PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – The Cambrian Golden Shield captured the bronze medal at the OCAA Women's Volleyball Championship held at Trent University after defeating the Georgian Grizzlies in a tight four sets.
Cambrian proved they came to win right off the opening whistle taking the first set 25-18. Georgian fought back in the second, winning a close set 25-23. The third set featured both teams putting on a great display of back and forth volleyball with Cambrian claiming the win at 27-25 and moving ahead 2-1 in the match. Georgian fought hard in what proved to be the final fourth set but Cambrian held strong in the end winning the set 25-20 and taking home the bronze medal.
The opening set of the bronze medal final began with both teams fighting to gain the upper hand. After going point for point up to 7-7, Georgian gained a slight advantage with some great serving from Erin McClean (Barrie, Ont.) and jumped ahead to 10-7 forcing Cambrian to take their first timeout. The Golden Shield came out of their timeout fired up as they managed to tie the set a 10-10 and pull ahead by three points. After Cambrian extended their lead to 16-12, Georgian called a timeout trying to regroup before it was too late. Coming out of the timeout, Cambrian kept the pressure on the Grizzlies opening up their lead to 21-13 as Georgian took their second timeout. Georgian gave one final push to close the gap when the play resumed but Cambrian managed to hold them off taking the set 25-18. Leading the way for Cambrian on offence was Kelsey Fielding (Sudbury, Ont.) with three kills, one ace and one block.
The second set started with Georgian taking a quick 5-1 lead with some stellar serving from Allison Marshall (Orillia, Ont.). Cambrian shook off the slow start evening the score up at 7-7 and claimed their first lead of the set stopping at 11-8. The Golden Shield added a point to their lead pushing the score to 15-11 at the midway point forcing the Grizzlies to take their first timeout of the set. After the timeout, Cambrian fought hard to extend their lead to 20-14 late in the set but the Grizzlies showed they still had more left in the tank narrowing the gap to 21-18 going into a Golden Shield timeout. The first timeout did not slow the Georgian offence as they moved forward to tie the set at 21-21 forcing Cambrian to use their final timeout. After their second timeout, Cambrian failed to regain their lead from earlier and Georgian won the set 25-23 tying the match at 1-1.
Both teams were evenly matched once again at the start of the third set until Georgian edged ahead to a 7-5 lead. Cambrian came back and tied the set at 8-8 and the two teams remained deadlocked at 12-12 midway through the third. Cambrian gained a slight advantage putting the pressure on Georgian offensively as they opened up a 17-14 lead making Georgian take their first timeout of the set. Georgian rallied back after their timeout bringing the set within a point at 20-19 so Cambrian decided to use their first timeout as well. Following Cambrian's timeout, the Grizzlies were able to square the score up at 23-23 forcing the Golden Shield to take their final timeout as set came to a close. The set was still up for grabs for either team as they both sat at 25-25 but Cambrian ended up finishing it at 27-25 with a service ace by Jillian Shell (Lively, Ont.).
It was the same story at the beginning of the fourth set as both teams refused to let up. Cambrian grabbed the lead of the set as they moved ahead of the Grizzlies 8-6 and they extended the gap to 12-7 heading into Georgian's first timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Golden Shield continued with their strong offensive play as the opened the lead up to nine points forcing the Grizzlies to use their final timeout at 18-9. Georgian fought hard after their final timeout getting within one point at 20-19 but Cambrian held strong in the end winning the set 25-20 and taking home the bronze medals.
Player of the Game for Cambrian was Stephanie Walker (Echo Bay, Ont.) providing eight kills, one ace and four blocks in the winning effort while Shawna Metcalf (Sudbury, Ont.) was named a championship all-star for her team. Marshall took Player of the Game honours for Georgian with six kills and two blocks on the night while Natalie Buck (Keswick, Ont.) was named championship all-star for the squad.
Source: Trent University