The Steel City Ignite Volleyball Club sent two teams to the Ontario Volleyball Association Beach Tour for the first time in the club's history.
In the U15 division, Lauren Doyle-Moran and Sophie Lamour played in the final and secured a silver medal, while in the U18 division, Taya Venneri and Juliette Lamour came in third.
Coach Annette Lamour said in a press release that the club is now preparing for the OVA Beach Volleyball Championship at the end of July.
The full release with more details about the games is included below.
For first time in club history, two teams from the Steel City Ignite Volleyball Club competed in the Ontario Volleyball Association Beach Tour on June 18 and 19.
Taya Venneri and Juliette Lamour were representing 18U, while 15U was represented by Lauren Doyle-Moran & Sophie Lamour
The June 18 competition was held in Brampton, Ontario at Chinguacousy Park. While both Steel City Ignite teams had a strong showing in the Silver Division, they both were eliminated in the semi-finals.
On June 19, the Sault teams competed in Barrie, Ontario at Horseshoe Resort in the Premier Division. Both teams played a more complete game against tough competition and provided a very entertaining day of beach volleyball.
Venneri/Lamour had their best outing of the weekend but lost in a tight match that went to three sets in the semi-finals and finished in 3rd place. The winners of the 18U Gold Medal were A.Istratescu/A.Miller of the Storm Volleyball Club out of Aurora, Ontario.
In the 15U Division, Lauren Doyle-Moran and Sophie Lamour broke through and advanced to the finals. The Sault girls lost to C.Mercer/A.Zhou out of Milton, Ontario but managed to secure the silver medal, a first for the Sault club.
Steel City Ignites’s Annette Lamour said: “The teams really came together this weekend to reach this goal. Beach volleyball is a much different game than what we play on the court, and we are a young club. This is all very new to us. But the girls worked and practiced hard and were able to execute their plan at the perfect time. We’re excited to prepare now for the OVA Beach Volleyball Championship at the end of July. With Canadian teams now having success on the world stage in beach volleyball, we expect to see this sport grow in our community and look forward to training more players from the Sault.”