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The Curse of Sherbrooke Attacks Knights 17U's Again November 9, 2009 - Sherbrooke, QC The Knights VC 17U Girls travelled to Sherbrooke, QC to compete in the 2009 Omnium du Quebec at the Universite de Sherbrooke. The team has never fared well in Sherbrooke and this tournament would prove to be no different. The day began with the Knights VC playing the newly formed Ottawa Fusion. This team was a mix of three former teams from the previous year. The Knights VC and Fusion traded point through the first set until the Knights VC service reception became highly unreliable. The Knights were slowly left behind as the Fusion won the match in two sets. With two matches off after the Fusion game, the Knights had plenty of time to gather their thoughts and become focused for the Samurai du College Francais. The girls seemed to be in better spirits, but still came out flat in the first set. The Knights seemed to get it together at the end of the first set to win 25-20. In the second set, the Knights were playing much more effectively. The team was determined to succeed and absolutely hammered the Samurai, 25-10. With a 2-2 record the Knights were up against the top ranked Citadins de Vaudreuil. This team was tall and passed extremely well. Our girls put a wall up at the net which accounted for several points and touches. Unfortunately, the Knights VC service reception came back to haunt them and the Citadins took the first set 19-25. The second set was a mirror image of the first. Our girls were winning the battle at the net, but struggled to receive serve and our setting bottomed out. A shame as our team was clearly stronger in many areas, but could not produce consistent passes to the setters. The Knights lost the second set 25-18 and were then out of contention to finish in the top 4. The last match of pool play was against the host Envolley. They were tall and used a very simple offensive system. The Knights came out flat once again and did not play like themselves. The girls struggled to adjust on serve receive and were making several setting errors. The first set came and went with Envolley defeating the Knights. In the second set we were all witness to something invisible that affected the Knights. They actually played to their potential at the 14 point mark. Strong passing, great defense, big blocks, and punishing attacks propelled the Knights to a second set win. With a 3-5 record the Knights tied for 3rd place in their pool and were relegated to play for 7th place against the Ottawa Maverick Blackjacks. The girls were well rested and functioned effectively against a conventional offense. Our passing was still under par, but with strong setting from Taylor Decaire and the big blocks coming through yet again, the Knights defeated the Maverick Blackjacks in 2 sets. The Knights finished the day with a 5-5 record and finished in 7th place. This result is not typical of our team, but it was the right time to occur. “At this point in the season we are focused on the development of our athlete’s individual skill, team systems, and overall chemistry. We cannot expect to execute perfectly yet, it is far too early for that. Good results are a nice to have at this point, not a must have.” stated Coach Monych. The Knights VC 17U Girls will be competing in the Pembroke Women’s Volleyball League in the coming days which will be a great chance to build on our experience in Sherbrooke prior to the next tournament which is on December 12, 2009, in Kingston, ON. GO KNIGHTS GO ! |