Provincial Silver for Supreme!

This past weekend Vipers 16U Supreme came home with a SILVER medal from the OVA Provincial Championships! It was a hard fought 3 day tournament with ups and downs, but the girls fought through the adversity and finished strong!

During the third play of our very first set, our setter dislocated her shoulder, requiring a player to come off the bench and set for the first time. The girls fought back hard, but unfortunately lost that set by two points and then fell in the 2nd set as well. The Vipers regained strength in their third game that day against Niagara Rapids Summit, beating them in an exciting 3 set match! The girls were down 1-8 in the third set, but turned it around to win 15-12!

On Saturday, Supreme had 3 hard battles against Peel Selects, Brant Youth, and Scorpions Smash. Unfortunately, the girls dropped down a tier, but they kept their spirits up going into Sunday - the most important day. The final day of the Provincial Championships is single-knockout, making it very tough to set the nerves aside and focus on one point at a time.

In the Round of 16, the Vipers faced Galaxy Stars from Etobicoke, winning 25-9 and 25-17. Then the girls were matched up against Niagara Rapids Summit again in the Quarter Finals, this time beating them in two straight sets. The Semi-Final game against Guelph Jr. Gryphons Fury was a match to remember! The girls were feeling the pressure, wanting to be in the gold medal match so badly! They won the first set 25-21, fell short in the second set 19-25, but then came out strong in the third set. This final set was a tough back and forth battle. Guelph pulled ahead with a 10-6 lead, but Supreme didn’t give up and tied the score up at 11-11. The girls kept pushing forward and won 15-13!

The final Gold Medal match against E381 from Toronto, was another tough one. The girls had been playing all day with no substitutions, so we were so proud to see that they still had fight left in them! Unfortunately the first set was lost 16-25, but the girls gave their all in the 2nd set, falling only by 2 points at 26-28. Regardless of the scores, we are so proud of this team for having an amazing day! A silver medal at the OVA Provincial Championships is something to be very excited about!

OVA Silver for 16U Supreme!

The Vipers Supreme team had another successful tournament last weekend! The girls started out super strong taking ACTS Elite in 2 sets, 25-6 and 25-15! Supreme had a bit of a slow start to their next match dropping the first set to EVP by 3 points, but they took the momentum from the end of the first set, and won the next two sets with convincing scores!

The Vipers kept moving forward, winning their quarter-final game in 2 straight sets. The semi-final game had to have been Supreme’s best game of the day! The Waves were a tough competitor but the Vipers stayed strong and confident, beating them in 2 close sets: 25-23 and 25-20. This was their ticket to the final match!

Unfortunately, Supreme wasn’t able to capture the gold. It was tough because Supreme beat this Rapids team in the quarter-finals at the first tournament, but gold medal games are just a different beast! However, our girls won the silver and had a great tournament overall! We are super proud of our girls for showing great sportsmanship after the game and cheering on the gold medal team when they received their medals.

We are so happy to see this team gelling as well as they do, especially considering many of the players have never played together before! We look forward to seeing how they continue their successful season at the next tournament!

Also a special good luck to our 14U teams competing today in the Trillium and Select division! Go Vipers!

OVA Bronze for Vipers Force!

Last Saturday, the 15U Vipers Force team played like they have never played before! They started off the day with a big win against Chatham Ballhawks, followed by a close game with Woodstock Warriors 14U. This left the Vipers 2nd in their pool after pool play. 

In the playoffs, the Vipers faced LVC Fire Explode for the quarter finals! The girls came out playing hard, beating LVC in the third set with a score of 15-10! A parent from another team approached our coaches and told them what an amazing game it was to watch! The team was off to the semifinals, matched up against the Scorpions. The girls fought hard taking it to three sets, passing the difficult serves and swinging hard, but fell short in the third set. Although the day was not over yet, the Vipers still had the bronze medal match ahead of them! Staying positive and eager for a medal, the girls challenged the Norfolk Chaos Impact to three very intense sets, keeping them on their toes! At 14-11 in the third set, Vipers had the serve, with the gym quiet and the pressure on, Vipers were able to take the win with an ace serve on game point! 

It was such an exciting day! Coach Nat and Coach Alli are extremely proud of the girls for getting their first medal of the season! They’d like to send a HUGE thank you to Coach Wayne for coming out and helping the girls on such an eventful day! Way to go Vipers!

Vipers Attack takes Silver!

Yesterday the 14U Attack team had a very successful day at the OVA McGregor Cup in the Championship division! The snow plows may have tried to slow the girls down on the way to the tournament, but not even they could come between the girls and their silver medal!

Attack was ranked 5th going into this tournament. After a limited warm up because of the weather, the girls were still able to beat Milton Edge in 3 sets! Their next game was against Pakmen Gold, the number 2 seed, but unfortunately the girls fell short in the 3rd set.

In the quarter-finals the girls fought hard, tried to stay calm, and beat another team in 3 sets by reducing their errors! This time, MVC Fuji. Attack then had a tough semi-final matchup against top ranked Oakville Thunder! The girls went into this game confident and won their ticket to the finals in 2 straight sets!! The girls played excellently, only missing 2 serves the whole game!!

In the finals, the Vipers had to face Pakmen again. Coach Dave said that, “the athletes played very well and defensively were digging hard hits to keep rallies going and making smart decisions offensively.” Unfortunately, Pakmen took the gold. However, this means that Attack only fell to one team all day!

The girls had an amazing tournament all around! Attack received a lot of feedback from other clubs, not only about how they played as a team, but also about the positivity the team brings on and off the court!

The Attack coaches were very proud to see these young girls playing at such a high level! Way to go Vipers!

Supreme's Silver Streak!

This past Saturday our 16U Vipers Supreme team competed in their first OVA tournament of the season. After coming off of the big silver win at their exhibition tournament, the girls played hard and brought home another silver! It was a very exciting day for the players, parents and coaches! This tournament was filled with highly competitive teams and we knew that it was going to be tough to even finish in the final four.

The morning was off to a good start, with a 2 set win against Niagara Rapids Rival 15U. In the next game, Ancaster Lions came out strong. Luckily, the Vipers fought through it and won the 3rd set 15-13! The quarter finals proved to be another challenge. This was a must win game in order to make it to the top 4! Niagara Rapids Summit 15U fought for every point, but Vipers won in 3 exciting sets! 26-24, 20-25 and finally the girls brought their A game in the third set, winning 15-8!

In between the quarters and the semis the team watched their future opponent’s quarter final game. Both teams looked exceptionally strong in their intense 3 set match. When Defensa 15U Purple came out on top, the top Defensa team in their age group, we knew we had our work cut out for us! Vipers Supreme came out hungry! Impressing the coaches with their epic 25-7 win! Defensa fought back in the second set, winning 25-21. The third set was the highlight of the day. Such a competitive, intense, back and fourth battle. Our girls played amazing, winning 15-13!

The gold medal game was against Smash Fusion. A very clean team that always gave last years team trouble! The Vipers played well, but fell a little short with scores of 21-25 and 20-25. However, just getting to this final game was a huge accomplishment for the girls! They were so happy to bring home the silver medal and we can’t wait to see where the rest of the season takes them!!

Way to go Vipers!

First Medals of the Year!

So far this season has been filled with new friendships, hard work, tough competition and great success! This past Saturday, November 17th, our 14U Attack and 16U Supreme teams brought home the first of many medals for the Vipers this year!

The 16U Vipers competed in their first tournament of the season, a pre-season event hosted by EVP! The girls were in a tough 4 team pool, but played exceptionally well beating EVP Red and Sarnia Twin Bridges in two sets each. The girls only fell to Milton Edge, a very competitive team from a higher division.

In the afternoon our girls won the first cross-over game against Peterborough Thunder in 2 sets. The girls then went on to the semi-finals and played Niagara Rapids Summit - another team from a higher division. This was an intense 3 set game, but the Vipers came out on top! In the finals the girls were matched up against Milton Edge again. This time they competed even harder, falling in two sets but keeping it very close. The 2nd set had a score of 24-26! The girls came home with a SILVER medal, and we couldn’t be more proud of how well they played! We wish them luck in their first OVA tournament tomorrow!

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The 14U Attack team won BRONZE in their first OVA tournament of the season last Saturday! Coach Dave says that the girls “showed great teamwork and execution on the key skills that are the focus early in the season.” The girls started strong beating Niagara Rapids Rival 25-18 and 25-12, then beat Defensa White 25-7 and 25-12. 

Attack played Niagara Fury in their first playoff game. The Fury brought the heat but Vipers were able to hold their ground wining 28-26 and 25-14. The girls had another tough matchup in the semi-finals against Niagara Rapids Summit. They showed a lot of character fighting back in the first set, but unfortunately lost 20-25. Coach Dave said that, “the second set again showed their desire to fight with some very very long rallies”. The girls won that set 25-23! Unfortunately the girls ended up losing the third set 14-16, but they had some excellent blocks and awesome defence that game!

Of course losing the semi-finals is disappointing, but the Vipers weren’t done yet! The girls came out strong in the bronze medal game against Defensa Purple and had a convincing win with scores of 25-16 and 25-10!

“The coaching staff is very pleased and proud to work with these great athletes and teammates. They demonstrated the skills and character we saw in them at tryouts… We will continue to develop and refine the skills and work for more success through the rest of the season.” - Coach Dave

Congratulations to both teams and good luck to all of our Vipers in their upcoming tournaments!

15U bring a SILVER back from Pittsburgh!

The 15U team participated in the Pittsburgh East Coast Championships this past weekend to celebrate a fantastic season! The girls were competitive the first two days of the tournament, finishing 3rd in their pool both days, but on the final day was when they really shone. Our girls won the first must win game against Columbia Typhoon, 25-23, 22-25, 15-6. The girls played their best best game of the tournament and it was amazing to watch their fight and determination! The semi-final game was against a team from Maryland and the Vipers won 25-16 and 25-11, with all of our girls playing extremely well!

Right after these back to back games it was time for the gold medal match! After a tough back and forth battle our girls brought home a silver medal in their tier, falling just shy of the gold medal against the Markham Venom team. The first set our girls were down 12-17 and fought back to win 25-18! The second set they were down 11-17 and couldn't quite pull out the win, but fought right to the end with a score of 25-27. Unfortunately, in the third set our girls fell in a very intense 13-15 set. It was a nail biting game and we were the last team playing in the whole 40+ court facility!! 

This is the first time a Viper team has headed to the U.S. for a tournament, so it is very exciting that we got to declare some hardware at the border! This tournament officially closes out the 2017/2018 indoor season, and we couldn't be more pleased with the results. 

Following this team throughout the season has been amazing. In their 10 tournaments this season they have finished in the top four 9 times, the only exception being a 16U tournament early in the season, and have won 6 medals! We look forward to seeing what heights this team reaches next year! 

Way to go Vipers! 

13U Vipers win Provincial Bronze!

Congratulations to our 13U team for bringing home a BRONZE medal at the OVA Championships yesterday! The girls played some tough teams throughout the tournament but they held their own and kept fighting, being rewarded with a third place finish in Division 2 Tier 2 out of 3 Divisions! The Vipers were ranked 13th in the division entering the tournament and beat 19th ranked DRVC in two straight sets on Sunday with scores of 25-20, 27-25! The girls continued on their high into the next game against number 1 seeded Forest City Blue but unfortunately fell short in a close third set 12-15. On Monday the girls had more close sets against tough teams, some with scores of 25-23 and also falling to the Stratford team that ended up taking gold in their tier.

The girls were fighting hard against tough teams in every set! It's amazing to see such young players spiking hard and so many of them overhand serving consistently! These skills all came together on Tuesday in their first match, that they had to win to continue their journey! Putting their nerves aside they defeated the Venom team, ranked just behind them at 15th, in three sets with scores of 25-19, 18-25, and 15-9! Winning this first game of playoffs is always the hardest game of the tournament so we are so proud of the girls for this accomplishment! 

In the semi-finals the 13Us were matched up against the DRVC team we met on Sunday and unfortunately fell short this time in a very close third set, 13-15. However, that didn't stop the Vipers! In the Bronze medal match we had to play 11th ranked West Nipissing Wild, and it was the most nerve racking game of the tournament! The final scores were 19-25, 25-12, and despite falling behind in the third set, having to come back from 11-13, the Vipers came out on top winning 16-14!

This team has always been so special. Not only are they the clubs youngest team, but we knew they were going to do well right from the first tryout when we had the highest tryout attendance the club has seen to date! In addition, we had 4 parent coaches volunteer to help train these girls and teach them the skills needed to succeed! This team has finished in the top 5 in all of their tournaments, earning silver and bronze at two of the 4, and now a provincial medal to top it off! Congratulations to the players, parents and coaches on an amazing season! We can't wait for next year! 

Provincial Bronze for 15U Vipers!

Congratulations to our 15U Vipers for playing awesome this past weekend at the OVA Championships! Medaling at the provincials is a tough thing to do with the final day requiring two consecutive wins in order to make it to the semi-finals. Not only did our girls complete this daunting task, but they did so by starting out ranked 25th out of 32 teams in Division 3 out of 5! Our team started near the bottom of Tier 2 and jumped all the way to 3rd in Tier 1!! 

It all began on Friday when the girls finished 1st in their pool, which was the only way for them to move to Tier 1. They won their first two games in 2 straight sets and won their final game against 17th ranked Etobicoke Titans Theia in 3 sets. The girls fell behind with a score of 8-25 in the first set but stayed positive and brought tons of energy, winning the next two sets with scores of 25-15 and 15-11! On Saturday the girls needed to finish at least 3rd in their pool to remain in Tier 1 and they finished 2nd! They beat both the 8th and 12th ranked team but unfortunately fell to the undefeated KW Predators United 14U team in two sets. 

On Sunday the Vipers were matched up against Peel Selects, ranked 1st in Division 3. Our girls brought their A game winning this important first game in two straight sets with scores of 25-20 and 25-21! Winning this game alone is an amazing accomplishment because as a third year team this is the first time they have made it this far. A couple of hours later the girls won their quarter final game against KW Predators Black in 3 sets! The first 2 sets were very close but then our girls gave their all to the 3rd set winning 15-6! 

Unfortunately in the semis the Vipers met the KW Predators United 14U team again and fell short. The good news is, this team continued to go undefeated all weekend winning the Gold! Vipers went on to beat Brant Orange in the bronze medal match in two straight sets, meaning that all weekend the girls only fell to the gold medal team!

The progress the 15U Vipers have made this season as individual players and a team has been amazing to watch. We are so proud of each and every one of them for playing hard and helping to win critical matches throughout the tournament! Congratulations girls, you should be very proud!

Good luck to all of our teams in the upcoming provincial weekends! 

15U Vipers win Bronze in 16U tournament!

Our 15U team had one of the best tournaments of their season this past Saturday, as they played up in the 16U OVA Bugarski Cup and won the BRONZE! The girls started by finishing second in their pool, only falling to Ancaster Lions 16U. Vipers won the first set with a very close 29-27 score, but because there were 4 teams in their pool it came down to point differentials in 2 sets and Ancaster won by more points the second set. A highlight of pool play was when our girls won a set 25-1!! We lost the first point of the game but then served 24 serves in a row and played excellent defence to protect our side of the court!

In the quarter-finals our girls had a tough cross over against Hamilton Smash 15U Teal who are ranked 54th going into the 15U OVA Championships (we are ranked 89th out of 140) and we came out on top in a very close 3 sets, with a final score of 15-10! After a two game break, the girls were matched up against the strong Predators Ignite 15U in the semis, ranked 34th in Ontario! Our girls gave it their all in very close sets, but unfortunately lost in the 3rd set with a score of 13-15. Both teams played amazing offence and defence, and players from the Predators team were impressed with how competitive we were!

Not only did these girls fight hard all day but they endured one of the longest OVA tournaments we have ever seen! Due to all of the close games throughout the day their final Bronze medal match didn't finish until 8:00pm! Despite how tired and hungry the girls were they brought their A game right until the very end. They were matched up against Ancaster Lions again, but this time were able to pull out the win in a very close 3 set match, with the final score being 17-15! We are so proud of these girls for fighting so hard throughout such a long and hard tournament. This tournament was excellent preparation for the provincials in two weeks, and we look forward to seeing them bring everything they learned on Saturday to the court in Waterloo!

Our 16U girls also played well this tournament! Unfortunately they were matched up against the very tough 1st ranked Predators team in the quarters, but then went on to win 5th beating the 2nd ranked Hamilton Smash team in 3 sets! Well done Vipers!