THUNDER BAY – Thunder Volley 2011 featured 14 teams in 2 venues, with over 50 games of volleyball in a 24 hour period. In the end the first junior girls tournament of the year led to vastly improved play as each game progressed and over 130 athletes going home tired after a great weekend of play. On the consolation side, St. Ignatius defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 2 sets to 1 in an exciting wrap-up to become the Silver tier Champion.
St. Ignatius, with easily the largest roster of athletes, played everyone and really got the entire team exposed to play to start the season. City teams Churchill, Westgate, and Hammarskjold followed the same format for a great start to the season for their athletes.
In the Gold tier bracket Queen Elizabeth HS (Sioux Lookout) made their way to the final with straight set victories over Dryden 2 and Atikokan 1.
Dryden 1 made their way to the final with exciting and close victories in straight sets over Hammarskjold (who had defeated Westgate in straight sets in the 1/4 final match).
Dryden and Queen Elizabeth had a great final match. Dryden defeated Queen Elizabeth 25-22, lost 13-25, and won the 3rd and deciding set 15-4 to capture the 2011 Jr. Girls title!
Lakehead women’s coach and Thunder Volley organizer Chris Green said, “I was so excited as this tournament went along. Teams split in two to maximize playing time for all! The level of play was amazing and to see the skill level to start the season this way, just makes me smile. We are starting to see the amazing talent that exists in this city. The teams from outside Thunder Bay showed what they always do, a lot of skill and consistency. This was a great weekend for Volleyball again and I wish that final could have gone with 5 set matches. I would like to thank the coaches, players and parents for their support for their athletes and of course our game.”