ACTS Elites volleyball team shines silver in Sudbury

The Acts Elites U15 girls' volleyball team recently brought home silver medals from Sudbury. Seen here are (back row) Scott Armstrong, Michelle Dueckman, Dani Brisebois, Taylor Brisebois, Taylor Budd, Sean Myers, (middle row) Nicole Vaughan, Deanna Armstrong, Darcy Hansen, (front row) Jessica Lasby and Kaitlyn Van Horssen.

The Acts Elites U15 girls' volleyball team took home a silver medal Jan. 26 from a tournament in Sudbury, after giving it their all in the last match.

They were just points away from gold.

The girls were exhausted and exhilarated after a full day of playing six matches, with all but one going to three sets. Coaches Sean Myers and Scott Armstrong led the girls through an exciting day of clutch play and fighting for the win.

Starting the day against the U14 North Bay Flurry, Taylor Budd proved to be precise at serving up points. Taking it in three sets, 19-25, 25-16 and 15-11, the contest saw Deanna Armstrong unexpectedly tipping it over the net for points.

The Sudbury Les Diables were unable to return Taylor Brisebois' uncompromising attacks and the Elites took the second match in two sets, 25-21 and 26-24.

The third match against the Barrie Elites proved to be an exciting three sets, with Darcy Hansen's passes and serves consistently being bang on in their delivery. The ACTS Elites' serve energy dipped slightly and Barrie took it in three sets 18-25, 25-15 and 15-10.

After a break, the playoff rounds started against the Sudbury Northern Chill. The Elites fought really hard for points, with Dani Brisebois blocking many hard-hit spikes which the other team were unable to recover. Kaitlyn Van Horssen's serves and spikes demonstrated her strength and speed and helped the Elites win 25-22, 24-26 and 17-15.

Up against the U14 North Bay Flurry again in the second playoff game, Jessica Lasby stepped up and scored eight points in a row with serves that all landed in court space that the Flurry couldn't return from. Nicole Vaughan had strong play and helped the Elites win 20-25, 25-14, and 15-4.

In the gold medal match, facing the Aurora Cyclones, the Elites took the first game easily 25-11.

Michelle Dueckman sent many a spike back to the other side with her vigorous digging. In the end the Cyclones were able to regroup and win the last two sets 13-25 and 9- 15.

Despite losing a hard fought match, the U15 ACTS Elites girls were ecstatic about their first medal of the season. With the return of Madeleine Clark and Kate Wortley for their next tournament, they will be searching for gold.

Thanks to the many sponsors, with special recognition going to Link Line Group of Companies Brian's Truck and Trailer, Orangeville Precast, and RJ Burnside.