The South County 17U National team recently won a silver medal at the Division 1 Tier 1 championships in Waterloo.
The Bandits were ranked 4th heading into the tournament. "Our team goal was to win a medal, something a team from Windsor/Essex has not done in over 10 years," said head coach Alex Nedin. "With our style of play, being fast and hard-hitting, I don't think any teams wanted to see us in a match with their season on the line."
South County swept their three matches on the first day of the tournament. Day 2 saw the team lose Leaside and the top-seeded Toronto's Phoenix Legacy.
"Fortunately, we won our 3rd match, beating Durham to secure a spot in the quarter finals. We knew we had to play our best volleyball on day 3." Nedin said.
The Bandits rose to the occasion in the quarter-final beating the Kitchener Preds in a 15-13 deciding set.
They went on to beat the Ottawa Mavericks 25-16 and 25-22 in the semi-finals earning a shot at gold. They faced Phoenix Legacy for a second time hoping for a better outcome.
"We pushed them to the limit in a match full of incredible rallies, losing 27-25 in a hard fought 2nd set," Nedin said. "After the final point, the team huddled up, and after about a minute, the disappointment of losing shifted to smiles and hugs to celebrate such a great overall finish. It would have been amazing to win gold, but silver and finishing #2 in the province is something that the Bandits are very proud of."
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