By MACKENZIE MALO
Teams from across the country representing the provinces, territories, and First Nations collected in Regina July 22-26 to compete for the Volleyball Canada National title at the Canada Cup.
The Team Sask 17U women’s team was made up of selected athletes from across Saskatchewan, including four local athletes: Betsy Cawood (Neuanlage), Lily Dunville (Martensville), Ayla Malo (Warman), and Nada Raicevic (Martensville), and local coach Erin Neiszner (Warman).
The 17U women’s Team Sask entered the competition seeded 9th out of 12 teams in the top-tiered Division, and in a pool with the 3rd and 4th ranked teams. The first game ended as a straight-set loss against the All-star Team Canada Red. Despite the outcome, Team Sask was slowly building confidence and resilience over the course of the game. They would use that loss as a platform to grow.
With grit and determination, Team Sask went on to win their next two games against Team Quebec and Team Nova Scotia. Despite a 2:1 record in pool play, a 3-way tie dropped them to 3rd in their pool and meant another game to fight their way into the Championship bracket.
A 5-set win over Team New Brunswick secured their spot in the top 8 and meant they had already stepped beyond their rank at the beginning of the tournament. The next game was against the undefeated and #1 ranked team in the tournament – Team BC.
They went toe-to-toe with BC with back-and-forth sets, pushing it to a 5th set. It was in this game that Team Sask showed their true strength – they never gave up, they kept swinging, they settled into the discomfort, and they didn’t get rattled. That resilience meant a 5th set win, a spot in the top 4, and a rematch against Team Quebec.
The semi-final game started with a close loss in the first set, and then Saskatchewan found their footing and took the next 3 sets for the win and a spot in the gold medal match!
The final would be against the All-star Team Canada White, a team undefeated in the tournament. Again, Team Sask started with a loss in the first set, but again, they didn’t let it shake their resolve. They came back to win the 2nd set, with Team Sask’s confidence growing, Team Canada’s waning. Team Sask went on to win the 3rd and were unstoppable in the 4th! They finished the tournament with the crowd on their feet to celebrate a home-town win on the National stage!
Athletes Lily Dunville and Betsy Cawood were recognized with tournament All Star Awards. Lily Dunville was also awarded the Maple Award which recognizes an athlete’s role both on and off the court and is voted on by their teammates.