Men’s, women’s teams tops at Atlantic region volleyball tourney
A snowy start to the Canadian Armed Forces Atlantic region men’s and women’s volleyball tournament pushed play by a couple hours and caused some Day 1 schedule reorganizing, but athletes from 12 Wing Shearwater, CFB Halifax, 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown and the host 14 Wing Greenwood were ready to go by late morning.
14 Wing Commander Colonel Luc Vachon welcomed everyone, happy to host and support the military sports program.
“You’re picked to be here, you spend a week doing sports you love, with friends; you take care of your physical and mental resilience, generating trust with teammates and working as a team,” he said. “Plus, there is the discipline you put in to get here.
“All of those things, the military is looking for. Congratulations.”
Wing Chief Warrant Officer Justin Harper added credit to the staff and volunteers who do “lots of work in the background” for military sports to happen, including the Personnel Support Program staff.
“Play hard, and have fun!”
Women’s action
In the February 24 women’s Game 1, the Halifax/ Shearwater Mariners defeated the Greenwood Bombers 25-17, 25-15. The afternoon’s Game 2 saw the Mariners also defeat Gagetown 25-13, 25-20.
Day 2, February 25, Greenwood defeated Gagetown in three sets, 23-25, 25-4, 15-6. Ending the round robin, Halifax/ Shearwater headed straight to the final as first seed.
Second seed Greenwood (1-1) and third seed Gagetown (0-2) met in a must-win semi February 26, with Greenwood taking the match 25-10, 25-9, 25-15.
Greenwood and Halifax/ Shearwater met for the Friday final, with Halifax/ Shearwater winning the title in 25-25, 25-16, 25-10. MVP was Corporal Christina Souza.
Greenwood coach Corporal Leo Gauthier acknowledged the Halifax/ Shearwater team had given Greenwood a hard-fought loss through the round robin and, in the final, they’d come into their own.
“They’d elevated their game – they played well,” he said.
“We started out in our first game on our back foot – one of our players had a nose bleed. We were better defensively this year than last, but not as strong offensively – but we had fun. We showed that and kept our head up through the final.”
Men’s action
The Halifax Mariners opened their tournament February 24 with a Game 1 win over the Greenwood Bombers, 25-18, 25-14. In the mid-day Game 2, Gagetown met Shearwater and won 25-7, 25-2; and, in Game 3, Gagetown was back on the court to meet Halifax but lost 25-21, 25-17.
On Day 2, February 25, three games took to the courts. Greenwood defeated Shearwater 25-9, 25-6 in Game 4, and then defeated Gagetown 25-20, 25-20 in Game 5. In Game 6, Halifax defeated Shearwater 25-12, 25-22, earning first-seed rights to head straight to Friday’s final.
February 26, fourth place Shearwater met third place Gagetown in Play-off 1, with Gagetown winning after four sets 25-10, 21-25, 27-7, 25-5. In the afternoon’s Play-off 2, second-seed Greenwood lost to Gagetown 25-17, 25-16, 25-22.
The Friday final followed the women’s title game, with Halifax waiting for Gagetown through those play-off rounds. The game finished in three-of-five, with Halifax taking the title 25-14, 25-23, 25-18. Halifax Naval Cadet Justin Gallant was recognized as the final’s MVP.
Greenwood coach/ athlete Corporal Dave Lubin said the Bombers played well through their tournament to the semi-final.
“We were competitive every match, and we just made ore errors in that semi-final than the other team. We’re happy with how we did, and the new team members had fun.”
