15U Boys take on the 16U Challenge Cup
16U Challenge Cup – Premier Division January 14, 2012
Ranked seventh coming into this tournament, the 15U boys Black were looking forward to the challenge of a higher level of competition; and they got it, with some to spare.
No easy start this day, as their first opponent turned out to be the #1 ranked Storm Fury of Aurora. The start of the 1st set gave the impression this was to be a strong game from both squads. But after a couple of quick points, Durham Attack found themselves in a very defensive position as the Storm came on hard. With their extremely hard hitting and ability to capitalize on DA’s misplays, Storm quickly jumped to a 4-14 lead. After their second timeout of the set, DA started to challenge, as their play began to come together. It turned into a very spirited set which ultimately Storm took 13-25. The second set saw the boys continue challenging the Storm team with better focus, better blocking and some strong serving. Once again however, the hard hitting and solid serving of Storm proved, on this occasion, to be insurmountable, and while they played hard, DA was overpowered once again, dropping the set 16-25.
The Brampton Selects 96 were the other team in our pool. Feeding off the encouragement of their coaches, the DA boys came out determined to make a good showing. Conner set the tone with strong serves, backed up by some excellent setting from Bradley to Jared and Alex, resulting in a very close, back and forth match. What mistakes our boys did commit were not capitalized on by the Selects, which kept the set close and fast. Some lengthy rally’s and diving saves from Alex and Bradley kept DA in the lead and the win, at 25-21, was ours with a clean set from Bradley to John for the final slam. In set 2 it was Attack’s turn to capitalize on their opponents mistakes. Two calls for being out of rotation against the Selects enabled our guys to stay even in a very entertaining competition. Once again the consistent serves and returns by all players, accompanied by pinpoint setting from Bradley enabled the team to keep it close in another back and forth match. The boys were playing a more “aware” style of ball, while still struggling with the consistency factor. Up a few points near the end, this inconsistency of play on DA’s part made the last couple of points hard to come by. But come by them they did, taking the set 25-23.
After an inexplicable 3 hour break, the 15U boys found themselves on the opposite side of the net to the Durham Attack 16U team. Nothing less than exciting can describe this matchup. With continued quality serving from Conner and Jared, and solid net play from Matt, Bradley and John, our 15U boys showed their 16U clubmates this would not be an easy match. Even after a couple of stumbles, which dropped them into a 7-15 hole, the 15u squad kept chipping away at the 16u defenses, engaging in some highly entertaining rally’s and displaying a very aggressive style of play. Both sides fought hard but in the end the victory went to the 16U boys with a score of 24-26. The beginning of the 2nd set saw a somewhat unsteady 15U squad on the court. It took the loss of a few points to shake them up, then they came back to gain an 11-10 lead before a 16U time out. Both teams settled into a rhythm that saw good rally’s and hard play from both sides of the net, with points being traded evenly until it was 19-19. DA’s 16U boys finally gained the upper hand and took the win 20-25.
The 15u boy’s final game of the day was facing Toronto West. The loser of this game would drop down to tier 2, so a win was a must. The intensity of their play was evidence of the boy’s desire to stay at this level. With Alex hitting hard again and Conner and Jared showing confidence in their serving, another close match entertained the audience. It was an evenly matched set from start to finish, and the final score of 25-23 in DA’s favour came off a serve into the net by Toronto West, followed by a Bradley set to Jared for a centre court slam.
The final set – yes we won – was a continuation of the play from the previous set. From Conner’s strong play on the left to Jared’s serves, accompanied by Tristan’s steady play at middle and his strong defensive blocking at the net, this set was another example of our boys rising to the challenge. Excellent defense, along with solid rally’s once again kept the game close. At 23-22 there was a very intense rally as both teams bunched up on the left side of the court, until Alex finally found the opening and slammed in the point. While a decidedly defensive match, the winner came off a Bradley ace for a 25-22 final score.
While some players have been singled out in this article, it is to be remembered that this is a team of exceptionally talented lads and each and everyone played an important role in this day’s outcome.
