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Talent level spikes Darrell Greer Northern News Services Published Wednesday, February 22, 2012 The tournament was held at St. Patrick High School and Weledeh School.
Rankin's Miner Chicks also attended the event. VFusion made it all the way to the semifinal before falling to YK Red.
The team was then defeated in the consolation game by the Team NWT Arctic Winter Games squad. Team NWT also eliminated the Miner Chicks in the first round of the playoffs.
V-Fusion's Adriana Kusugak said the quality of play at the territorial event has risen steadily during the past three years. She said the games are a lot more intense and fast paced than what the team usually plays in Rankin.
"We, pretty much, just play pickup here, which is about the equivalent of shinny hockey," said Kusugak.
"The rallies at the territorial can last for minutes at a time, and there's lots of big hitting and blocks.
"It's now a sanctioned tournament with Volleyball Canada, so that's probably another reason why it's become more intense.
"It's lots of fun, but there's a very high level of competitiveness, too."
V-Fusion took second in 2010 and third in 2011 before dropping to fourth this year.
Kusugak said V-Fusion has to find a way to play more competitive games together as a team throughout the year in Rankin before heading to the NWT territorials.
She said the younger Rankin team, the Miner Chicks, are getting better all the time and, hopefully, the level of play will keep increasing in Rankin.
"The Miner Chicks compete hard and are very hard to beat when we play them in Rankin.
"They played very well in Yellowknife this year and, if they stay together, they're just going to keep getting better.
"They did all their own fundraising to be able to play in Yellowknife this year, and they did it in a short period of time without having any bingo slots.
"Both our teams need to keep up our level of intensity, competitiveness and skill in Rankin to help us develop stronger teams to send to Yellowknife."
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