Breakers 18U Girls volleyball team went to the first competitive tournament of the Ontario Volleyball Association season seeded fourth and came away with a silver medal.

The Breakers were placed in the Championship Division based on their strong performance last year in the 17U age group. Along with the other 11 teams in the division, the goal was to win or finish second and earn a spot in the top level Premier Division for the next tournament.

Round robin seeding put the Breakers in a pool with fifth seed Aurora Storm Vortex and twelfth seed Etobicoke Titans. The Titans were the first opponents of the day and put up a strong fight, going down in two straight games 25-20 and 26-24. First year Breaker, Amanda Woodburne lead the team with challenging serves and strong power hitting while veteran middle Sherene Einarsson started the team in the right direction with solid defence at the net. After a short rest the Storm, eventual bronze medalists, were also dispatched in two straight 25-19 and 25-14. Setters Brittany Bell and Kelly West made sure all the players were involved with precise sets to every position.

Finishing first in the pool gave the Breakers a bye into the quarter-finals where they played the Ganaraska Wolves from Bowmanville. Ex-Wolf Erika Crocker was eager to play her former team and sparked the team to victory by scores of 25-18 and 25-11. Power hitters Hannah Hubicki and Amanda Egan had numerous kills from the left side for the dominant Breaker team.

The toughest match of the day so far came in the semi-finals against a strong hitting Scarborough Falcons team. Captain Samantha Clarey set the tone for the match by blocking the Falcons top hitter on the first play of the game. From then on consistent blocking by Clarey and Crocker produced a win in the first game 25-20. After falling behind 8-0 in the second game, the Falcons adjusted and surged into the lead 20-12 forcing Coach Mark Essak to make changes in the Breaker line-up. Hubicki came off the bench in an effort to spark the Breakers but the rally fell short as the Falcons defeated the Breakers 25-18 for the Breakers first dropped game of the day. The third game of the match was close with the Falcons pulling ahead 13-11 in the game to 15. West, as libero, played excellent defence and at this point made the pass of the day allowing setter Bell to get the ball to Sydney Fowlis who buried the set and propelled the Breakers to a hard fought 15-13 victory.

Having achieved one of the team’s goals for the day, a berth in the Premier Division for the Bugarski Cup, the second goal was within reach. Only the Barrie Elites stood in the way of a perfect day. The final was a tough match for the Breakers as all the girls saw action over the three games. Barrie won the first game 25-20 forcing the Breakers to dig deeper for the second. Consistent play all around produced a 25-23 victory for the Breakers and set up a 15 point third game to decide the gold medal. The Elites were the stronger team grabbing the gold by a score of 15-5 while the Breakers came home with silver. All the players, coaches and parents were fatigued by the end of the day but were satisfied with the excellent play of all the Breaker athletes. Their focus now will be preparing to compete with the top youth teams in the province at the next tournament February 7^th in Bowmanville.