Bearded Beauties Win Lions Tournament

It was a perfect day to be at the beach on Saturday for the Westport Lions annual volleyball tournament.

Westport Lions Roar

By Lion Bill Garland

Clear blue sky, blazing sun, hot sand and amazing athletics were highlights of the Westport Lions 7th annual Beach Volleyball tournament on Saturday. Six competitive teams battled through 30 games vying for the title of Westport Lions 2019 Beach Volleyball champion.

Thanks to all the teams and participants that made the 2019 event a huge success. Teams from Westport, Kingston and Kemptville came to Westport’s Lions Beach Park to compete for the 2019 championship. 2018 champion Ryatt Volleyball returned to defend their title against Westport’s Popnfresh, and Blaney’s Rebels from Sand Lake, Kingston teams Quick Sets and Beach, Please and Kemptville’s Bearded Beauties.

All teams played 5 round robin matches. In round robin action Quicksets went undefeated ranking first with 10 points, defending champion Ryatt suffered 1 loss to Quick Sets finishing in 2^nd place with 8 points followed by Beach, Please, Bearded Beauties, Popnfresh and Blaney’s Rebels..

The playoffs were the best 2 out of 3 matches. In quarter final action Kingston Team Quick Sets defeated Westport’s Blaney’s rebels in 2 games. Kingston team Beach, Please lost a hard fought match with the Bearded Beauties from Kemptville. And in the final Quarter Final match Westports Popnfresh knocked out 2018 champions Ryatt. Ryatt

The cool Sand Lake waters provided refreshing breaks for all the players between games. The Trillium College School of Massage attended this year’s tournament to provide massage relief to athletes suffering from cramping and muscle soreness. With the day’s ultra-high temperatures and high tempo volleyball action the availability of the massage team and sand lake was appreciated by all. Thanks to the Trillium College team!

In semi final action Kemptville’s Bearded Beauties edged out the remaining Westport entry Popnfresh. Kingston’s Quick Sets earned a bye in the semi’s with the best record in the Round Robin.

Quick Set and the Bearded Beauties squared off in the best 2 out of 3 final match. The lead in the first game went back and forth with the Bearded Beauties delivering the first defeat of the day to the Quick Sets 21 to 20. The athleticism of these 2 squads was fantastic to watch with players jumping high to spike or defend and diving to save a ball from hitting the sand. Game 2 was another back and forth affair with the Bearded Beauties finally prevailing for a 21 to 15 victory.

Congratulations to Kemptville’s Bearded Beauties team members Sara Hunt, Adam Waller, Andrew Neubanef and Jason French for winning the title of 2019 Westport Lions Volleyball Champion.

Thanks to tournament organizer Lion Bob Reddick who was supported by Lions Don Baker, Brad Baker, Rick Warriner and Bill Garland along with volunteers Dwain Smith, Chris Hartley and Glenn Garland.