// articles for DRVC 16U 2010 // <> // Humber Classic pic17uhumber = "pics/2009-2010/17 & under/17u/Humber"; piccount17uhumber = 9; title17uhumber = "DRVC 17U Nets Silver at 18U Humber Pre-Season Classic"; var art_17U_Humber_Classic = "

DRVC 17U Open Season at the Humber College Invitational Tournament

"; art_17U_Humber_Classic += "

article submitted by: K. Stirling

"; art_17U_Humber_Classic += "The DRVC 17U team opened their 2009-2010 season on Sunday October 18 by participating in the 18U Division of the Humber College Invitational Tournament.

"; art_17U_Humber_Classic += "The day was a huge success as the girls sailed through pool play with victories over Aurora Storm, Cambridge Hawks, and the Peel Selects. The playoff crossover was a 3 set thriller which saw DRVC win 25-13, 17-25, and 15-13. The gold medal contest against the Ottawa Mavericks was the most exciting match of the day. DRVC took the first set 25-20, dropped the second set 23-25, and lost a heart breaking 14-16 third set.

"; art_17U_Humber_Classic += "The team played very well, as each of the girls had their shining moments over the course of the day. Brittany Ardron made her presence felt as the new member of the team with an awesome 21 kills on 55 attacks over the 5 matches played. Not to be outdone, Emily Nicholishen also amassed 21 kills and led the team with 44 serve receives and 56 serves. Danielle Jones and Meaghan Salmers continued their blocking prowess from last year by contributing 13 and 12 blocks respectively over the course of the day. Alex Whyte had a great day on offence, leading all players with 59 attacks resulting in 20 kills. Lauren Stirling quarterbacked the offence with 77 assists, and her highlight of the day was serving the team back to 14-14 in the gold medal tiebreaking game after trailing 8-14. On defence, Lindsay McNeil scooped up 20 digs on the day, including an impressive 9 in the final match. Jenny Richardson and Paulina Staikopoulos also had solid days from the outside hitting positions, combining for 48 attacks and 25 serves. Amanda Sexton registered 15 assists and provided some key serves in crucial situations.

"; art_17U_Humber_Classic += "So, it was a silver medal and an indication of great things to come this year.

"; art_17U_Humber_Classic += "

photos submitted by: K. Stirling
"; art_17U_Humber_Classic += "view slideshow, or
"; art_17U_Humber_Classic += "click on a picture below to see a larger version of individual pictures.

"; // Ryerson Rams pic17uryerson = "pics/2009-2010/17 & under/17u/Ryerson"; piccount17uryerson = 8; title17uryerson = "DRVC 17U Plays Hard at 2009 Ryerson Rams Tournament"; var art_17u_ryerson_rams = "

DRVC 17U Girls Participate at 2009 Ryerson University Rams Tournament

"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "

article submitted by: B. Stirling

"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "The DRVC 17U team participated in the annual Ryerson Rams Tournament on Saturday November 14, 2009. The tournament was attended by most of the top 18U teams in the province as well as the top 3 17U teams from last year’s Provincial Championship.

"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "The format for the tournament was slightly different than most, with the 12 teams competing within their pools of 4 in the first stage, followed by a re-pooling into groupings of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishers in each pool – for 2 more matches. The tournament did not culminate in an overall winner, however gave each of the teams a good gauge of how they stood relative to the other teams present.

"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "The DRVC 17U girls played solid but not spectacular in pool play, splitting the 2 games against Defensa 17U, losing 2 close games to the 18U KW Predators, and then sweeping the 18U Ottawa Stampede, resulting in a second place finish within the pool. The re-pooling resulted in matches against the 18U Durham Attack team and the 17U Element team. It was hard to believe that a team that was as lethargic as they were in losing 2 games to 18U Attack, could be as energetic as they were in a 3 game victory over Element.

"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "The workhorse of the tournament was Emily Nicholishen, who had an amazing 87 attacks on the day (of which 35 were kills for a .402 kill percentage) and amassed 59 serve receives to lead the team in these categories. Lauren Stirling led all servers with 59 serve opportunities including 10 service aces. Danielle Jones and Meaghan Salmers led the blocking brigade with 15 and 10 blocks respectively. Lindsay McNeil led all defenders with 9 digs over the course of the day.

"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "So, it was a good but not great day – however the team proved to itself that even on an average day, they can compete with any team in the 17U or 18U divisions.

"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "Our next tournament will be the kickoff event for the 18U OVA season on December 5, 2009.

"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "

photos submitted by: T. Staikopoulos
"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "view slideshow, or
"; art_17u_ryerson_rams += "click on a picture below to see a larger version of individual pictures.

"; // 18U Provincial Cup pic17u_18uprovcup = "pics/2009-2010/17 & under/17u/18uprovcup"; piccount17u_18uprovcup = 7; title17u_18uprovcup = "DRVC 17U Plays Hard at OVA 18U Provincial Cup"; var art_17u_18uprovcup = "

DRVC 17U Girls Retain Spot in 18U Tier One

"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "

article submitted by: B. Stirling
"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "artciel date: December 8, 2009

"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "The DRVC 17U team opened their 2009-2010 OVA season with a gritty effort at the 18U Tier 1 Challenge Cup Tournament, held at Brock University on December 5, 2009.

"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "Due to illness, Danielle Jones was unable to participate in the tournament. This was a big loss to say the least, but the girls rallied together, in some cases took on roles that they were not used to, and made the best of the situation.

"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "Despite being shorthanded, the girls dominated pool play and won their pool by defeating the Niagara Rapids 18U team by scores of 25-19, 25-15, and crushing the much hyped Ottawa Mavericks team 17-25, 25-18, 15-7. Unfortunately, after the break given to the pool winners, the girls were unable to recover their touch and dropped their next two matches 21-25, 23-25 to the eventual gold medal winners from Georgetown, and 26-28, 20-25 to the Scarborough Titans. Despite not playing their best in these last two matches, the girls could/should have won both matches and could very easily have been vying for a medal.

"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "Individual highlights for the day included two significant service runs; Meaghan Salmers against Ottawa, with 9 straight serves to put the second game out of reach, and Lauren Stirling against Niagara Rapids taking the team from a 13-15 deficit, to a 22-15 lead in the second game. Emily Nicholishen once again let the offence, with 63 total attacks and 15 kills. Jenny Richardson , playing Right Side had 49 attacks with 11 kills, with particular success from the back row swings. Brittany Ardron played awesome defence at the Middle Blocker position, leading the team with 13 blocks. In addition to her serving magic, Meaghan Salmers also chipped in with 13 kills on 25 attacks, for a 52% kill rate. As usual, the leader on defence was Lindsay McNeil, with 18 digs and a very good serve receive rating.

"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "So despite being shorthanded and having a couple of girls playing different positions, the team accomplished what it needed to – maintaining their spot in Tier 1, with a feeling of great things to come at the next 18U Tournament.

"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "

photos submitted by: B. Stirling
"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "view slideshow, or
"; art_17u_18uprovcup += "click on a picture below to see a larger version of individual pictures.

"; // 17U Provincial Cup pic17u_17uprovcup = "pics/2009-2010/17 & under/17u/17uprovcup"; piccount17u_17uprovcup = 1; title17u_17uprovcup = "DRVC 17U Golden at OVA 17U Provincial Cup"; var art_17u_17uprovcup = "

DRVC 17U Girls Golden at 17U Provincial Cup

"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "

article submitted by: B. Stirling
"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "artciel date: December 15, 2009

"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "DRVC 17U started off their 2009-2010 17U season with a golden effort in Kingston on December 12. By the time the tournament had ended, the girls had compiled a perfect 5-0 match record and did not lose a single set over the course of the day.

"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "Pool play included a 25-4, 25-13 dismantling of the Durham Attack Red 16U team and a solid 25-16, 25-20 victory over Aurora Storm. The quarter final saw our girls trounce the defending 15U Provincial Champions from Ottawa 25-7, 25-17. In semi-final action, DRVC defeated Durham Attack Black 16U by scores of 25-23 and 25-17. The gold medal match was a spirited contest against the Element Volleyball Club. You can change the name, but this was still another contest in the continuing rivalry against “the girls previously known as Durham Attack Black”. The first game ended with a DRVC victory 29-27. The score was much closer than it should have been as our girls played very well, but were on the bad side of at least 5 very questionable calls for phantom touches or net violations. (I guess the official didn’t read the new OVA rules regarding net calls.) Regardless, the team played flawless volleyball in the second set and crushed Element 25-15 to take the gold medal.

"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "Each of the girls contributed in their own way during the tournament. Lauren Stirling registered 97 assists as she guided a well balanced offence that saw contributions from all positions. Emily Nicholishen led the way with 65 attacks (29 kills), followed by Alex Whyte with 49 attacks (19 kills), Brittany Ardron contributed 38 attacks (16 kills), and Jenny Richardson delivered 37 attacks (10 kills). Our middle blockers were constant threats all day with Danielle Jones notching 25 attacks (15 kills) and Meaghan Salmers chipping in with 21 attacks (11 kills). On the service front, everyone excelled – as the team pounded out 32 service aces on the day. Blocking was also a highlight. Danielle Jones (20 blocks), Meaghan Salmers (12 blocks), and Brittany Ardron (9 blocks) were dominant in the front row all day.

"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "The highlight of the day was a point in the second set of the final match that saw Amanda Sexton serve a bullet, deliver an unbelievable saving attack to the back corner on the return, followed by not one but two unbelievable digs on huge smashes, culminating in DRVC taking a very improbable but extraordinary point.

"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "So, it was a great way to kick off the 17U OVA season.

"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "DRVC 17U returns to action after the holidays with the 18U OVA Tournament on January 16 – tentatively scheduled for Brock University in St. Catharines.

"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "

photos submitted by: B. Stirling
"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "view slideshow, or
"; art_17u_17uprovcup += "click on a picture below to see a larger version of individual pictures.

"; // 18U McGregor Cup pic17u_18umcgregorcup = "pics/2009-2010/17 & under/17u/18umcgregorcup"; piccount17u_18umcgregorcup = 9; title17u_18umcgregorcup = "DRVC 17U places 5th at the 18U McGregor Cup"; var art_17u_18umcgregorcup = "

DRVC 17U places 5th at the 18U McGregor Cup"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "

article submitted by: B. Stirling
"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "article date: January 19, 2010

"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "DRVC 17U started off 2010 with an interesting day at the 18U McGregor Cup Tournament at Brock University in St. Catharines. The girls came into the tournament as the #8 seed and when the smoke had cleared, emerged with a 5th place finish.

"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "Pool play started off with a 20-25, 20-25 loss to the Ottawa Mavericks. The second pool play game pitted the girls against the #1 seeded Georgetown Impact. The games were back and forth, but our girls persevered and emerged victorious by scores of 26-24 and 25-23. As a result of the pool play matches, DRVC finished second in their pool.

"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "After an extended break as a result of the unbalanced schedule due to pools of different sizes, our girls eventually took the court against the Halton Hurricanes in their crossover match. As usual, our first game after a long break resulted in a less than enthusiastic effort, and despite DRVC going out to an early 7-1 lead, Halton took the first game 25-21. With the realization that another loss would result in relegation to Tier 2, our girls rallied in the next set and won 25-15. The tiebreaker was a thing to behold, as DRVC steamrolled to a 15-1 victory.

"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "The quarter final game saw DRVC come up short in a contest against the South County Bandits. Despite not delivering our best game, the match could have gone either way right up until the end, with South County finally emerging victorious by scores of 25-20, 25-23.

"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "The 5th place match was against the STVC (Titans) who had just emerged from a series of emotional games and like our girls appeared to be out of steam. The two teams split the first 2 sets, and DRVC won the tie breaker to finish the day with a 25-27, 25-17, 15-10 victory.

"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "So in summary, not the best day in terms of results or standing, but the girls did maintain their Tier 1 status in the 18U division, improved their seeding to the #5 spot, and came away with the knowledge that even on one of their worst days in recent memory, they were still just a point or two away from the podium.

"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "We’ll get em next week !"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "

photos submitted by: B. Stirling
"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "view slideshow, or
"; art_17u_18umcgregorcup += "click on a picture below to see a larger version of individual pictures.

"; // Beast of the East pic17u_beastofeast = "pics/2009-2010/17 & under/17u/beastofeast"; piccount17u_beastofeast = 0; title17u_beastofeast = "DRVC 17U wins the Beast of the East"; var art_17u_beastofeast = "

DRVC 17U - "BEASTS OF THE EAST""; art_17u_beastofeast += "

article submitted by: B. Stirling
"; art_17u_beastofeast += "article date: April 3, 2010

"; art_17u_beastofeast += "The DRVC 17U Girls Volleyball team emerged victorious in the recent “Beast of the East” Tournament which was held on March 26-28 in Oshawa. This was the second year for this invitational tournament, which was organized by the Durham Attack Volleyball Club. The tournament was split into 17U and 18U brackets and attracted most of the top 16U, 17U and 18U teams from across Ontario, along with the 17U Winnipeg Bisons and the 18U Brandon Storm from Manitoba.

"; art_17u_beastofeast += "DRVC 17U played inconsistently on the first day of the tournament and split their matches, ranging from dominating in some sets to futile in others. They finished pool play in the second place slot, setting them up for a crossover game to open the final day. In that crossover game, DRVC came out with a new found sense of energy and defeated Forest City 25-19, 25-18. In the quarterfinal match, DRVC 17U eliminated Durham Attack 16U in a spirited 3 set match by scores of 20-25, 25-19, 15-12. In the semi-final contest, DRVC 17U eliminated one of the other top ranked 16U teams – the Kitchener Waterloo Predators by scores of 25-19, 25-20.

"; art_17u_beastofeast += "The "Beast of the East" championship match featured a rematch of Day 1 action, as DRVC 17U was pitted against the Kitchener Waterloo Predators 17U Team, who were coming off of an exciting 3 set victory over the Element Volleyball Club. Riding the high of their victory in the semi-final the Predators took the first set 25-21. DRVC 17U came back with a renewed sense of purpose and dominated the second set 25-14, followed by a convincing 15-8 victory in the tiebreaker.

"; art_17u_beastofeast += "So, DRVC are the 17U "Beasts of the East", overcoming some early adversity and in so doing once again displaying the wonder of girls’ volleyball – if you don’t like the way your team is playing currently, wait a minute because it could all change.";