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2 1 1 Friday, M ay 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 | O AKVILLE BEAVER | w w w .insideH A LT O N .com Sw eet redem ption Oakville duo helps Pakmen rebound from disappointing provincials to claim national under-18 volleyball championship By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff n ffio & Z :. It was the matchup everyone had expected, but one that took a little longer to happen. And now that it was playing out in the gold-medal game at the national championship, the energy was palpable. "There was this hum in the gym and it just felt like it went on forever," said Alicia Lam. Lam and her Pakmen teammates had domi nated the club volleyball season in Ontario. But after their shocking loss in the quarter-finals at the under-18 provincials, the much-anticipat ed meeting with the Halton Hurricanes, the defending national champs, had to be put on hold. "They're a great team ," said Pakmen libero Megan Smith. "We play better when we play them ." Pakmen had won all four meetings between the clubs this season, but that meant little with a national championship on the line. And having learned their lesson from pro vincials, Pakmen knew better than to give any opponent, m uch less the Ontario champs, any opening. So even as their team crept point-by point closer to the Canadian title, they refused to let their guard down. W hen they earned the final point in the 2 5 19, 25-21 victory, the Pakmen players could finally enjoy their accomplishment. "I wish I had a better celebration planned," said Lam, who was named the tournament's all-star team along with Oakville's Laura Madill, who played for the Hurricanes. "We didn't know what to do. We just screamed. The hap piness and joy just overcame m e." It was a sweet redemption for the Missis sauga-based Pakmen squad, which included Oakville's Lam and Smith. After winning four of their five tourna ments during the Ontario Volleyball Associa tion season, Pakmen went into the provincial championships as the No. 1 ranked team. But the 2 5 -1 3 , 2 5 -2 3 quarter-final loss to Ottawa's Maverick Broncos brought their tournament to an abrupt end. "We were in shock," Lam said. "I think in the back of our minds we had this pressure to win every set and every match. We struggled in the quarters and in that m om ent we were tense and nervous and we didn't know how to recover." W ith two weeks to regroup, Pakmen headed into nationals in Edm onton with a new out look. "We didn't go in nervous. We just took care of our side of the net," Smith said. "And when the scores got close, we just played like we had nothing to lose." That would be tested early. Pakmen's finish in provincials landed it in a tough pool and they opened against the Calgary Dinos. Pakmen squeaked out a 27-25 win in the opening set and then dropped the second 25-21. But it came back to take the deciding set 15-9. The competitive match to start the tourna ment paid off for Pakmen. "It helped us work better as a team. It made us think on our feet and adapt," Lam said. "Af ter that we clicked." "Our team was relentless," Smith added. Pakmen won its next seven matches without dropping a set -- allowing an average of just 15 points per set -- to reach the final. That gave Lam a chance to be part of Pak men history again. The Grade 12 W hite Oaks student had been a member of the club's first girls' provincial championship team. She joined the club with her sister Jessica, who was a year older. Lam had followed her Oakville's Megan Smith (left) and Alicia Lam helped Mississauga's Pakmen win the Canadian under-18 girls volleyball title Sunday in Edmonton. Pakmen lost only one set in nine matches, topping the defending champion Halton Hurricanes 25-19, 25-21 in the final. | photo submitted sister's lead into horseback riding, gymnas tics and finally volleyball, even playing the same position as her. But when Lam's team, playing up an age group, topped her sister's on its way to the Ontario title, it made for an awkward ride home. Smith, a Grade 12 Iroquois Ridge stu dent who didn't start playing rep volleyball until Grade 8, joined Pakmen this year af ter her former team folded ju st prior to the season. "I was kind of scrambling to find a team, but it all worked out," she said. It may not have played out as they expect ed, but in the end, it couldn't have worked out any better. Wallace repeats as Liberty all-star Oakville's Braden Wallace was named to the Liberty League men's la crosse first all-conference team for the second year in a row. Wallace finished fourth in scoring for the RIT Tigers, with 25 goals and 16 as sists in 18 games. The senior midfielder opened the sea son with a 12-game goal-scoring streak. His fourth-quarter goal in the Liberty League final broke a 10-10 tie in a game the Tigers won 13-12 in overtime. Wallace scored twice as RIT opened the NCAA DIII tournament Wednesday with a 29-8 win over John Carroll. FOREVER Swimsuits & Beach wear The Burlington Womens Recreational Soccer League is still taking registrations for its Sunday open age division. 5THAN N IVERSA RY SAXE 30 50 Off until May 21st % foreversum m erll · foreversummer.goldbook.ca 1 389 Brant St., Unit 4, Burlington 9 0 5 .3 3 3 .8 3 0 0 WWWBWRSL.COM For more information qo to b w r s l.c o m