The Waterdown Raiders found the silver lining when they travelled to Thorold earlier this month to play in the 14U Girls McGregor Cup volleyball tournament.

In the first game of round-robin play, they faced the Peel Select 99 Team from Mississauga. The Raiders won in two sets straight (25-14 and 25-16).

In their second match, Waterdown took on the Halton Hurricanes 13U Black team. While the Raiders cruised to a 15-11 victory in the first set, they dropped the second set 15-3 before they roared back to take the third set, 25-22.

In the quarter-finals, the Raiders took on the Burlington Blaze Red team, a tougher opponent than the 25-20 and 25-15 winning scores would indicate. The victory allowed the Raiders to face the Halton Hurricanes Blue 13U team in the semifinals.

The Hurricanes came out strong and defeated the Raiders 25-13 in the first set. In the second set, facing elimination, the Raiders squeezed out a 25-22 victory. In the tie-breaking third set, the Raiders scored the first 12 points on their way to a convincing 15-5 victory.

In the final, the Raiders faced the other undefeated team in the tournament, the Niagara Falls Rapids. The Rapids dominated the first set to win it, 25-12. The Raiders bounced back in the second set, at one point leading 24-14. The Rapids  defended set point by pushing the score to 24-21, but the Raiders held their composure and scored the final point to win the set.  The last game was a back and forth affair, which was tied at 13 before the Rapids closed things out with a 15-13 victory.

Coaches Wendy Mommersteeg, Jason Pundyk and the parents in attendance were very pleased with the Raiders’ effort. Their silver medal surpasses their previous achievement of bronze earlier in the season. Team members include Tyra Baird, Lauren Boswell, Victoria DiCesare, Nicole Lauff, Zoe McMillan, Megan Mommersteeg, Darragh Rumple, Katie Saunders, Carina Schiappa, Shelby Sweetman, Lindsay Wilcox, Kassy Zelko and team helper Luke Mommersteeg.

-Submitted by: David Wilcox