Double silver for NBYVC Lakers

The U-18 North Bay Youth Volleyball Club Lakers show off their silver medals from a tournament in Welland, Ontario. Photo submitted.

The North Bay Youth Volleyball Club Lakers U16 and U18 teams both captured silver medals this past weekend in Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) tournament action.

In the Under-18 division the Lakers travelled to Welland, ON to participate in their second OVA tournament of the season.

In pool play the number two ranked Lakers finished first in pool play as they defeated the 7th ranked Stingrays 2-0 (25-19, 25-13) and 10th ranked Georgian Cubs 2-0 (25-22, 25-12).

Finishing first in the pool allowed the Lakers to get some rest heading into the playoff round.

In the quarters-finals the Lakers met fourth ranked Interclub and were able to sweep the match in straight sets 2-0 (25-16, 26-24).

This setup a semi-final match up versus the 3rd ranked Etobicoke Titans Black.

After splitting sets with the Titans (25-22, 14-25) the Lakers were able to execute well down the stretch and capture the final set 15-9 to win the match.

In the gold medal match the Lakers faced off against the U17 STVC Synergy team from Scarborough who were ranked 3rd in their last OVA U17 tournament and proved to be too much as they defeated the Lakers 2-0 (25-7, 25-18).

"Our goal at the beginning was to make the final. I felt the girls really came together as a team this weekend - a total team effort,” said head coach Joey Rainer.

“Our passing and serving was excellent and we were not challenged until the finals. We just lost focus and ran out of gas after having played three games back to back to back. I am really proud of the girls and looking to our next tournament," added Rainer.

The U18 Lakers will now move up to Championship East Division on February 9th in Peterborough.

Team members: Micheala Randall, Kylie Burns, Abby Crown, Kayla Kosturik, Maddie Barnes, Carley Stickle, Lauren Kuehni, Cassie Dobson, Emma Vanederlee, Brittany Coughlin, Coaches: Joey Rainer, Ben Hong

Under-16 Capture Silver

The U16 NBYVC Lakers also captured silver at the McGregor Cup over the past weekend in Midland as they played their third tournament of the season.

In pool play the 4th ranked Lakers finished first in pool play by defeating the 9th ranked Barrie Elites Blue team 2-1 and the third ranked Georgian Cubs 2-0.

In quarter-final action the Lakers were pitted against the seventh ranked Barrie Elites Black team and were able to sweep the match 2-0.

In the semi-final match the sixth ranked Georgian Bay Vista and the Lakers traded sets (15-25, 25-21) but the Lakers were too much in the end as they were able to win the deciding set 15-11 to advance to the gold medal game.

In the gold medal match the Lakers faced off with the top ranked Aurora Storm Hurricanes. This is the second time in three tournaments that they have faced the tough team from Aurora. The U16 Lakers put in a valiant effort but in the end were defeated 2-0 in the final.

"The girls have been working extremely hard this season both on and off the court,” said head coach Kayla Gerrits.

“It was great to finally see all their hard work pay off. This weekend they were able to put it all together through teamwork, communication and skill. We are very proud of their accomplishment."

Assistant coach Ashley Hummel noted that strong serving was certainly a key to the team’s strong performance this weekend.

The U16 will now get ready for the Bugarski Cup on February 23rd, which will be hosted in North Bay at Nipissing University.

Team members: Allie Armstrong, Elizabeth Cochrane, Sam Brownlee, Ashley Bernard-Legris, Jen Sheehan, Kathryn Gribbons, Mila White, Jayden Taylor, Sam Rota, Coaches: Kayla Gerrits, Ashley Hummel, Ben Hong

Submitted to BayToday.ca