W-VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Ottawa extends winning streak to 7 with wins over Nipissing and York
Friday, November 21
Lakehead 0 @ Queen's 3 (25-16, 25-14, 25-22)
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 21, 2014) – The Gaels women's volleyball team (5-3) defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves (1-8) in a three set sweep, 25-16, 25-14, 25-22 on Friday night at the ARC in Kingston.
In the first set the Gaels opened the scoring with a run of points, quickly pulling away from the Thunderwolves. Niki Slikboer (Seagrave, Ont.), Shannon Neville (Cambridge, Ont.) and Brett Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) led the attack for the Gaels, Slikboer with four kills while Neville and Brett Hagarty both had three kills. Brett finished off the first set with an unstoppable kill, making it 25-16 for the Gaels.
Queen's came out strong in the second set as they once again opened the scoring gap against Lakehead. The Gaels played with strong defence shutting down the Thunderwolves at every opportunity with team blocks from Katie Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) and Danielle Blumentrath (Burlington, Ont.). Queen's dominated the final points of the second set with a kill from Slikboer to complete a nine point streak and end the set at 25-14.
In the final frame, the Thunderwolves came out with confidence as they took their first lead of the match. In response the Gaels were scrambling to tie it up at 10-10 but regained control to push past Lakehead. When it looked as though Queen's had it in the bag, the Thunderwolves came back from a five-point deficit to tie the set up at 20-20. Two back-to-back attacking errors from Lakehead finished the match with Queen's winning 25-22.
Slikboer and Brett Hagarty were the top scorers for the Gaels on the evening. Slikboer finished the night off with eight kills and one serving ace while Brett finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs. Lakeheads Jasmine Fox led their attack with a game-high of 13 kills and 11 digs.
Catch the Gaels back in action tomorrow night at 6pm against the Brock Badgers in the ARC main gym.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Brock 2 @ RMC 3 (19-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-14, 15-17)
KINGSTON, Ont. - The Brock University women's volleyball team (5-5 OUA) were upset by the last place Royal Military College Paladins (1-7 OUA) by the score of 3-2 (19-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-14, 15-17) Friday night on the road.
The Badgers rallied back from two sets down, winning games three and four, to tie the match 2-2. In Game five, RMC's offense would add 11 of their match high 62 kills, on route to their first win of the regular season.
Leading the Badgers was rookie Tori Carroll who recorded 15 kills with a .565 hitting percentage. She also collected four digs and three block solos. Renee Helmer contibuted with 11 kills and 12 digs for the double-double. Katie Murray rounded out the Brock leaders adding nine kills and 14 digs. Setter Lauren Stirling finished with 32 assists, 15 digs, four kills and three blocks, while libero Karlinna O'Leary collected 28 digs in the loss.
The Paladins were led by Nicole Behnke who registered a game-high 25 kills to go along with 15 digs for the double-double. Danielle Vortisch (21 kills 21 digs) and Delanie Chang (15 kills, 15 digs) rounded out the RMC offense. RMC setter Cassidy Chang chipped in with 54 assists and 17 digs for the double-double.
For the match, the Badgers hit .218 adding 57 kills and 23 errors on 156 total attempts. The Paladins recorded 62 kills with 29 errors on 190 attempts for a .174 team hitting percentage.
Brock closes out their Kingston road trip Saturday night at 6pm when they take on the Queen's Gaels at the ARC.
Source: Brock Badgers
Saturday, November 22
Nipissing 0 @ Ottawa 3 (25-11, 25-21, and 26-24)
The uOttawa women's volleyball team achieved the result they were looking for on Saturday afternoon, hosting a rematch with the Nipissing Lakers at Montpetit Hall. The Gee-Gees won their sixth straight match and regained the two points lost to the Lakers on the first weekend of the season on the strength of 25-11, 25-21, and 26-24 set scores.
Myriam English was dominant, scoring 22 points including 17 kills to lead the Ottawa offensive effort. Kaly Soro added 11 kills and 12 points for the Gee-Gees, also from the left side, while Nipissing was led by middle blocker Brittany Ardron who picked up four kills and four blocks.
The Ottawa offence was at its most impressive in the opening set, using different looks and timing to pile up a 44 per cent efficiency score. The Gee-Gees pulled ahead 20-8 on eight straight serves by Alix Durivage, and closed out the set by scoring the final five points in a row.
"We are trying to do so many more things – having more sets and making it more complicated for our opponents. We always have four hitters going," explains setter Kira Tome. Tome amassed 34 assists in the match and ranks second in the CIS with an average of 9.9 assists per set.
The Gee-Gees continued to roll in the second set, building a 10-3 lead before slowing down considerably and suffering from a service letdown. Ottawa accumulated six service errors in the second set alone, and 13 total on the day compared to one on the part of the Lakers.
"I thought we were in full control and at good pace in set one, but it's hard to stay at that pace for an entire match," said Gee-Gees head coach Lionel Woods. "Our service was aggressive but it was a nightmare in set two," he continued. "I don't want to get that back by just popping them over and making it easy – we have to get that back with an aggressive mindset and I thought we did at the end today."
Nipissing held its largest lead of the day at 5-2 in the third set and held set point at 24-23 before Ottawa pushed back with a kill from Soro and a solo block from Myriam English to retake control.
"Once our passing is on, or even just forward, we have so many more options open up so we focus on getting the next pass if we are on a rut and know that we can build on that," said Tome of the team's focus in the final points.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees
Lakehead 3 @ RMC 1 (28-26, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21)
The women's volleyball team got their second win of the season Saturday, 3-1 over the RMC Paladins (28-26, 25-19, 23-25, 25-21).
Lakehead fought hard into extra points in the first set, eventually gutting out a 28-26 win to take the early lead, which they then extended to 2-0 after an easier 2nd set victory.
After the Paladins rebounded in the 3rd set to force another, Lakehead closed the door for good.
Jen Casey led Lakehead with 19 kills, 3 service aces for 22 points and 16 digs.
Jessica Korchak was a beast at the net, making 7 blocks to go with 8 kills (on 15 attempts) and a service ace for a total 16 points, a personal best for the young rookie.
Nicole Behnke led the Paladins with 21 points (17 kills).
Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves
Brock 0 @ Queen's 3 (25-9, 25-17 and 25-11)
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 22, 2014) - The Queen's Gaels (6-3) won their third straight game of in a row defeating the Brock Badgers (5-6) in straight sets 3-0 with set scores 25-9, 25-17 and 25-11.
Niki Slikboer (Seagrave, Ont.) had a big game for the Gaels finishing with seven kills, seven total blocks and an ace for 14 points to lead all players. Shannon Neville (Cambridge, Ont.) added 10 points while Katie Hagarty (Aurora, Ont.) had seven kills and four service aces in the win. Brock saw a strong performance from Karlinna O'Leary who dug up 16 balls and added a pair of assists.
Queen's was simply dominant in the opening set. They opened up a quick lead that extended to 13-2 and 20-5 at one point. The Gaels managed to hold Brock to less than double-digits in the set to take it 25-9.
The second frame was a bit more competitive from the Badgers ans they stayed with the Gaels for the first half of the set. After the game was tied at 9-9 the Gaels broke out with nine of the next 11 points and held a steady lead. Queen's sat comfortably from there on and errors ended up costing Brock and giving the Gaels the set 25-17.
In the final frame Queen's stayed in control with Slikboer getting four of the Gaels first 12 points as they broke out with a 12-4 advantage. Slikboer again finished off the match with a kill and a block to give Queen's the victory.
The Gaels are back in action next weekend when they travel to Toronto on Saturday to take on York.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Sunday, November 23
McMaster 0 @ Toronto 3 (25-9, 25-21, 25-19)
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team kept their streak alive with a 3-0 (25-9, 25-21, 25-19) victory over the McMaster Marauders on Sunday afternoon in front of a packed house at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
The Blues improve to 8-0 and remain atop the OUA East division standings, while the Marauders drop to 5-3 in the West.
Over 500 players from the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) took in the game at the brand new Ron Kimel Family Field House in Goldring Centre.
Third-year left site hitter Caleigh Cruickshank led all players with 12 kills and eight digs. Fifth-year veteran Charlotte Sider added eight kills, four aces and a team-high 11 digs, while Jennifer Neilson also had eight kills and seven digs. Sarah Chapin notched six kills and five digs on the day.
Madelyn Mandryk tallied 29 assists and eight digs, with libero Denise Wooding adding 10 digs in the victory.
The Blues dominated the first set from start to finish. An incredible kill from Cruickshank gave Toronto a 16-5 advantage at the technical time out. Cruickshank and Neilson each ended the set with four kills as the Blues took it 25-9.
McMaster got out to a 3-1 lead early in the second set, but Toronto went on a 10-2 run to take an 11-5 lead. The Marauders brought the set back in reach and the Blues were up 16-12 at the timeout. The two teams traded points and a final kill from Sider gave Toronto a 2-0 match lead with a 25-21 second set win.
The third set was a back and forth battle, highlighted by a couple of kills from Chapin and some strong serving from McMaster's Lauren Carter. A kill from Sider gave Toronto a narrow 16-15 lead at the break. The Blues extended their lead with some great offence from Cruickshank and Chapin secured the win with a final kill, 25-19.
McMaster was led by Joanna Jedrzejewska, who notched 10 kills and nine digs. Khira Adams recorded a game-high 23 digs in the loss.
The Varsity Blues cap off the first half of the season next Sunday, November 30 as they travel to Ottawa to take on the Gee-Gees. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
York 0 @ Ottawa 3
The uOttawa Gee-Gees women's volleyball team extended its winning streak to seven straight games with a 3-0 sweep of the York Lions at Montpetit Hall on Sunday afternoon. Ottawa displayed a solid overall game and went on a dominant run in the second set to earn the victory.
Three Gee-Gees were in double-digit scoring on the day, led by Myriam English at 19.5 points. Kaly Soro added 14.5 and middle Alix Durivage scored 10.5 on the day, including four blocks. York was led by first-year outside hitter Veneta Mincheva, who logged seven kills as part of 8.5 points.
It was Soro who stepped to the serving line in the second set with the score at 12-8 in Ottawa's favour. She landed a service ace on her first serve, then served ten more times as Ottawa built a 22-8 advantage on kills by English and Durivage. Soro also added another ace and contributed with an acrobatic dig to keep a rally alive.
"Plays like that get everyone hyped up and prove to the other team that we're fighting," said Soro. "I saw that ball and knew I had it – I had to get it."
"That was our most complete match all season," said Ottawa head coach Lionel Woods with conviction. "Kaly is an emotional leader for us and people feed off those digs and aces. Everybody was making plays today – very few balls hit the floor cleanly on our side."
York pulled ahead to start the third set and had the best attacking percentage of the match with .231 in the final frame, but Ottawa kept firing back at a .444 efficiency and regained control just before the technical timeout.
"All the work that we've put in since our loss against York has paid off and what we've been working on is now getting results," added Soro.
With the win, Ottawa improves its regular season record to 7-2 while York falls to 4-4. Ottawa will host the two teams directly ahead in the OUA East standings next weekend, with Ryerson (7-1) visiting Montpetit Hall on Saturday afternoon and the Toronto Varsity Blues (8-0) on Sunday. Both games will be at 2 p.m.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees
Waterloo 2 @ Ryerson 3 (25-13, 21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-5)
TORONTO – The No. 10 ranked Ryerson Rams women's volleyball team needed five sets to knock off the Waterloo Warriors on Sunday afternoon but emerged with a 3-2 (25-13, 21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-5) win at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Four different Rams finished in double figures in kills, including a game-high 17 from Veronica Livingston (Kelowna, B.C.). Theanna Vernon (Scarborough, Ont.) added 12, Chelsea Briscoe (Georgetown, Ont.) had 11 and Sim Gill (Mississauga, Ont.) finished with ten kills.
Ryerson was strong out of the gate in the first and held a 16-10 advantage at the technical timeout. A 5-0 run down the stretch extended Ryerson's lead to 22-11 and the Rams closed the set for the 25-13 victory.
In the second it was a 5-0 run from the Warriors that helped them earn an 11-8 advantage and Waterloo never relinquished the lead, tying the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 set win.
Ryerson took a commanding 20-9 lead in the third set and looked on their way to take a 2-1 lead in the match but Waterloo chipped away at the deficit and made things interesting when they cut the lead down to four at 22-18. That was as close as they would come, however, and the Rams took the set 25-21.
The teams switched roles in the fourth as Waterloo took a 21-12 lead but Ryerson rallied to get back within four at 21-17. The Warriors were able to settle and finish the set with the 25-21 win to send the match into a fifth and deciding set.
Strong serving from Alex Whyte (Whitby, Ont.) helped the Rams open up a 6-1 lead in the fifth and Ryerson never looked back, posting seven kills in the frame to Waterloo's three and the home side cruised to a 15-5 win to claim the match.
Waterloo's Natasha Spaling posted a team-high 12 kills and Sammie Gwozdz added ten kills in the losing effort.
Ryerson improves to 8-1 on the season and sit tied for first place in the OUA east standings but have a game-in-hand over Toronto. The Warriors drop to 1-8 on the season.
The Rams wrap up the fall portion of their season next weekend when they travel to Ottawa to face the third place Gee-Gees on Saturday, November 29 at 2:00 p.m.
Source: Ryerson Rams
