The Northern Chill U15 Girls were introduced to the double-edged sword that accompanies a team’s advancement into the McGregor Cup Championship Pool.

While it is always better to test one’s talent against top-end opposition, venturing into the win column can prove challenging.

Travelling to King City for tournament play last month, the U15 crew faced a stiff test right out of the game, pitted against the No. 1 seed Oakville Thunder Blue. A very talented opponent combined with a slow start for the northern girls equated for a rough outing, falling 8-25, 14-25.

An improvement in play but no letdown across the net resulted in a second loss for the Chill, being defeated 25-17, 25-15 by the Pakmen 14U girls. Battling the eventual bronze-medal winners in their cross-over encounter, the Sudbury reps fared not much better, losing 17-25, 19-25 to the Aurora Storm Vortex.

Their spirits battered but not beaten, the Chill rebounded in Game 4, taking down the Oakville Thunder Black 25-19, 25-16 and putting themselves in a position to play for a fifth-place finish, facing the Pakmen for a second time.

A much better effort resulted in a fight to the end as the Chill fell in three sets, 27-25, 12-25, 9-15. With the added experience of trading blows with some of the best teams in the province, the Northern Chill U15 team will now prepare for Bugarski Cup play in March, with provincials following suit in April.

The 2012-2013 version of the U15 Chill team includes Silka Abresch, Colleen Bocy, Sara-Jo Santi, Cayley Barbeau, Gabrielle Huneault, Megan Bell, Erica Thibault, Xenna Mazal, Justine Tubin, Micaela Bertels, Isabelle Pilon and Roberta Dolling-Boreman.