Coach Bob Cholette has continued where he left off with his Nationally 5th ranked Ms Pakmen 18U team from last year. Now after coaching his new 14U Ms Pakmen team for only a few months they struck silver at the Provincial Cup December 5th in Stouffville. “The girls played great, everyone had a chance to play, and we just simply had a good time together. We still have a long way to go though” says Cholette.

The day might have seemed daunting going up against teams that have been together for a few years but the Ms Pakmen girls didn’t think twice about it. The first team up was the 13U Geortown Impact squad who they defeated 2-0 (25-12, 25-16). “Everyone got to play and was disciplined in their actions” says Cholette.

Next up were the Markham Stingers. The girls took a second to gather themselves and stalled in the first set losing 25-23. But they regrouped winning the next two 25-13, 15-7. “This was our first big test and the girls passed with flying colours, they played liked a team, everyone did their part” says Cholette.

Going 2-0 so far they were now against the Oakville Thunder Blue, Thunder’s “A” team. “We knew this would be tough and it was” says Cholette. He continues “the girls played well in the first set losing 25-20, it was a fun set to watch. But in the second the Thunder Blue played great, almost perfect missing only one serve, we on the other hand were the opposite hence the score, 25-5. It was one of those games you forget about; everything went wrong, so that’s what we told the girls, forget about it.”

Next up was Barrie Elites Blue, Barrie’s “B” team. The girls were annoyed by their previous match and returned back to their earlier form winning 2-0 (25-20, 25-20). “The girls played great it was what we expect from them” says Cholette.

After going 3-1 the Ms Pakmen team finished 2nd in their pool and would now play Interclub in the quarter-final. It was close at first but the team pulled away winning 2-0 (25-15, 25-21).

The semi-final was a rematch the Ms Pakmen girls were looking forward to with the Oakville Thunder Blue who defeated them earlier 2-0. The Ms Pakmen girls would have none that again. “We had a plan and the girls followed it perfectly, it was great to see them learning how to adapt to play different teams” says Cholette. The girls forced their way into the finals with a win 2-0 (25-13, 25-18).

the finals they would face Barrie Elites Black, Barrie’s “A” team. It was a great match with long rallies, both team’s hitting and digging. Unfortunately the Pakmen girls suffered an injury midway through the first set. “I think it threw the team off a bit but they recovered well and it was a match that could have gone either way” says Cholette. Barrie won the first set 25-20, the Pakmen girls won the second 25-16 and Barrie took the third 15-9.

Overall for a newly formed team it was a great day. “Being a new team we have lots of things to improve on so it is exciting that we did this well so early. We also know it will only get harder as other teams will improve as well. The parents and family did a great job supporting the team” says Cholette. Because of their 2nd place finish the 14U Ms Pakmen Girls will now be bumped up to the Championship Division for their next tournament in January.