February 27, 2009
LIONS LOSE OPENING GAME AT CIS WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
FREDERICTON, N.B. - The No. 4-seeded Calgary Dinos got out to a quick start and never looked back Thursday evening at UNB's Aitken Centre defeating the No. 5 York Lions in straight sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-21) in the third quarterfinal of the 2009 CIS women's volleyball championship.
The Canada West bronze medalist Dinos, making their ninth straight appearance at the national tournament, advance to the semi-final round for the eighth consecutive year. Calgary has claimed CIS bronze each of the past four seasons since capturing the third national title in team history in 2004.
The Dinos will play in the second semi-final Friday at 8 p.m. Atlantic Time when they will take on the winners of the quarterfinal match between No. 1 Montreal and No. 8 UNB.
Championship website: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009
York, the OUA champion making a first CIS tourney appearance since 1997, moves to the consolation side and will face the losers of the Montreal-UNB duel Friday at 3 p.m. Atlantic.
Calgary's win could lead to a repeat of last year's national semi-final between the Dinos and Montreal, something Dinos player of the match Lauren Perry is not opposed to.
"We like playing them, they're a good time. We go hard against them."
The Dinos held York to .099 hitting while striking back with 37 kills of their own.
What started out as a back and forth first set with the two teams trading points eventually devolved into Calgary taking control of the sloppy frame, earning a 25-18 victory. Both rivals had seven errors and attack percentages under .100 during the first stanza.
The second game started with Calgary surfing on its momentum from the previous set and building a 4-0 lead. The Dinos quickly increased their advantage to 14-8, but York battled back to close the gap to within one. In the final moments of the game national team member Laura Wilson racked up four quick aces en route to Calgary taking the frame 25-21.
"The big key for Wilson in that run was that she moved the ball around," said first-year U of C head coach Jesse Knight. "She hit four different spots with those serves, and offensively, they were yelling line when she would hit cross-court. That balance from her was just tremendous."
Perry thought the key to the match was the Dinos superior hitting abilities.
"We were going hard on our hitting. When our passing is shaky we just try and play hard and I think we did that really well."
After the third set started out with some back and forth play, York began to take the lead as the teams traded points with Calgary trying to close the gap. Midway through the set the Dinos showed off their impressive hitting skills and began to pull away but York refused to give in and came within two points before falling 25-21.
Holly Harper led the Dino attack with 11 kills while Perry chipped in with nine kills and 13 digs. Wilson, a second-year left side, was also impressive contributing five aces.
York was led by first-year middle Kristine Vlcek who had 11 kills and a .409 hitting percentage. Thinesa Sriskandarajah, a member of the CIS all-rookie team, led the way on defence side with 13 digs.
STATS LEADERS
Calgary
Kills: Holly Harper (11), Lauren Perry (9), Laura Wilson (7)
Blocks: Laura Spence (5), Holly Harper (5)
Digs: Lauren Perry (13), Raynell Lavertu (13)
Assists: Sarah Lacny (35)
Player of the match: Lauren Perry
York
Kills: Kristine Vlcek (11), Thinesa Sriskandarajah (6), Angela Frawley (6)
Blocks: Kristine Vlcek (5), Sarah Sutton (4)
Digs: Thinesa Sriskandarajah (13), Antonia Stathakos (10)
Assists: Nadia Reider (24)
Player of the match: Kristine Vlcek
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL: Atlantic Time)
Video webcast of all 11 games available through: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009
Thursday, February 26
Quarter-final #1: UBC 3, Moncton 1 (16-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-13)
Quarter-final #2: Laval, 3, Trinity Western 1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22)
Quarter-final #3: Calgary 3, York 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-21)
Quarter-final #4: Montreal 3, UNB 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-16)
Friday, February 27
13:00 Consolation #1: No. 7 Moncton vs. No. 3 Trinity Western
15:00 Consolation #2: No. 5 York vs. No. 8 UNB
18:00 Semi-final #1: No. 2 UBC vs. No. 6 Laval
20:00 Semi-final #2: No. 4 Calgary vs. No. 1 Montreal
Saturday, February 28
14:00 5th place
16:00 Bronze medal (Rogers TV local)
19:00 Championship final (Rogers TV local)
Source: UNB Varsity Reds Athletics
The Canada West bronze medalist Dinos, making their ninth straight appearance at the national tournament, advance to the semi-final round for the eighth consecutive year. Calgary has claimed CIS bronze each of the past four seasons since capturing the third national title in team history in 2004.
The Dinos will play in the second semi-final Friday at 8 p.m. Atlantic Time when they will take on the winners of the quarterfinal match between No. 1 Montreal and No. 8 UNB.
Championship website: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009
York, the OUA champion making a first CIS tourney appearance since 1997, moves to the consolation side and will face the losers of the Montreal-UNB duel Friday at 3 p.m. Atlantic.
Calgary's win could lead to a repeat of last year's national semi-final between the Dinos and Montreal, something Dinos player of the match Lauren Perry is not opposed to.
"We like playing them, they're a good time. We go hard against them."
The Dinos held York to .099 hitting while striking back with 37 kills of their own.
What started out as a back and forth first set with the two teams trading points eventually devolved into Calgary taking control of the sloppy frame, earning a 25-18 victory. Both rivals had seven errors and attack percentages under .100 during the first stanza.
The second game started with Calgary surfing on its momentum from the previous set and building a 4-0 lead. The Dinos quickly increased their advantage to 14-8, but York battled back to close the gap to within one. In the final moments of the game national team member Laura Wilson racked up four quick aces en route to Calgary taking the frame 25-21.
"The big key for Wilson in that run was that she moved the ball around," said first-year U of C head coach Jesse Knight. "She hit four different spots with those serves, and offensively, they were yelling line when she would hit cross-court. That balance from her was just tremendous."
Perry thought the key to the match was the Dinos superior hitting abilities.
"We were going hard on our hitting. When our passing is shaky we just try and play hard and I think we did that really well."
After the third set started out with some back and forth play, York began to take the lead as the teams traded points with Calgary trying to close the gap. Midway through the set the Dinos showed off their impressive hitting skills and began to pull away but York refused to give in and came within two points before falling 25-21.
Holly Harper led the Dino attack with 11 kills while Perry chipped in with nine kills and 13 digs. Wilson, a second-year left side, was also impressive contributing five aces.
York was led by first-year middle Kristine Vlcek who had 11 kills and a .409 hitting percentage. Thinesa Sriskandarajah, a member of the CIS all-rookie team, led the way on defence side with 13 digs.
STATS LEADERS
Calgary
Kills: Holly Harper (11), Lauren Perry (9), Laura Wilson (7)
Blocks: Laura Spence (5), Holly Harper (5)
Digs: Lauren Perry (13), Raynell Lavertu (13)
Assists: Sarah Lacny (35)
Player of the match: Lauren Perry
York
Kills: Kristine Vlcek (11), Thinesa Sriskandarajah (6), Angela Frawley (6)
Blocks: Kristine Vlcek (5), Sarah Sutton (4)
Digs: Thinesa Sriskandarajah (13), Antonia Stathakos (10)
Assists: Nadia Reider (24)
Player of the match: Kristine Vlcek
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL: Atlantic Time)
Video webcast of all 11 games available through: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009
Thursday, February 26
Quarter-final #1: UBC 3, Moncton 1 (16-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-13)
Quarter-final #2: Laval, 3, Trinity Western 1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22)
Quarter-final #3: Calgary 3, York 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-21)
Quarter-final #4: Montreal 3, UNB 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-16)
Friday, February 27
13:00 Consolation #1: No. 7 Moncton vs. No. 3 Trinity Western
15:00 Consolation #2: No. 5 York vs. No. 8 UNB
18:00 Semi-final #1: No. 2 UBC vs. No. 6 Laval
20:00 Semi-final #2: No. 4 Calgary vs. No. 1 Montreal
Saturday, February 28
14:00 5th place
16:00 Bronze medal (Rogers TV local)
19:00 Championship final (Rogers TV local)
Source: UNB Varsity Reds Athletics
