It was the season opening match for the Canadians who are tuning up for the six-week FIVB World League Tournament which starts May 31 in Quebec.

Mainville, from Notre-Dame-de-l’Ile-Perrot,Que., played the last three sets and delivered a strong performance with eight points. Knee surgery two years ago and an ankle sprain in 2012 have kept Mainville off the court for almost the entire previous two seasons.

‘’I’m very satisfied with my performance tonight,’’ said Mainville. “It was great to be back on the court with my teammates and my friends. It was what I needed. The injuries were a real setback for me but last year I made sure I took the time to fully recover. I’ve been training hard since January and I feel I’ve regained all my skills.”

Schneider, who plays setter, played in all five sets earning two points and led the Canadian team with 20 serves making only two errors. Like Mainville, Schneider also had surgery in 2011 and the road back has been difficult the past two seasons.

“Tonight’s match was a big test physically for me,’’ said Schneider, from Brandon, Man. “I was able to go the whole game, not feel any pain and get the win. I’m happy.’’

For Head Coach Glenn Hoag having two established veterans such as Mainville and Schneider on the squad could be a big boost.

“These guys are battlers, they have come back from major injuries that potentially could have ended their careers,’’ said Hoag. “To see their determination to come back and play as they did today is a real inspiration to their teammates.’’

Hoag provided playing time to his 12 players on Wednesday and was satisfied with the outcome.

“The guys are just coming back from their winter seasons in Europe so the synchronicity isn’t quite there yet,’’ he said. “The guys were a bit hesitant and we didn’t manage some situations properly. But we kept our concentration and showed a lot of stability.’’

Gavin Schmitt of Saskatoon led the Canadians with 18 points while Fred Winters of Victoria added 10.

This is also an important series for Turkey which is tuning up for the European championships this summer.

The two squads meet again on Thursday at 7pm at the Centre sportif in Gatineau, The series concludes Saturday in Kingston, Ont., at Queen’s University. Start time is 4pm.

Story from Volleyball Canada’s Website | Volleyball.ca

Thru hail, rain and snow the kids from Barrie did not stop having fun with Sam Pedlow and Grant O’Gorman.  On May 11th and 12th, our very own Men’s Canadian Beach Volleyball Team of Sam Pedlow and Grant O’Gorman spent the weekend sharing their experience and skill with kids from Barrie, Aurora, and Collingwood. This weekend was a focus in helping kids learn the rules of beach and strategies for those entering the OVA Beach Tour for the first time.  It was very well received even parents stayed thru the brutal cold to watch the amazing skills being taught.

Barrie SPIKES was very lucky to have Sam Pedlow, who was born and raised in Barrie, helping not only with the SPIKES beach program but with the indoor sessions held for kids from Grades 4 to 11 as well.  Grant O’Gorman, living in the Toronto area, traveled down to team up with his beach partner, Sam.  Together they made a dynamic impression on the upcoming and inspiring beach volleyball athletes.

Story submitted by Karen Leslie for Barrie SPIKES.

Evolution Volleyball Club started offering programming in the summer of 2012. The club was started with the goal of offering high-level volleyball to athletes who wanted more from their volleyball club. The 2012/2013 season offered its athletes the opportunity to participate in some very unique programs. The 17U boys spent the season learning what it takes to not only be great volleyball players, but also responsible athletes.

The season began with a unique team-building experience in a forest, filled with challenge events, obstacles and character building. The boys spent the day learning about each other and the concept of team trust. The season, of course, presented a number of opportunities to learn and grow in the sport. Video analysis, conditioning tools and mental toughness training were offered as a part of the seasonal program. Setter clinics were introduced and were offered for free to setters from any club team, resulting in training opportunities for not only Evolution team members, but setters from 3 other clubs. The 17U boys also welcomed guest coaches from the university and basketball worlds for some fresh perspectives.

Volleyball alone was not enough. Evolution wanted to offer some unique club programs that athletes could not find anywhere else. This includes promoting academic achievement in the classroom with a Student Athlete Program, offering its competing members the opportunity to trade academic successes for club rewards. Its athletes were also introduced to sitting volleyball and alternate game play.

Evolution has been fortunate to receive the support of the community and looks forward to growing the sport of volleyball through their club.

Story submitted by Evolution Volleyball Club.

The Scorpions Volleyball Club’s 17U duo of Brooklyn Gallant and Katie Langan recently traveled to California to play in the California Youth Beach Volleyball Association Tour. On the Sunday, on a cool weather day at the Huntington Beach Tournament, the duo won a gold medal. They started slow losing their first match of the morning. Then, without losing a set, they defeated their next five opponents to capture the Gold.

The day before, the duo won a Silver medal at the Pacific Palisades Beach Tournament near Santa Monica. The pair have since returned home to complete their schooling and play on the OVA Beach Tour.

Story submitted by Deake Doyle.

It was only a few months ago that the Niagara Fury Volleyball Club opened its doors. With the brand new Niagara Sports and Social Centre acting as the clubs new training facility, a 9 member 15UG team began preparing for the 2012-13 OVA season. Seven months, 7 tournaments, and 52 matches later, the Niagara Fury captured the Gold Medal in the Tier 2 15U Girls Provincial championships. This was an amazing accomplishment considering only 4 girls had played regulation volleyball in the past, and 2 are also underage players. The girls won several medals in both OVA and exhibition tournaments throughout the year, and came out on the winning side of matches against Tier 1 teams many times.

At Provincials, the entire team contributed to the success on the court all weekend, and played their best match of the year in their victory over Waterdown by a score of 25-13, 25-17 in the Gold Medal match!

Story submitted by the Niagara Fury Executive.

Not resting for a moment on the laurels of guiding his Marauders to a CIS silver medal, McMaster men’s volleyball coach Dave Preston is thrilled to announce the commitment of highly-touted recruit Brandon Koppers, who will join the Maroon this fall.

Considered one of the top graduating players in Ontario, Koppers received recruiting interest from schools on both sides of the border, before accepting his offer of admission to McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business.  Standing 6-foot-7, he has played both middle and outside and was selected to play for Team Ontario in 2011 and 2012.

“I’m very happy with my decision to attend McMaster,” said the Georgetown native, who plays for the Pakmen club team of Mississauga.  “It has a great reputation for academics and athletics. I’ve had the opportunity to visit campus a few times and really felt a good sense of family and community.”

“I also got to play with some of the (McMaster) guys on Team Ontario last summer and we’ve been good friends ever since.”

Coach Preston says Koppers will be a fantastic addition to the Marauders. “I believe Brandon is a perfect fit for our program. He is physical, technically sound, understands the game at a high level, and is at his best when it means the most.”

Graduating from Christ the King high school in Georgetown, Koppers was recently named by the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) as the 2013 recipient of the prestigious Ken Davies Memorial Award, presented annually to the male athlete that best demonstrates leadership, determination, athletic ability, sportsmanship, and fair play.

“I’m looking forward to learning from Coach Preston,” said Koppers.”I feel with his coaching and playing with some of the best players in the country, I will not only become a better player but a better person.”

Preston believes his newest Marauder has everything needed to succeed at the CIS level.  “Brandon is extremely talented but equally as grounded, and is able to maintain perspective in even the toughest situations.  His character is exemplary and it won’t be long before Marauder Nation sees what a great ambassador Brandon is for being successful the Marauder Way.”

Koppers will join previously committed libero Pawel Jedrzejewski of Hamilton in the 2013 Marauder recruiting class.

Story submitted by Bill Malley for the McMaster Marauders | Marauders.ca

A total of 39 players battled for the spots on the team under the supervision of head coach Dave Preston of Chatham, Ont., and his assistants Brad Poplawski of Edmonton and Nathan Janzen of Hamilton.

There are six returning players from last year’s squad: Milan Nikkic of Calgary, Stephen Maar of Aurora, Ont., Ryley Barnes of St. Paul, Alta., Jarrid Ireland of Winnipeg, Danny Demyanenko of Toronto, Ont., and Alex Russell of Surrey, B.C.

Last year’s highlight was a silver medal at the U21 NORCECA Championship.  The Canadians lost to the Americans in the final as both teams qualified for the 2013 U21 World Juniors.

The new additions for 2013 are John Goranson of Red Deer, Alta., Jeremy Davies of Calgary, Brad Gunter of Courtenay, B.C., Casey Schouten of Winnipeg, Bruno Lortie of Ottawa, Ont., Jayson McCarthy of Oshawa, Ont., Gabriel Chancy of Montreal and Jean-Philippe Desjardins of Gatineau, Que.

The team will train in Gatineau from June 24 to July 4 and continue its training in Hamilton until July 12. The team will compete at an important international event prior the worlds, the U21 Pan Am Cup, July 12-20 in Costa Rica. Training resumes in Hamilton on July 25 and the team departs for Turkey August 15.

Volleyball Canada’s 2013 Men’s National Junior Team: (sorted by province)

• Alberta (4): Milan Nikkic, Calgary; Ryley Barnes, St. Paul; John Goranson, Red Deer; Jeremy Davies, Calgary.
• British Columbia (2): Brad Gunter, Courtenay; Alex Russell, Surrey.
• Manitoba (2): Casey Schouten, Winnipeg; Jarrid Ireland, Winnipeg.
• Ontario (4): Bruno Lortie, Ottawa; Jayson McCarthy, Oshawa; Danny Demyanenko, Toronto; Stephen Maar, Aurora.
• Quebec (2) : Gabriel Chancy, Montreal; Jean-Philippe Desjardins, Gatineau.

Story from the Volleyball Canada Website | Volleyball.ca

The Halton Hurricanes 16U Black girls (ranked 3rd) rallied together after a coaching change mid-season and brought their best game to Provincials.

The team lead by Coach Phil Peters was firing on all cylinders and finished first in their power pool on Day 2 of Ontario Championships. The Hurricanes dominated Day 3 play by not losing a single set. The quarter finals saw the Hurricanes face the Maverick Trailblazers, winning (25-14, 25-13). They defeated Aurora Storm (ranked 1st) in the semi (25-20, 25-14) and triumphed over Forest City (ranked 2nd) in the final (25-13, 25-19).

Their never give up defense got them through many long rallies and their fighting spirit shone through as they competed hard for every point winning many long rallies. An outstanding effort by all team members led the Hurricanes to finish their OVA indoor season with the Tier 1 Gold.

The Hurricanes team heads to Calgary May 17-19 for West Nationals.

The Halton Hurricanes 16U Black team are: Amanda Adoranti (Stoney Creek), Amanda Harnett (Burlington), Ateya Allen (Oakville), Darby Taylor (Thorold), Julia Costanzo (Burlington), Madison Cross (Burlington), Olivia Roscoe (Burlington), Samantha Creighton (Oakville), Sarah Williams (Oakville), Sierra Hardy (Oakville), Sofia Gligoric (Stoney Creek), and Erica Treflik-Body (Oakville). Coaches are: Phil Peters & Nicholas Chia.

Stories submitted by Julie Roscoe and Vince Williams for the Halton Hurricanes 16U Black.

The North Bay Youth Volleyball Club Lakers wrapped up its season as the 13U and 18U teams represented the North Bay area at the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) provincial championships.

This season the NBYVC Lakers fielded teams in the 12U, 13U, 14U, 15U, 16U (girls and boys) and 18U age categories. Throughout the 2013/14 season the Laker teams collected 3 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. However more important then the medal count is the fact that athletes gained valuable life skills throughout the season such as goal setting, communication, confidence, leadership and teamwork.

Silver lining for 18U Lakers
The NBYVC 18U Lakers participated in the OVA Provincial Championship held at RIM Park in Waterloo and walked away with a silver medal.

On their way to capturing silver the Lakers went undefeated in pool play Friday (3-0) following that up Saturday with a valiant effort going 2-1.

The Lakers only loss of the day came at the hands of the second ranked Etobicoke Titan Black 2-1 (25-18, 21-25, 10-15). Without the services of Lauren Kuehni on Saturday due to flu and starting right side player Abby Crown who was unavailable all weekend the Lakers were able to show some resilience in pushing through to the quarter finals.

In the quarter-finals the Lakers played some strong volleyball in defeating the Brant Tornadoes from Brantford 2-0 (25-16, 25-17) to advance.

In the semi-final the Lakers defeated the Scorpions from Cambridge 2-0 (25-20, 25-22) to advance to the gold medal match.

The gold medal game would feature a re-match against the Etobicoke Titans who were the only team to defeat the Lakers.

The match did not disappoint as both teams traded opening sets to force a third and deciding set for gold.

The Titans would take an early 6-3 lead with the Lakers mounting a late charge to take an 8-7 lead at the turn. A few bad bounces here and there aloud the Titans to push through and defeat the Lakers 15-10 to claim the gold medal.

“The girls were able to overcome some unforeseen circumstances and were able to push through some difficult circumstances,” said assistant coach Ben Hong.

“This is a great group of girls who gave it their all and we are very proud of them.” added Hong.

Team members include: Micheala Randall, Kylie Burns, Abby Crown, Kayla Kosturik, Maddie Barnes, Carley Stickle, Lauren Kuehni, Cassie Dobson, Emma Vanederlee, and Brittany Coughlin. Coaches: Joey Rainer and Ben Hong.

The 18U girls finished second in the Province in Division 2 – Tier 1.

Other results for the NBYVC Lakers

• 13U girls finished 9th in Division 1 -Tier 2
• 14U girls finished 5th in Division 2 -Tier 2
• 15U girls finished 5th in Division 2 -Tier 2
• 16U girls finished 9th in Division 1 -Tier 2
• 16U boys finished 5th in Division 1 -Tier 3

Award of Excellence (age category U16 and under)

• 13U girls – Daniella Northrup
• 14U girls – Emily Heil
• 15 U girls – Holly Macie
• 16U girls – Jaiden Taylor
• 16U boys – Braiden Coughlin

Story submitted by Marc LaRochelle for the NBYVC.

The 13U Storm  Typhoon went undefeated this season and captured the 13U Division 1 – Tier 1 gold medal at the Ontario Provincial Championships in Waterloo on April 28th.

After a successful season playing up a division at 14U; including a silver medal at the first tournament and a 4th and two 7th place finishes in Championship Division and an incredible season at 13U; including a preseason 13U gold medal and 4 OVA gold medals, the team lost the coin flip for the first place ranking and headed into the Ontario Championship weekend ranked 2nd.

On the first day of pool play the girls went unchallenged defeating Oakville Thunder 25-18, 25-13, Ottawa Fusion 25-14, 25-8 and Cambridge Scorpions 25-12, 25-13.  The girls headed into day two, a win or go home scenario, more determined than ever to come home with the hardware and came out strong in the pre-quarter match with the Stratford Stingers, defeating them 25-10, 25-18.  With a long break ahead of them, the girls remained focused and came back to the court and carried the momentum into another win in the quarters against Markham Stingers 25-11, 25-14.  This win set them up to play a much improved Leaside Lightning team in the semis but the girl’s incredible defense and smart attacking lead them to a 25-13, 25-17 victory.

With their 5th 13U OVA gold medal within their grasp, the girls headed to the finals to face Durham Attack, a team that they had not played since the first 13U tournament of the season.  The girls came out strong defeating Durham 25-18 but Durham was not prepared to let the second set slip away easily.  After Storm jumped out to an early lead, Durham made some substitutions that got them back into the game and it became a point for point exchange to a 26-24 Storm victory.

The Storm Typhoon are: Becky Tresham, Kayla Law-Heese, Salina Torresano, Sacha Lund, Andie Therkildsen, Julia LeBlanc, Karlee Mannella, LanVy Ho, Ingrid West and Rebecca Lewis. Coaches are: Linda Therkildsen, Cheryl Cowl and Mark Heese; the Ball Tosser is John Torresano.

Story by Linda Therkildsen for the Storm Typhoon.