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Melanie Carrigan, Brianne Baum, Shannon Wheatcroft, Coach Laurie Anne Doyle
Brittany Davy, Kelsey Buckley, Taylor Crown
The Ontario Regional Volleyball Championships were held at the University of Waterloo on July 19, 2007 and six local volleyball stars represented Region 5 with honour.
Melanie Carrigan, Brianne Baum, Brittany Davy, Taylor Crown, Kelsey Buckley, and Shannon Wheatcroft, who play for the Georgian Bay Vista Volleyball Club, came home with medals in this prestigious tournament. The week long event which combines high level training and competition includes the top girls players from across Ontario in the16 and under age group. Region 5 covers a geographical area from Toronto to Simcoe County.
Coached by Laurie Ann Doyle from Vista, Melanie Carrigan, Brianne Baum, and Shannon Wheatcroft led their team to the Gold medal championship. For Carrigan and Baum, it was their third time representing Region 5 in this event and the gold medal adds to an illustrious collection of medals they have achieved in OVA indoor and beach championships.
Brittany Davy, Kelsey Buckley, and Taylor Crown were coached by Doug Veldman and were representing Region 5 for the first time. Their athleticism and determination throughout the tournament was instrumental in their team winning the Bronze medal.
Coaches Doyle and Veldman were quick to give high praise to the girls. “Ontario volleyball is very strong and these six girls have proved that they belong with the elite.”
The standard of excellence has always been the ability to consistently perform at an exceptional level while under pressure. The Vista 19 and under girls team firmly established that they have to be considered one of the elite teams in the Ontario Volleyball Association over the past three years. On February 24, 2007 at Trenton the Vista club dominated their opponents to capture the Gold medal at the OVA Tier 1 Championships.
The championship in Trenton follows last year’s Silver medal won at Brock University in the 17 and under age division, and the 2005 Gold medal in the 16 and division in Newmarket.
Pool play featured a highly competitive and intense battle between Vista and arch rival Waterloo Tigers. Over the past three years, Vista has always overcome their well-prepared opponents and at this year’s event the result was the same. Vista relied on strong defense led by Tyra Grozelle and explosive attacks by Amy Town and Sarah Wheatcroft to win in three tough sets. The same formula worked against the resilient Toronto Royals. Vista won 25-19, 23-25, 25-20 to reach the sem-finals.
The semi-final was a decisive Vista victory over the Oakville Thunder and set the stage for the championship final against the Kingston Pegasus club. In set one, Vista quickly led by eight but were overcome to lose 23-25. Undaunted, the experience Vista girls showed the grit and determination that hey have become renowned. They responded with decisive wins 25-9, and 15-7 and were led by middle players Jen Mundy and Meagan Richardson who blocked effectively and Amy Town, Sarah Wheatcroft and Danika Doucette who spiked at will.
Setter Erin Belcourt was consistently leading the attack and was voted the OVA Award of Excellence by her teammates for her dedication, sportsmanship and outstanding play during the volleyball season.
Special recognition goes to coaches Laurie-Ann Doyle and Hubert Robitaille for their leadership during the entire tournament.
To win a Gold medal at an OVA event requires a total team effort. That is exactly what took from every member of the Vista 16 and under team as they captured the OVA Challenge Cup championship held at Newmarket on February 17, 2007.
The Vista squad has shown remarkable development over the course of the volleyball season. Having already won two Silver medals in earlier competitions, they simply were not to be denied at the Newmarket event. Vista went undefeated in pool play defeating the Georgian Volleyball Club from Collingwood and the strong Toronto Junior Blues team.
In the first playoff match, Vista was pitted against the Scarborough Stingrays. Vista was dominant in every aspect of the match and won in two straight sets. The semi-final game against Toronto Interclub witnessed excellent ball control and powerful attacks. Once again, Vista took the match in the minimum two games.
The Gold medal final was a sensational match that saw Vista facing the number one seeded team, Georgetown Impact Black. The first set was a tight, see-saw battle that featured Vista’s determination, poise, and athleticism leading to a 25-21 victory. In set two, explosive attacks, precise sets, and fearless digs highlighted an exciting 25-18 win.
Vista is coached by Dan Lethbridge and Laurie Ann Doyle. Team members include Brianne Baum, Katie Beauchamp. Kelsey Buckley, Melanie Carrigan, Taylor Crown, Brittney Davy, Willow Frost, Elise Hanson, Liarra Marchand, Melissa Verburgh, and Shannon Wheatcroft.
Vista would like to thank their sponsors Huronia Physiotherapy, Wamco, Premier Financial Planning Services,Midland Vollunteer Firefighters, Advanced Foot Orthotics, and Compusolve.
The GBVC under 15 Volleyball team won the gold medal at the Zone C Burgaski Cup in Collingwood on Saturday March 24th, 2007. Coming first out of its pool, the team won the critical first playoff game and advanced to the medal round for the first time this year and capitalized on the opportunity with strong play throughout the playoffs. Coaches Lucille Robillard and Hubert Robitaille led the team to a strong semi-final win against arguably the second best team in the tourney, the Georgian Cubs from Collingwood, 25-12 and 26-24. A shaky start in the gold medal game against the Georgetown Impact (a loss of 23-25) was followed by a gutsy hard earned win of 25-21 in the second game and a 15-7 win in the tie-breaker. The team now advances to the Provincial Championships in April. The team members are Elizabeth Amos, Kelsey Buckley, Taylor Crown, Willow Frost, Katie Latondress, Brittany Pauze, Kalli Schmidt, and Sydney Webster.
In small pool play, the 15U Vista team won all its games and earned the maximum 6 point. Playing the Barrie Cubs in its first playoff match, the Vista team started off with a tough 23-25 loss. The team showed good character by winning the second game 25-23 and winning the tie-breaker 15-10. The semi final game, against the talented Georgian Cubs from Collingwood, saw the Vista team play its best volleyball so far this season, handing the Collingwood club 2 straight losses at 25-12 and 26-24. All players demonstrated strong team play, with Liz Amos powering the team in the first game with 10 straight serves.
In the final match, the team lost the first game in a heart breaker of 23-25. Strong play by Kelsey Buckley, Willow Frost, and Taylor Crown in the second game lead the Vista squad to a 25-21 win. The third game, the tie-breaker, was no contest as the Vista surged to an early 8-3 lead and finished the game as the eventual 15-7 winner.
The Vista 15U team is now waiting for its seeding for the Provincial Championships, scheduled for the third week in April. The team thanks all this years sponsors Huronia Physiotherapy, Wamco, Premier Financial Planning Services, Midland Vollunteer Firefighters, Advanced Foot Orthotics, and Compusolve and is looking forward to a strong finish at the April season ender.
The Georgian Bay Vista 16 and under girls team continued their remarkable run of success by capturing the Silver medal at the OVA Bugarski Cup event held at the University of Guelph on March 31, 2007. Playing in the strongest tournament of the year, Vista established themselves as a serious contender for the Tier 1 Provincial Championship to be held in Waterloo on April 28, 29 2007.
Vista was led by the explosive hitting of Melanie Carrigan, the superb setting from BrittneyDavy, strong middle playing from Shannon Wheatcroft and Kelsey Buckley, timely attacks and outstanding defence from Brianne Baum and Elise Hanson, as well as the excellent Libero play from Willow Frost. Melissa Verburgh, Taylor Crown, and Liarra Marchand provided reliable and confident support throughout the day.
After losing their first match of the day to number one ranked Aurora Storm Typhoon, Vista regrouped and dominated their opponents. Vista defeated the Niagara Splash in pool play 25-20, 25-19, then terminated the Burlington Hurricanes 25-17, 25-08 in first round playoff action. This se the stage for the most entertaining and important match of the day between Vista and the Maverick Lasers. The winner of the match would qualify for the Tier 1 Provincial Championship.
In set one, Vista fought back from 1-6, and 11-16 deficits to defeat their formidable opponents 26-24. Vista’s athleticism and confidence under pressure ultimately overwhelmed the Maverick Lasers and trounced them 25-15 in set two to win the match.
Vista’s momentum continued in semi-final action as they easily dispatched Milton Storm 25-16, 25-23. This victory set the stage for a rematch with Storm Typhoon for the Gold medal. Vista dominated all aspects of the play in set one and easily won 25-07. However, Storm Typhoon battled back and triumphed 25-17 to force a third and deciding set. In a game that could have gone either way, Storm Typhoon held on to a 15-12 victory.
Vista was led by coaches Dan Lethbridge, Laurie Ann Doyle, and Hubert Robitaille. Vista would like to thank its’ sponsors Premier Financial Planning Services, Huronia Physiotherapy, Wamco, Midland Volunteer Firefighters Association, Advanced Foot Orthotics, and Compu-Solve.
