Much like a flighted golf tournament, success at OVA (Ontario Volleyball Association) Provincial Championships can be a little tricky to define, sometimes at the whim of Lady Luck.
Slide in at #16 in the province and you hold down the basement position in Tier 1.
Drop down just one slot to #17 and you are now the favourite to win gold in Tier 2.
Representatives of the Northern Chill Volleyball Club have come to know and understand this landscape, which is why pre-tournament goal-setting exercises now often involve a target of reaching the highest ranking possible, ideally leap-frogging a handful of other programs at the all-Ontario showdown.
With no less than 23 Chill entries travelling to either Toronto or Niagara Falls earlier this month, few embraced the notion of stepping up at Provincials better than the 17U Black Cyclones girls.
Ranked 30th of the more than 140 squads who threw their name in the hat in this age bracket, the Sudbury crew wasted little time asserting themselves, sweeping all three of their Pool G cohorts and immediately vaulting into the top 16 bracket for day two.
Though the tests were stiffer, the Chill Black Cyclones still managed to garner a win in their three-match day, ensuring a spot in the eight team Division 1 Tier 2 grouping. And for as much as a 25-27, 27-25, 10-15 setback to Pakmen Gold from Mississauga was disappointing on day three, their final standing as the 15th best U17 girls team in the province was still a clear source of pride.
“I think we kind of knew that if we played as well as we could, we could definitely crack the top 16 in the province,” noted hard-hitting right-side Harlym Triff. “We’ve been working on our serve receive and defense at practice a lot – and at provincials, we were passing really good balls, which helped us a lot.”
Head coach Tess Peterson simply could not have asked for more, with her post-event statements ringing with the realization of same. “What stood out this weekend was their ability to stay disciplined within our structure when the game became unpredictable,” she said. “At this level, rallies break down and the ability to make good decisions out-of-system becomes critical.”
“They showed a real ability to manage those moments, stay composed and make purposeful choices with the ball,” summarized Peterson.
The tone was set early as the Chill opened played against the Kingston Rock Emerald on day one, an opponent they knew well from previous in-season battles. “We actually switched defenses a couple of practices before we left for provincials just because we knew how they played,” noted Triff.
“We changed things up a little bit to fit what they do.”
The 17U Black Cyclones still have one more kick at the can, heading to Calgary for nationals a little over two weeks from now. It’s one last opportunity for Triff and her teammates to continue to work on those areas of the game that pose the biggest challenge on a personal level.
“Honestly, the biggest thing for me is my mental state of it all,” said Triff, a 16 year-old grade 11 student at Confederation Secondary School. “I used to get very easily frustrated with myself. My coaches have helped me become mentally strong and more resilient.”
"Also my approach," added Triff. "It was slower and by the end of the year, it was bigger and faster and more explosive."
Rounding out the Northern Chill 17U Black Cyclones roster are Chloé Carrier, Sarah Crittenden, Rebecca George, Marissa MacLean, Caelyn Mahoney, Mina McCoshen, Adelina Naghi, Josslyne Ouellette, Cassidy Warren, assistant coach Rylee Thompson and team manager Jennifer Warren.
