Congratulations to our 15u Rumble team as they picked up their second OVA gold medal of the season this past weekend.  The Rumble girls’ dedication and hard work this fall and over the summer is really paying off early in the season.

Entering the first 15u tourney seeded 5th,  they knew finishing first and moving up to Premier would be a daunting task.

A second place finish in the morning’s pool play matched us up against a London Sharks team that had beaten us in an earlier exhibition tourney. Our squad quickly showed how much they’ve improved as we disposed of London 2-0 to move on to the semis.

Next up were the Barrie Elites who had gone undefeated in their morning pool play. It was a back and forth battle as we gave up a big lead in the first set losing 25-22. Things were getting tight. Down 20-23  in the second set, things did not look good. Somehow the girls regrouped and played with determination to take a hard fought 2-1 victory (22-25, 26-24, 15-12). It was a battle for every point.

The Rumble girls would now face a very strong Defensa Purple team in the finals. We had already lost 2-0 to them in the morning so we knew it would be a huge challenge.

Defensa came out strong in the first set while we appeared to have run out of gas. The result was a disappointing 9-25 loss for our girls. While many teams would accept defeat after a start like that, our team had a different plan. They dug deep and refused  to let the ball hit the floor. They also started attacking more aggressively knowing they had nothing to lose. The 25-16 second set result seemed to show our girls they can compete with anyone. With added confidence and another chance at gold, our team did more than just compete. Our Rumble squad jumped out to an incredible 10-0 lead in the third and deciding set!  Nine well placed serves by Sam Rowland kept their Defensa opponents on their heels and out of system. Her teammates in turn took advantage of every opportunity to attack in transition and the results were impressive. With a big lead and a chance to breath, our team finished the job playing with incredible confidence enroute to a 15-6 victory.

It was a day filled with many challenges, high and low moments, and many tight matches. We faced some terrific opponents in a very competitive tournament.  Our Rumble girls stuck together, supported each other and earned the gold medal. That gold medal also earned them a place in the Premier division for the January tourney. Competing as one of the top 9 teams in the OVA will be a challenge. We know our Rumble girls will be up for the challenge and give it their best shot. Go Rumble!!!

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