February 21, 2009
OUA FINAL FOUR WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: LIONS, MARAUDERS ADVANCE TO FINAL
TORONTO, Ont. - The York Lions women's volleyball team will play for an OUA championship after defeating the Western Mustangs 3-1 in semi-final action on Friday night. The Lions' opponent in the final is the McMaster Marauders, who advanced to the gold medal game with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues.
The OUA Final Four Women's Volleyball Championship is presented by Mikasa, belairdirect., and Pizza Pizza.
York and McMaster will battle for provincial supremacy on Saturday at 8 p.m. at York University's Tait McKenzie Centre while Western and Toronto will compete for bronze at 6 p.m.
The Lions looked much more comfortable on this night than they did one week ago, when they needed two and a half hours to pull off a nail-biting 3-2 win over the Queen's Gaels in their OUA quarter-final game. Using the energy created by the boisterous home crowd, York cruised through the first two sets as the Mustangs looked flustered at the beginning. The Lions jumped out to early leads in both sets and hung on down the stretch to win 25-17 and 25-21.
The third set was a different story, however, as Western found a new gear and kicked it up a notch, and the Lions were not able to respond to the pressure. York stayed close throughout the set but Western ultimately won 25-23.
The Lions did not allow the setback to get to them and they came out strong to begin the fourth while the Mustangs made several mistakes on the opening points. York quickly built a big lead once again that proved to be insurmountable and when the ball dropped on the Western side of the net on match point – giving the Lions the 25-17 win – the women shrieked and jumped for joy as the crowd roared.
Rookie Kristina Vlcek (Toronto, Ont.) was named the Mikasa Player of the Game for the Lions after a stunning display on court all night. She recorded a game-high 20 points and added 10 digs in one of her best performances of the season.
Fellow rookie Thinesa Sriskandarajah (Scarborough, Ont.) had 18 points and 12 digs while veteran Candice Paulsen (Scarborough, Ont.) recorded 12 points and setter Nadia Reider (Buenos Aires, Argentina) had 34 assists. The Mikasa Player of the Game for the Mustangs was Sarah Johnston (Stratford, Ont.), who had eight points and came up with several big plays when her team needed them.
The gold medal game promises to be exiting as it features the two best teams in the OUA this season. The Lions won the OUA East Division with a sparkling 18-1 record, while the Marauders emerged victorious in the OUA West Division after posting a 15-4 regular season record. The Lions' only blemish was a 3-1 loss to the Marauders in the final game of the season and they will no doubt be looking for a measure of revenge on Saturday evening.
McMaster had a more difficult time in its semi-final win, needing all five sets before advancing to the gold medal tilt. The team looked sharp early but required several big plays in order to pull off the 25-23 first-set win. The Marauders were not as fortunate in the second as Toronto turned the tables and escaped with a 25-21 victory of their own.
The third set was all McMaster as it won 25-15, and the fourth began in similar fashion as it looked like the Marauders would win easy. However, the Varsity Blues refused to go down without a fight and they fought off a pair of match points, eventually winning a thriller by a 28-26 score.
However, much like the Lions had done in their final set, the Marauders refused to let the loss deflate them and they quickly built a lead in the fifth and deciding set that they would hold on to, winning 15-8 to keep their hopes of an OUA championship alive.
McMaster's Jennifer Holt (Hamilton, Ont.) was named Mikasa Player of the Game as she did everything for the Marauders, recording 22 assists, 18 digs and seven points. Heidi Bench (St. Catharines, Ont.) led McMaster with 18 points and 12 digs. The Mikasa Player of the Game for the Varsity Blues was Heather Bansley (Waterdown, Ont.), who had game highs of 20 kills and 28 digs.
There is more at stake on Saturday night than just an OUA title as the winning team will also earn a trip to the CIS Women's Volleyball Championship, which is being hosted by the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton next weekend.
Source: Lions Athletics
Photo Credit: Michael P. Hall
The OUA Final Four Women's Volleyball Championship is presented by Mikasa, belairdirect., and Pizza Pizza.
York and McMaster will battle for provincial supremacy on Saturday at 8 p.m. at York University's Tait McKenzie Centre while Western and Toronto will compete for bronze at 6 p.m.
The Lions looked much more comfortable on this night than they did one week ago, when they needed two and a half hours to pull off a nail-biting 3-2 win over the Queen's Gaels in their OUA quarter-final game. Using the energy created by the boisterous home crowd, York cruised through the first two sets as the Mustangs looked flustered at the beginning. The Lions jumped out to early leads in both sets and hung on down the stretch to win 25-17 and 25-21.
The third set was a different story, however, as Western found a new gear and kicked it up a notch, and the Lions were not able to respond to the pressure. York stayed close throughout the set but Western ultimately won 25-23.
The Lions did not allow the setback to get to them and they came out strong to begin the fourth while the Mustangs made several mistakes on the opening points. York quickly built a big lead once again that proved to be insurmountable and when the ball dropped on the Western side of the net on match point – giving the Lions the 25-17 win – the women shrieked and jumped for joy as the crowd roared.
Rookie Kristina Vlcek (Toronto, Ont.) was named the Mikasa Player of the Game for the Lions after a stunning display on court all night. She recorded a game-high 20 points and added 10 digs in one of her best performances of the season.
Fellow rookie Thinesa Sriskandarajah (Scarborough, Ont.) had 18 points and 12 digs while veteran Candice Paulsen (Scarborough, Ont.) recorded 12 points and setter Nadia Reider (Buenos Aires, Argentina) had 34 assists. The Mikasa Player of the Game for the Mustangs was Sarah Johnston (Stratford, Ont.), who had eight points and came up with several big plays when her team needed them.
The gold medal game promises to be exiting as it features the two best teams in the OUA this season. The Lions won the OUA East Division with a sparkling 18-1 record, while the Marauders emerged victorious in the OUA West Division after posting a 15-4 regular season record. The Lions' only blemish was a 3-1 loss to the Marauders in the final game of the season and they will no doubt be looking for a measure of revenge on Saturday evening.
McMaster had a more difficult time in its semi-final win, needing all five sets before advancing to the gold medal tilt. The team looked sharp early but required several big plays in order to pull off the 25-23 first-set win. The Marauders were not as fortunate in the second as Toronto turned the tables and escaped with a 25-21 victory of their own.
The third set was all McMaster as it won 25-15, and the fourth began in similar fashion as it looked like the Marauders would win easy. However, the Varsity Blues refused to go down without a fight and they fought off a pair of match points, eventually winning a thriller by a 28-26 score.
However, much like the Lions had done in their final set, the Marauders refused to let the loss deflate them and they quickly built a lead in the fifth and deciding set that they would hold on to, winning 15-8 to keep their hopes of an OUA championship alive.
McMaster's Jennifer Holt (Hamilton, Ont.) was named Mikasa Player of the Game as she did everything for the Marauders, recording 22 assists, 18 digs and seven points. Heidi Bench (St. Catharines, Ont.) led McMaster with 18 points and 12 digs. The Mikasa Player of the Game for the Varsity Blues was Heather Bansley (Waterdown, Ont.), who had game highs of 20 kills and 28 digs.
There is more at stake on Saturday night than just an OUA title as the winning team will also earn a trip to the CIS Women's Volleyball Championship, which is being hosted by the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton next weekend.
Source: Lions Athletics
Photo Credit: Michael P. Hall
