Tough weekend for Lakers volleyball
The Lakers varsity volleyball squads were on the road this past weekend, taking on the St. Clair Saints and the arch-rival Humber Hawks. The women’s team managed a win and a loss, while the men suffered two difficult losses.Women’s Results: Lakers win streak ends at sixThe Nipissing Lakers women’s volleyball team extended their winning streak to six games by sweeping the St. Clair Saints 3-0; however, the streak ended the next day as the Lakers were defeated by their West division rivals the Humber Hawks 3-1 on Sunday.
Saturday, the Lakers were able to take advantage of some strong serving, putting the Saints under tremendous pressure. The Lakers were then able to efficiently convert free ball situation to dominate the match 25-15, 25-14, 25-19.
Sunday, the Lakers renewed their long standing rivalry with the Humber Hawks. The teams faced off for the last time at Humber College as the Lakers volleyball program will be moving to the OUA in 2013. The game started as a back and forth affair for most of the first set until the Hawks were able to capitalize in the later stages with some strong serving winning 25-16.
The Lakers were able to re-group and put in a strong performance in the second set, claiming the 25-23 victory. The match from this point on went in favour of the Hawks who capitalized on the Lakers poor passing. The Hawks closed out the match in convincing fashion winning 25-11 and 25-15.
“Our passing was certainly an issue in this match,” said head coach Marc LaRochelle. “I think our biggest issue, however, was mental. We let the match control us instead of controlling it. We got away from the things that had made us successful to this point and it showed. We now have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and use this humbling experience to motivate us to play to our capabilities.”
Second-year right side player Brittany Ardron had a strong match collecting 10 points while rookie Christina Caruso added eight. Allison Larsen entered the game in the fourth set and swung well on the outside, bringing some much needed energy on the floor.
The Lakers will play their final OCAA home game at The Robert J. Surtees Student Athletics Centre this Saturday as they host the Conestoga Condors beginning at noon. The Lakers then finish up the regular season on Tuesday, February 12, against their cross campus rivals, the Canadore Panthers, at the Education Centre Gymnasium beginning at 6 p.m.Men’s Results: Lakers fall to Saints, Hawks
The Nipissing Lakers men’s volleyball team had a tough weekend dropping a pair matches against the St. Clair Saints 3-2 (25-23, 25-14, 24-26, 17-25, 15-11) and Humber Hawks 3-1(25-23, 19-25, 25-20, 25-20).
The Lakers regular season record now drops to 10-6 on the season, occupying fifth place in the ultra competitive OCAA West division.
The OCAA West division has tremendous parity and every match is a battle to the very end, as evidenced on Saturday. The Lakers went the distance with the 6-11 Saints for the second time this year. This time, however, the script did not go the Lakers way as the Saints pulled off the upset victory.
The Lakers struggled to find their rhythm in this match as evidenced by the line-up shuffles made by head coach Eric Yung, who was trying to find a line-up that would perform with consistency. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Saints proved to be a very determined team and walked away with the win.
Frankie Edgecombe scored a match high 23 points. Rookie left side Mike Ballagh was the only other Laker player to reach double digit in scoring, registering 10 points.
Sunday, the Lakers and Hawks faced off for the final time at Humber College in an important battle to determine playoff positioning. It was a very entertaining match as both teams exchanged some great rallies on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.
Edgecombe once again was the offensive leader for the Lakers collecting a match high 19 points while Ballagh collected 12 points and Scott Coulthard added 10.
The Lakers have two matches remaining and will need to win both to stay in the hunt to host a home playoff cross-over match. The West division will have some crucial match-ups that will have an impact on the Lakers playoff position, which could be decided on the final day of the regular season, February 13.
Saturday, the Lakers will host their final OCAA regular season game against the Conestoga Condors beginning at 2 p.m. The Lakers will wrap up their regular season Feb 12 at the Education Centre Gym against the Canadore Panthers beginning at 8 p.m.