April 19-21, 2013
Durham Attack Black 16U boys came into the Provincial Championships ranked 12th of the 29 competing teams. The first day saw the team in some very intense games. Versus the Markham Stingers, the boys started a little slow, but after a couple of inspiring digs and hits from Jared and Alex H., the pacing steadied and balanced attacks with solid defense from both sides made for a close set. Unfortunately, after leading for most of it, Durham stumbled and lost 24-26. The second set saw more misfortune for Durham Attack, dropping the set 15-25. Game 2 vs Hometown team Predators Purple was a better example of what Durham is capable of. Led by strong serving from Tristan and Brad, aided by a solid wall of blocking from John and Jon, the boys won the 1st set 25-19. Set 2 was a more even affair as both teams fought hard for every point. With fewer mistakes on their side of the net, the Predators prevailed 23-25, requiring a 3rd set tiebreaker. Durham Attack’s serving game was doing the job, but Predators defense was too strong and they took the set 10-15. Game 3 against the Etobicoke Eagles saw another strong start for Durham Attack as Connor and Jon combined for those all important lead taking points. The Eagles fought back, but couldn’t catch up and Durham won 25-19. The 2nd set was a delight for Attack fans, with excellent serving from Alex T. and Tyler helping achieve the initial lead. Hard hits from Tristan on the right and Alex H. on the left kept any rallys to a minimum, but there were a couple, keeping the game interesting. Durham’s 25-18 triumph gave them 3rd place in day 1 pool play.
Day 2 was a better day for Durham Attack, as they finally got their groove back and took the day, beating Peel Selects 97 25-10 & 25-17; Toronto’s Leaside Thunder 25-13 & 25-20; and Windsor’s RVC 25-21 & 25-14. The result: 1st place in day 2 pool play.
Day 3 was the challenging, competitive day it was expected to be. In their game vs Aurora Storm, Durham Attack was a little shaky, making for a less than stellar start. While the hard serving of Alex H. and Jared, along with the solid hitting of Tristan, Connor and John kept them in the game, mentally the boys were struggling with some questionable calls. Some tension filled rallys raised the level of excitement for all but in the end Storm took the set 25-27. Fortunately, set 2 witnessed a renewed focus and determination on the part of Durham Attack. Concerted passing and setting by both teams resulted in tight back and forth action, but Durham took the early lead, didn’t let up and won 25-19. The tiebreaker was an example of focus, drive and consistent play. Cody was all over the court on defense, Jon served up back to back aces and the blocking was in-your-face, ruffling Storm and giving Durham a sound 15-8 victory. Game 2 vs Niagara Rapids was another excellent display of talent on both sides of the net. A hard fought contest with accurate setting, strong serves and solid blocking. A won rally close to the end stopped a brief drive by Niagara before Tristan’s huge 25-20 game winning block. The battle continued in the 2nd set, with Tyler serving hard, Cody digging deep and Alex H., Tristan and John slamming down point after point. Niagara fought hard but couldn’t overtake Durham, losing 25-21.
The semi-final found Durham Attack in a rematch with the Markham Stingers. To say it didn’t play out as expected could be considered an understatement. Simply put, the Attack didn’t! They struggled throughout and went down to defeat in rapid succession 19-25 and 15-25.
In an interesting turn, the Bronze medal game pitted Durham Attack Black against the #1 ranked Pakmen of Mississauga. These are two very evenly matched teams and it was evident the team making fewer mistakes would come out the victor. The 1st set was a point for point affair, with neither team gaining the advantage. It was a very exciting contest as both teams were in the zone, playing their respective “A” games. A final surge of deft serving, blocking and hitting gave Durham a 25-21 win. Set 2 had more seesaw action with not too many rallys, but challenging play from both sides. Durham came up short this time, handing Pakmen the 23-25 victory with a couple of unfortunately timed mistakes. But what is a medal game without a tension filled tiebreaker? So back they came, with Jon serving with accuracy, defense putting up a solid wall at the net and Brad’s setting to both left and right throwing Pakmen off balance. Pakmen tried disrupting the Attack’s momentum with timeouts, but the final played out as follows; Brad set Jared for a centre court slam, Jon served up an ace, Pakmen called a timeout and then Jon came back to finish it all with another ace. Durham Attack won the Provincial Championship Bronze medal with a 15-9 victory. Many thanks to coaches Mike Slean and Kevin Matthews for their direction, encouragement and leadership throughout the season. And it isn’t over yet. The Nationals are next.
Back row: Asst. Coach Kevin Matthews, Alex Tsai, Tyler Paxton, John Deacon, Jon Orrett,
Tristan Swinden, Alex Hatzinikou, Coach Mike Slean.
Front row: Jared Harris, Connor Forrest, Aleks(Cody) Vagners, Brad Whitlock
Durham Attack Team Blog 
