Beach volleyballers making waves

Gabby Kosziwka (left) and Ashley Nixon have a busy month of tournaments ahead of them as the beach volleyball duo was able to qualify for both provincial and national competitions by playing in age groups above them earlier in the season. Next week, they'll be in Ottawa for the Ontario Summer Games. Submitted photo

Georgetown

Beach volleyballers making waves

A pair of 15-year-old beach volleyball players from Limehouse have made waves on the Ontario Volleyball Association circuit by more than holding their own against more-experienced competition so far in 2006 tournament play. Gabby Kosziwka and Ashley Nixon set a goal before the season of earning spots in the OVA's Athlete Development Program for elite players in the province, and a berth in the Ontario Summer Games Aug. 9-13 in Ottawa. But in order to do so, they had to compete in under-18 girls' tournaments and achieve a required number of points in each event to qualify. After finishing fifth in two of the tourneys and ninth in another, the local pair ranked seventh out of 40 teams and was sent invitations to compete in the ADP and the OSG. Nixon and Kosziwka played in a high school tournament against girls in their age group at Victoria Beach in Cobourg recently and swept through the draw, not losing a single game out of seven best-of-three matches. Also on court for the Grade 10 Acton High School students are the Ontario and Canadian championship tournaments later this month.