The volleyball tournament at the 2013 Labrador Winter Games came down to a dramatic final between Nain and Makkovik.
Nobody was surprised to see these two communities battle it out for a gold medal on the court. Volleyball is extremely popular in communities along the north coast, and these two towns are no exception.
Halfway through the game, Makkovik seemed to be headed for a sure victory. But Nain called a time out and started crawling their way back.
By the end of the match, Makkovik led by just two points 24-22. When an attempted spike by a Nain player went outside the lines, Makkovik’s players and supporters began celebrating on the court.
But the celebration was short lived. The referee called the players back, after deciding that the ball was tipped out of bounds by a Makkovik blocker. Team Makkovik would have the difficult task of getting back into game mode after thinking the gold medal was won.
“It’s always tough you know,” said long time Makkovik volleyball star Trent Pottle. “This game is more of a mental game, especially having one game to 25. We knew we had to get one more point, the need two. We knew we had a good chance to get that point.”
After the very next serve, Makkovik finally got the point they needed, and beat a very talented group from Nain, in an extremely close contest; 25-23.
“Nain had a real strong team,” says Pottle. “And it could have been anyone’s game. Good fun is all I can say.”
derek.montague@thelabradorian.ca
