Girls 14U Arif Win 14U Blaze Invitational!

On Nov 21^st, the team was ready to go at their first 14U tournament, the Burlington Blaze Invitational.

14U Arif at Blaze Invitational

The first challenge of the day was an 8:30 match against Oakville Thunder. After a sluggish start Attack awakens and delivers 4 stunning serves in a row. A beautiful backset and subsequent driving spike catches Thunder off guard and the girls take the lead. The crowd is enthusiastic and Attack gathers momentum, intense, coming together, talking to each other and having fun. The girls deliver another 4 unanswered serves and control the game to win 25-16. In Game 2, Attack delivers exceptional play and quickly rallies to a 20-5 lead, before Thunder calls a timeout. It was however too late for Thunder and the girls win game 2 with a decisive score, 25-7!

The second match was against a skilled Toronto West team. Attack jumped to an early 10-2 lead with 8 unchallenged points. TW came back fighting making the game closer with an 8 point advance, 14 -10 for Attack. With the help of some tenacious serving and great sets, Attack pulled away to take the game 25-15.  In game 2, TW really stepped up their game going point for point against Attack entertaining the fans with great defensive play and hard hitting. As TW pulled ahead 15-11, Coach Arif called a timeout to help the girls’ re-group. The time-out seemed to work and the girls pulled together. They managed to grind out 5 consecutive points bridging the gap before relinquishing the game to TW, 20-25.

Time for the tie-breaker! Attack was determined to deliver and started off with 5 unanswered points, taking a commanding 11-4 lead. TW battled back hard but the girls remained strong and the crowd and coaches alike watched 4 hard earned points unfold into a 15-6 victory for Attack against a strong, skilled Toronto team.
After lunch, the team headed outdoors and once again enjoyed some of Coach Arif’s fun, creative and engaging team building activities. The blanket-drop name game was a ton of fun and girls all had smiles on their faces.

Back to the action…
The third match of the day was against the Ms. Pakman team. The girls were hot off the mark with stellar serving, jumping to a quick 14-4 lead. They continued to demonstrate on court proficiency powering themselves to a quick 25-8 win. In game 2 the girls delivered crisp play, tremendous serving and some exquisite spikes, all of which helped them gel to become even stronger hammering out an exciting 25-12 victory.

Placing first in pool play the DA14U Arif team had begun their run for the gold!

The crossover saw the girls facing Interclub Toronto. With team spirit high, un-defendable serves, solid 3 play and strategic thinking, it didn’t take long for the girls to amass an 11-4 lead. Attacks’ on court prowess was undeniable and the girls easily took game 1, 25-6. In game 2 the girls again commanded the game and despite a mid-game attack by Interclub where they managed to gather some steam and battled back gaining a few points, the Attack girls quickly regrouped and ended the game with a decisive 25-15 win.

The Arif Attack team momentum propelled them to the Championship game against an awakened Toronto West team. Noting the only loss of the day had been a close game against TW, the team knew they had to assert themselves and exact their points quickly. The girls took the first 5 points with their exuberant offence and not allowing Toronto to re-group, their sheer determination dominated to a 25-11 win. In game 2, 2 blocks and 3 hits on the first serve gave the girls a hard fought first point. The tempo was set and as the play went back and forth, the girls’ unyielding energy, teamwork and tenacity prevailed as they overcame Toronto West with a final score 25-17 to win the 14U division!

Congratulations girls and Coaches on your first 14U tournament championship! Your commitment, determination and hard work will undoubtedly continue to be rewarded!