It might not rival the 100+ court set-up of the Ashbridges Bay venue that runs alongside Lake Ontario in the east end of Toronto, but the six court beach volleyball setting at Cambrian College is a nice step forward for a sport that is gaining an increasing foothold in Sudbury with every passing summer.

And given that we are speaking of said foothold being acquired on a playing surface comprised completely of soft, silted sand, any kind of traction is good traction.

“You really have to talk to each other a lot because moving on sand is so different,” noted 16 year old soon-to-be Confederation Secondary senior Malin Brunette. “It’s a different dynamic to how you move entirely.”

“And then there’s all of the extra aspects of the sun, the wind, the rain.”

Brunette and second year beach volleyball partner Harlym Triff were already well-acquainted through the indoor volleyball scene, teammates with both their Northern Chill Volleyball Club outfits as well as the current city champion Chargers high-school team.

Undoubtedly, that familiarity has played a role in their success to date, gold and silver medal performances as they compete in northern Ontario, Horseshoe Bay and Waterloo in preparation for their first appearance at provincials at Ashbridges Bay on August 1st and 2nd.

“It helps that Harlym and I play at school together,” said Brunette. “I’ve played with her since grade nine so I know how she likes the ball, where she likes the ball. We have good chemistry.”

Brunette and Triff are among the many local athletes whose first beach volleyball experience in this area would have been provided courtesy of the Moonlight Beach site. But given that the City run locale is subject to random availability (vs the opportunity to book the Cambrian courts), as well as the more pleasant environment of the latter, it’s easy to see why Chill club members favour home sweet home to all others these days.

“Horseshoe Bay was a nice venue, but very windy – and it rained when we were in Waterloo – but nothing compares to the Sudbury courts,” said Brunette. “It’s kind of secluded and nice and compact.”

Thirteen year-old Noah Brunet has no such point of comparable reference. The 6’1” middle (in the indoor game) at Ecole secondaire Macdonald-Cartier has burst on to the scene this summer, opting to follow up his very first winter in the sport of volleyball with some year-round exposure this summer.

Partnered with Isaac McKee, the U14 tandem have been on a tear, capturing a gold and two silvers in their age bracket and winning one event at the U15 level. “We’re strong with our defensive blocking, hitting off second contact and our serving, honestly,” said Brunet.

With McKee having previous beach experience under his belt, it was critical that some sharing of knowledge occur in order for the newly-formed unit to quickly get up to speed, competitively-speaking. “He told me to get ready for the ball over on first contact – it happens a lot more here than indoors,” said Brunet.

With just two players entrusted with covering the full court, Brunet is excited at the prospect of expanding the scope of his volleyball skill-set, notably in areas where he might not gain exposure in the winter game.

“I am doing a lot more passing here than I would indoors,” he said. “That is going to help my game a lot. I don’t really pass indoor. I am kind of bad at it. But now, I get to get better, with a good platform, making sure my legs are square to the ball, arms are level with each other and forearms fully exposed.”

Still, it is at the net where the Brunet presence is most felt, a defender that has the ability to give opposing team fits. “I am trying to get ride of the most court that I can when I block when I am just one person blocking,” he said. “That is more difficult.”

It’s even more difficult when neither of the two teammates enjoy a clear height advantage over their opponents. That is most often the case when the U17 duo of Josslyne Ouellette and Ella Tourville take to the court. The general concept remains the same, even if the effectiveness is not quite what it might be with an oversized blocker.

“Ella usually does the blocking – and even it if’s not always successful, it usually blocks out a view of certain parts of the court,” said Ouellette, a 17 year-old grade 12 student at Collège Notre Dame. “It minimizes their opportunities to score, which helps us.”

It also throws more responsibility on the backcourt player, one who has to use every possible tell at their disposal to try and retrieve the ball quickly. “With only the two of us and I’m the defender, I really have to predict where they are going to go, watching for tips,” said Ouellette.

“There is a lot of running and the heat – so that helps my endurance.”

With a pair of podium placements to show for their three tournament appearances to date, Team Ouellette – Tourville are also looking to provincials, knowing that whatever the outcome, the road they will have travelled will have been an enjoyable one.

“She (Ella) was on my indoor team my first and second year with the Chill,” said Ouellette. “We grew close and after year two, we decided we wanted to do beach and since we were already friends, we decided to partner with each other.”

Other productive pairings from the Sudbury region include Emma DeMarchi and Kallie Smith (two golds and a silver), Aviahna Cocchiola and Kylie Breau (three gold), Morgan Gauvreau and Julia Moulaison (silver) and Savannah Farinha and Lisa Ngouabe (two tournaments to date).

McMaster University freshman Olivier Tremblay is also keeping busy on the beach, out with Team Ontario again this summer.