We started the day with a brisk walk outside, soaking in the nice weather. It wasn't long until we came across a dead-end. Normally, a coach would tell us to do the reasonable thing and turn back, but no, not Jonathan Alcombrack. He decided we needed some "adventure" so we followed him through the bush, down a steep hill. Many of us were hesitant, thinking of how miserable it would be to injure ourselves literally the day of Provincials from something completely unrelated. However, he told us to trust him, and so we did. No one was hurt, instead, we gained a confidence that would propel us forward throughout the day. After a long stretch outside, we were ready to enter the gym.

Nervousness crept through the team as we anticipated the start of the most important tournament to date. We were playing a team that we have beaten before, but this was Provincials. Much like the Stanley Cup *coughMontrealcough*, anything can happen. Fortunately, we negated these fears with strong serving and net play that gave us the first set win against the Huskies 25-11. Despite new players on the court, the second set was no different, and we won 25-13. The next game was against the Sharks, a team we haven't met before with a large bench and enthusiastic parents. Good passing and help from the other side guaranteed us the set 25-12. We started the second set with a commanding 6-0 lead. We would further this lead with eight kills to win 25-15. Going into the third game, we knew that coming first in our pool was essential to having room to breathe the next day. We also knew that the Grizzlies would be a much harder game, so we couldn't afford to give up any leads. To our dismay, we found ourselves down 1-7. Still, our team has prided ourselves on our comebacks. A strong serving streak tied the game up, and we won 25-21. Momentum was on our side as we began the second set much better, leading 7-0. We went on to win our pool 25-17. Maybe it was the senators' triple-overtime win that sparked hope and energy in us, or maybe the incredible invitational we had the tournament prior. Nonetheless, this Provincials was off to a great start.

The second day of Provincials brought stronger teams and was more challenging as we started off the day against BVC.  We did not have our regular warm up so we struggled in the first set losing 17-25. In the second set, we cleaned up our errors and won 25-22. After fighting back to win the second set, we faced a strong server in the third set and lost 5-15.

       

Our next game was the best of the day and we won the game in two straight sets. We played the Tiger Selects and we really made them earn all of their points. We won the first set 25-23 and we also took the second, winning 25-18.

Our last game was against the Cambridge Hawks, the number two-seeded team in Division two. Even though some teammates were tired and hurt, we pushed through it and didn’t let anything hit the floor. In the first set we got on an 11-point serving run that gave us a lead. We continued to fight hard until we won the first set 25-16. With a rough start to the second set, we fell behind and lost 17-25. Then came the third set, first to 15. We started off strong from the start and kept our game faces on and won the deciding set 15-11.

After a day of strong playing, good serving, good passing, and good hitting, we unfortunately had to send two of our teammates to the emergency room. They recovered well and were very happy that we had finished 2nd in our pool on that day.

The first elimination playoff game was against the Orillia Suns.  The girls seemed flat from the beginning and never seemed to find their groove.  They lost both sets 18-25.

Overall the team played some strong volleyball and finished tied for 9th in division 2 tier 1.  Thanks to the coaches for their hard work and parents for all their support.