The South County 16U volleyball team are not into banditry but they robbed the gold medal at the opening tournament of their season in Ottawa. "The team we played in the final we played in pool play and they absolutely destroyed us." said head coach Jade Ziebarth of their opponents from Halton.
Instead of letting the loss ruin the fun the Bandits persevered and made it to the final. "We knew if we made it to the final we'd have to face them again and the girls just came out like we have nothing to lose, guns blazing and we took it to them." Ziebarth said.
South County won the first set 25-23 and rolled from there to win the tournament. They are now seeded as the top in their division in the province. "I didn't know what to expect because I only knew a handful of these kids coming into the season but every single kid has stepped up and every single kid plays their role well. It's a group effort and that's what I'm most proud of."
The first thing Ziebarth noticed about her new team is the energy. She says the girls also had good technique but needed some discipline and stucture. "They needed to be taught the strategy of the game and once they picked that up they just took it and ran with it."
Their next tournament is December 9th in Hamilton.