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RANKIN INLET/IQALUIT
The Rankin Inlet V Team added another championship to its already impressive trophy case when it successfully defended its Iqaluit Open female volleyball title earlier this month.

Rankin defeated Iqaluit's Arnait squad by scores of 2517, 2519 and 2512 to take the title in straight sets.

Seven teams competed for the female crown.

Team TNT from Coral Harbour defeated the Iqaluit Huskies to claim the men's crown.

The V Team's Holly Mercer said it's tough to predict the level of play from one year to the next at a lot of tournaments.

She said play can be intense one year and not so much the next, depending on the types of teams that register.

"Play can be tougher some years than others," said Mercer.

"This year, at our own LGM (Laura Gauthier Memorial) in Rankin, we had quite a few teams that were just put in for fun.

"So it really varies from year to year."

The players on the V Team have been together for a number of years.

Mercer said that can be an advantage on the court.

She said although the team usually only gets to play once or twice together before a tournament, they've been together so long they know what to expect from each other.

"We know what we all do in a situation, where everybody likes to play, who'll get what ball; those types of things.

"The chance to keep going to tournaments keeps us together.

"We all enjoy playing volleyball and it's been part of our lives for a long time.

"A lot of us have kids and families, so it's a nice girl getaway too."

One piece of hardware that's escaped the V Team is the annual winter tournament in Yellowknife.

The team hopes to head to Yellowknife this coming March and improve upon its highest finish yet of second place.

Mercer said the V Team is at its best when the players go out and have fun.

She said they always seems to get down if they let themselves get too serious.

"The strongest parts of our game are having fun on the court and our communication.

"We do our best when we're laughing and communicating.

"We'd like to win in Yellowknife, but having fun is the main thing for us."

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