The SubZero 14U girls had a successful tournament at the B.C. Provincials.

The provincials took place at the Tradex Centre in Abbotsford from April 28-30.

The girls had two competitive teams playing in a field of 85 14U girls teams.

Coach Chanel Newell’s SubZero AAA’s were placed in Division Three.

The Subzero Stallions were coached by Meghann Morrison.

She said the SubZero AAA’s were “not successful in winning any games, but they gained a lot of experience.

“They did so well together and they had really just the positive energy.”

The SubZero Stallions played in Division 5.

“We won our very last game, which placed us 16 out of 17, which was still really amazing,” recalled Morrison. “And the girls worked really hard for the win. It was awesome, the energy and having our other teams there, cheering us on. The energy was absolutely helpful. It was very nice to see everybody coming together as a cohesive group.”

The SubZero AAA team played six games, three preliminary and three placement games.

The Stallions played four preliminary and three placement games.

They were in the afternoon wave, which meant they were playing anywhere between 12 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

“The girls were pretty tired,” related Morrison. “It was very, very warm. Especially for our girls. They’re not overly acclimatized to the B.C. weather. It was 25 degrees outside and then even hotter inside, so half of them were missing the snow, and one of the girls even commented that she wanted to roll around in the snow and missed the mountains.”

The Heat Yukon 14U girls also had a team at the provincials.

“We did get to go to see some of their games and cheer them on and vice versa. So it was really nice to be there and represent the Yukon.”

Morrison said the games the girls’ teams played were really close.

“We probably should have taken our AAA team and put them into a Division 4, similar to Heat but I think they were a little ambitious.

“But certainly we were well placed for our Stallions team. It was very competitive games. Our matches were all very, very close.”

On the third set of the final game, the Stallions were down 14-10.

“We were pretty down in that third set and we had just an awesome comeback and player 41, Sian (Hamilton) just had awesome sets and with everybody cheering and the energy, it was kind of like one of those goosebump moments.

“Of course we won and to us it was kind of comparative to Yukon champs or something like that. Just winning one game was just everything for us.”

The Stallions got some standout performances from the girls.

“We had some awesome players and we had three servers very consistent in their plays. I had one of our setters, Kinsley Albertini, play every single set. She was just phenomenal and very consistent and calm and collected.

“Sian, certainly, her serves were very consistent and (she) was able to take us home on that win. So that was pretty awesome.

“Mia Morrison was our middle; she was just blocking and tipping the balls in.

“Maggie King, just an unbelievable player, really controlled, and probably one of our most flexible players in terms of, if we needed her to play in different positions and she was able to accommodate that and help out our team when some girls – injuries happen and just, I guess, the pressure of playing in a giant kind of venue where there’s 18 courts certainly can affect the morale of some players, and it was definitely a challenge for them all, and no doubt a little bit stressful at times. But they all managed really, really well.”

Morrison said this was the first time many of the girls competed on such a large stage.

“For many this was their first time competing in a larger venue like that of B.C.’s Tradex Centre in Abbotsford. They’re grade eight girls, so their ages range from 13 to 14. So it was just really great to see their confidence growing throughout the tournament. And this was on both teams. They just worked really well together. It was like that visual definition of teamwork, working through the hard stuff together.”

Speaking of teamwork, Morrison saw that as a key to the team’s success.

“It’s just sometimes easy to define teamwork. But when it comes down to it, it’s so complex. And it is really working through those vulnerable moments where we’re up, we’re down, where you’re feeling almost every single emotion.

“It was really great to see them all kind of just pull through and help each other out and cheer on all of the different teams. Heat was there, we cheered them on, they cheered us on. We cheered our triple A’s on, they cheered us on as well. We all really came together and it was great to see and we definitely were noticeable. We had a lot of representation from the Yukon. I’m just so glad we had that opportunity.”

Morrison agreed that it felt good to end the tournament on a winning note.

“It really made everything worth it. All the highs and lows. We came out victorious. Sweet 16, 16th place. It made it all worth it. It was so awesome.

Morrison added “Chanel and I are so proud of our players.”