue Cyclones posted mirror image records in preparation for the playoff round last week in Toronto, going 1-2 on Thursday but winning two of three 24 hours later. Unfortunately, there was no wiggle room come Saturday morning as the Sudbury reps were sent packing following a close quarter-final loss.

The Blue Cyclones utilized their fully alloted three set maximum on day one early, beaten 20-25, 25-22, 8-15 by the Maverick Klondike from Ottawa but getting the better of the Niagara Rapids Voltage, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10. The Northern Chill girls closed out their first troika of encounters with a hard-fought loss at the hands of the KW (Kitchener-Waterloo) Preds Valour, 26-28, 17-25.

A very early start to the morning did not seem to bother the Chill on Friday, kicking things off with back to back victories over Lakeside Shujaa from Oakville (25-20, 25-15) and the Georgian Cubs Apex from Barrie, 25-18, 23-25, 15-10. A perfect 3-0 mark was spoiled by the Smash Raiders Nova from Hamilton thanks to a 25-19, 25-9 scoreboard.

With all of the clichés in play on Saturday, the Blue Cyclones were unable to topple the Thundercats Legacy from Vaughan, the team that went on to claim gold in the Division 2 Tier 2 bracket after starting that run with a pair of 25-21 outings against the Chill.

The 2025-2026 edition of the Northern Chill 17U Blue Cyclones included Ella Tourville, Isabelle Bonish, Emma Firman, Lara Gray, Kendra Crew, Maggie Polischuk, Alaina Paquette, Leah Serre, head coach Chris Polischuk, assistant coach Maike Polano and team managers Michelle Serre and Kyleen Gray.