U14 Ballhawks Golden
The Chatham Ballhawks won gold in OVA action – Contributed Photo
The Chatham girls went in ranked 1st, and shared a pool with London Volleyball Club (LVC) “Ignite”, Sarnia Twin Bridges “Thunder” and the 13U Warriors team from Woodstock rounding out the side. The Ballhawks faced Sarnia first followed by the 13U Warriors sweeping both matches winning 2 straight in both. The next test came from a hard-hitting and very disciplined LVC “Ignite” team. The Ballhawks won the first, but were defeated in the second. However, due to LVC dropping an additional game earlier in pool play, the Ballhawks were awarded first in the pool.
In the quarter final, the Ballhawks crossed pools and played another LVC team, this time going by the moniker of “Fury”. The Ballhawks won 2 straight and awaited a showdown in the semi-final with tournament host South County “Bandits” from Windsor. The Ballhawks again shifted into another gear and quickly took care of the “Bandits” in two straight sets. From there it was on to the gold medal game with an extremely gifted young 13U Forest City team from London. The girls made a complete comeback and staved off a loss several times after being down 24-21 in the first set. When the dust settled, the Ballhawks came away with a 28-26 victory. The second game was still close, but the Chatham girls came out victorious with a 25-21 win. At the end of the day, the Ballhawk girls went 11-1 throughout the tournament.
Pictured Above – Back Row: Coach Mark Carr, Kate Bondy, Logan Carr, Laurin Ainsworth, Emma Cobb, Sierra Tooshkenig, Coach Brian Cobb. Middle Row: Kirkby Mackinnon, Anna Buschemeyer, Danielle Gregory, Alexis Bruhlman, Darby Pickford. Front Row: Makailey Bray, Abbey Piatkowski