This past weekend, the ACTS Elites U16 girls' volleyball team made the trip north to St. Joseph's school in Barrie where the team participated in the Trillium Division of the Provincial Cup.

Also on hand were 12 other teams, each also vying for the opportunity to move up to the province's Championship Division.

In morning pool play action, the Elites made quick work of both the Oakville Thunder and Orillia Suns by scores of 25- 21, 25-13 and 25-18, 25-12 respectively.

Their first place finish in pool play advanced them directly to the quarter-final round to meet yet another Oakville squad..

The Elites were really starting to fire on all cylinders at this point, dispatching with their opposition in quick order 25-14, 25-10.

Some familiar opposition took to the other side of the net in semi-final play, the Barrie Elites volleyball club who had defeated the girls earlier this season.

This day however, would belong to the ACTS U16 team as their passing, blocking and serving was so strong, Barrie could not really get anything going, falling by a 25-12, 25- 19 score.

In the final. ACTS found themselves facing the number one ranked favourite, Halton Hurricanes. Playing the role of underdog, the Elites were just too focused and committed to fall for the hype, powering past the Hurricanes to win gold in three set by a score of 25-10, 22-25 and 15-6.

Both coaches Keith Lobban and Paul Panagiotou were very proud of all the girls' performances. In fact, both had to admit to some surprise as the team's training schedule had been hampered over the last three weeks by a combination of both weather and exams.

"It was a big breakthrough for this group as it was their first ever tournament gold. They had medaled a couple of times last season but winning gold requires a different level of focus, commitment and concentration", commented coach Panagiotou.

the U16 squad's next action will having them taking to the floor in two weeks when they move up to the Championship Division where more challenges will await for them to conquer.