Northern Chill girls seek victory at provincials

With dozens of volleyball courts on the go simultaneously, RIM Park in Waterloo will be abuzz with energy April 17-19 - and that's just the way the Northern Chill 17U Girls want it.

Returning the identical roster from one year ago, the locals find themselves among the top-seeded teams in Division II as the Ontario Volleyball Association prepares for the second of three weekends of provincial championship competition.

"You can tell when we're playing well, we have a lot of energy," noted outside hitter Roberta Dolling-Boreham. "And we see it a lot more frequently this year. Our team has meshed a lot more."

Dolling-Boreham, who played a season with the Brantford Tornadoes before a family move brought her to Northern Ontario three years ago, noticed an emphasis on greater speed as the team worked with coach Craig Thomson this year.

"We identify where the ball is going faster," she said. "We can see that the setter is setting outside, and we react to that faster. And when we see the ball is being hit cross court, and we're transitioning to block line, we are fixing that quicker."

Even the movement on the attack has been accelerated with the second eldest of the six Northern Chill squads.

"Last year, our sets were a lot higher," said Dolling-Boreham. "This year, we're running a little bit quicker on offense, and we've been working on making sure that our free ball passing is lower, not as loopy."

The stability in the lineup with this crew of Grade 11 girls appears to have taken hold, both on and off the court. "This year, we just clicked better than in previous years," said right-side hitter Megan Bell.

"We've gotten more used to playing with one another. Communication is huge," she added. "We still need to work on the cover before the weekend."

While Bell split time between setting and playing right-side last year, her commitment to simply focusing on the latter in the fall meant a need for much more time spent on practicing serve receive.

"I always have to remind myself to always touch the floor, or else I find myself standing up a lot," said Bell. "This way, I know that I'm low."

The 17U Chill ladies were fortunate enough to stay in the exact same classification for all tournaments but one this year, providing a nice consistency in terms of the level of opposition that they would be facing.

"You want to be in a division that challenges you, that allows you to play and actually put your skills to use," said Bell.

And now, the locals will have one more chance to put those skills to the test, leaving for southern Ontario April 16, along with the 13U Northern Chill girls.

Cayley Barbeau, Sara-Jo Santi, Roberta Dolling-Boreham, Colleen Bocy, Megan Bell, Gabrielle Huneault, Silka Abresch, Isabelle Pilon, Kendra Muffo, Justine Tubin will suit up for coach Craig Thomson.

The staff is rounded out with assistant coaches Amy Cliff and Tamara McNair, and team manager Barbara Santi.

The 13U team includes Sydney Nicholls, Ayla Jones, Brielle Chicoine, Faith Charbonneau, Emma Squires, Emma Bissonnette, Symantha Welsh, Katie Staffen, Leah Lavallee, Sidney Melanson, head coach Glenn Murray and assistants Christel Pilon, Danielle Marshall and Kayla Murray.