The 14U boys Wildcat Volleyball Club (WVC) did an outstanding job representing North Bay at the Provincial Volleyball Championships this past weekend in Waterloo. The team was the lone representative of northern Ontario in the 14U boys division for this annual three day event held at the RIM centre in Waterloo. The Wildcat team was ranked 17th in division 1 heading into the tournament. They faced 3 games of competition on Friday and Saturday in the lead up to their finals on Sunday.
In court action on Friday the Wildcats were finding their feet as they faced Maverick Bandits from Ottawa, Leaside Thunder (Toronto), and Riverside Rage (Windsor) teams. The team battled hard against the Mavericks but came up short losing in two sets. Their second game against the Thunder was another close match, but the Wildcats again found themselves falling short of a win. In their final match of the day, the Cats finally found their rhythm and pounced on the Rage team to get their first win of the tournament.
A strong finish on Saturday would be important for the Wildcats as they looked toward the finals on Sunday. The team knew their goal was to finish first in their pool to remain top-side for the next day’s final match-ups. The Wildcats had a slow start to the day with a two set loss to the Breakers from Coburg. The second match of the day found the team against Chatham Ballhawks, whom the Cats had not faced this year. They team found the chemistry that started to brew on Friday and got the win in two sets 25-16, 25-18. This sound victory was led by improved defense in the back court which allowed the setting duo of Braiden Coughlin and Troy Charman to give the ball to the hitters and the show began. The front court was offensively stronger with hitting and blocking by Will Hatherley and Colton Point. The Cats headed into their third game with a positive vibe. The good work in the serving department was an important key to success in this game. The Wildcat team won the match in two straight sets. They would now move to the second tier for the finals on Sunday.
The format for the final action on Sunday is run on winning teams moving on. The Wildcats’ team focus was to play as long as possible on Sunday, knowing that the only way this would happen was by producing wins on the court. The Cats had a rocky serving game but it was off-set with better passing in the back court . The big hitters put on a good show at the net and kept the Toronto West team busy trying to block them. The two set victory meant another game was on tap for the team. The second game started with a close first set against the Panthers from Blackstock. The Wildcats had difficulty serving and finding their game flow. Persistence was the key to victory and a sound second set sealed the deal 25-13, for the win in the quarter-finals. The semi-final action found the Wildcats facing a familiar opponent in the Storm Cyclones from Aurora. The Wildcats had to focus to keep out the distractions from the other team in set one and the Cyclones scrambled to substitute and make changes in the first set. They pulled out a victory and moved on to the second set with more determination. Serving was important in this game and Chris Bowman, Riley Gravelle and Avery Van Dusen played important roles in this aspect. The Cats won the semi-final in two set 25-18 was the score in both. The final game matched the Wildcats back up with the Leaside Thunder, to whom they had lost in two sets on Friday. Both teams were keyed up in the first set and the tension was high throughout as neither team was able to pull away with more than a couple points ahead of the other. The Cats got the first one 26-24. The second set found the Cats behind and struggling to find the flow they once had. The team was disappointed with their difficulty finding an answer to the strong Thunder serving. That was the difference maker in the set and forced a third set to decide who would get the gold. The Wildcats had a very slow start and the coach needed a timeout to focus the team. They battled their way back and led the game on the crossover at 8 points. They kept the game in hand and the Thunder dug into their two timeouts to try change the momentum the Cats had. Troy Charman was called into the game to help the Cats on defense and serving and this was the push they needed. The combination of defense and solid front court action was the difference-maker and the Wildcats won gold in three sets.
The Wildcats are now focusing on the National Championships being held in Toronto May 20-22. Congratulations to the team. Members include- Chris Bowman,Troy Charman, Braiden Coughlin, Riley Gravelle, Will Hatherley, Colton Point, Graeme Vaananen, Keats Vanderlee, Avery Van Dusen, Cameron Yeates; coaches- Chan Crocker and Ken Coughlin.
