OUA Women's Volleyball Roundup (Jan. 29)

January 29, 2018

January 26, 2018

Ryerson 3 Brock 0

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - In their 13th consecutive win of the season, the Ryerson Rams took home yet another 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-15) match victory - this time, against the Brock Badgers.

With a total of only six errors through three sets tonight, the Rams were near perfect in their play. The Badgers didn’t make it easy for Ryerson, though. Brock came very close in both the first and second sets, losing by three and two points respectively.

Theanna Vernon (Scarborough, Ont.) headed Ryerson’s attack on the match, tallying a total of 13 kills in total. Vernon finished the game with an impressive .600 kill percentage, one of her best on the season so far. Janelle Albert (Brampton, Ont.) lead the team with 13 digs on the matchup, totalling another 8 kills for the Rams as well.

Third-year setter Kate McIlmoyle (London, Ont.) saw her first start for the Rams since November 24th, tallying 24 assists through two sets. Freshman Alicia Lam (Oakville, Ont.) also saw some time on the floor today, tallying ten assists on the match.

Another impressive win for the Rams leaves them with a perfect 13-0 record on the year. The victory was a milestone win for head coach Dustin Reid, who picked up his 100th OUA regular season win with the Rams women's volleyball program. With only six games remaining in the regular season, the team will be put to the test to finish off the year their undefeated streak still intact.

Source: ryersonrams.ca

Waterloo 2 Guelph 3

GUELPH – It wasn't so much a New Year's resolution as it was a new mantra. The Guelph Gryphons women's volleyball team have made it a priority to play cleaner volleyball – and it's paying off. Guelph defeated the Waterloo Warriors 3-2 (27-25, 21-25, 21-25, 25-17 and 15-8) Friday night at the GGAC, for its third win in 2018.

Guelph (4-9) has turned it around after starting the season with just one victory in its first nine matches before the Christmas break. But aside from the obvious better results, head coach Paul Funk is seeing a change in attitude. He saw his players dig deep against Waterloo.

"After losing the third set, our team from the first half of the year may have folded in the fourth," Funk said. "But it shows how we've grown as a team that we fought back and forced a fifth. And we didn't let it slip away. It's a sign that we're maturing as a group."

Michaela Hellinga led the Gryphons with 18 kills and 20 points, while rookie Hazel Atkins and senior Libby Donevan had 12 and 11 kills respectively. Second-year setter Alex Curran had five aces, four of them in the critical fourth set, while libero Tara Tanasijevic came up with 21 digs. Duncan and Gormley rise for a block against Waterloo

The Gryphons trailed 2-1 heading into the fourth set but they made a statement getting back into the match on their home court. A 9-0 run gave Guelph an 11-2 lead, thanks in part to three service aces from Curran. The Gryphons would rack up 14 kills, 6 by Hellinga, to take the set 25-17.

After an Atkins kill put the hosts up 8-6 in the deciding set, Guelph didn't let up. Atkins finished the match with a service ace for a 15-8 win in the fifth.

There were several standout performances from the young Gryphons. Donevan played an important role up front and had a game-high seven blocks, while Curran was great as the floor general, scrambling on defence and saving several balls. And Funk noted how well Kayla McMullen received Waterloo's serves.

Guelph showed plenty of grit in the first set, bouncing back from an early 9-0 Waterloo run and an eventual 18-9 deficit. The Gryphons found their game and Hellinga put one away to cut the Warriors' lead to 22-20. The powerful second-year left side player teamed with Jessica Gormley for a big block on a Waterloo kill attempt to complete a dramatic 27-25 comeback.

"It was another big offensive game from Michaela," said Funk.

Funk felt Guelph was fortunate to win that first set but he was disappointed that his team lost the second. The Warriors regrouped and built a 19-16 lead in the set with strong play up front. Waterloo finished with 4-0 run to even up the match 1-1. And Guelph had a difficult time stopping the Waterloo momentum in the third. The Warriors took control through their service game, producing three aces in a 5-0 run that put them ahead 15-8 before they secured the set 25-21.

Source: gryphons.ca

Lakehead 0 McMaster 3

Setting the tone early with bruising work from the service line, the Marauders raced to their fifth win of the month at the expense of the Lakehead Thunderwolves Friday.

Sweeping Lakehead aside 25-15, 25-7, 25-23, McMaster continued the spotless run which has seen the U SPORTS no. 6-ranked team win all 15 sets played in 2018, and a total of 16 straight dating back to December 2017.

Middle Maicee Sorensen (Hamilton, ON) proved too much for the Thunderwolves to handle Friday, particularly from the service line, where she smashed a previous career single-match high with eight aces.

Her previous high, achieved three times in the 2016-17 season, was five.

In all, Sorensen scored 20 points including 11 kills on 16 attempts with no errors (.688) and a solo block. That total was the second-highest mark of her career, behind only her 25.5 points achieved in October's season-opener against Ryerson.

Her effort saw the Hamilton product improve her season-long hitting percentage to an OUA-best rate of .488, while moving into fourth in total aces (23) and fifth in aces per set (0.57).

Struggling in the face of consistently-challenging service from McMaster, Lakehead conceded 14 aces Friday, and spent much of the match searching for a quality first pass.

Consequently, the visitors' offence rarely materialized in their hefty defeat, with the Thunderwolves hitting just .034 as a group with 23 kills versus 20 errors on 87 attempts.

The gulf between the teams was most glaring in the second set, when the Marauders collected nine kills as a group versus just two errors on 16 attempts (.438), while the Thunderwolves committed eight errors versus just five kills on 22 attempts (-.136).

Showing signs of life in the match's late stages, Lakehead stabilized in the third set and mounted a challenge in hopes of extending the evening.

A pair of five-point runs kept the Thunderwolves in contention, the second of which levelled the set at 20-apiece after a pair of kills from outside Leah Mousseau.

Ultimately, it was Sorensen who provided the cutting edge, killing to bring up match points before Hailey Kranics (Fort Erie, ON) duly converted on the first attempt by slicing the quick set to the sideline.

Source: marauders.ca

January 27, 2018

Queen’s 3 Toronto 1

TORONTO (January 27, 2018) – The Queen's Gaels (9-3) take the game 3-1 on the road against the Toronto Varsity Blues (8-4) and now move into sole possession of second place in the OUA East. The scores of each set were 25-17, 15-25, 25-16 and 25-19.

GAME FLOW
To start the game, the Gaels took an early lead on the Toronto Varsity Blues, pushing their offensive kills and managing a capable defence. The Tricolour held the lead far from the Varsity Blues and made it impossible for Toronto to surpass their score. Queen's finished out the set 25-17.

In the second set, the Tricolour had a rough start and found themselves trailing the Varsity Blues early. Great efforts from Shannon Neville (Cambridge, Ont.) and Julia Wiercigroch (Mississauga, Ont.) maintained the strong Queen's offence, but they were unable to find holes in the strong opposing defence. The Gaels attempted to catch the Toronto lead but ultimately lost the set with a score of 25-15.

The third set started out with a close score until the Gaels built up a lead continuing to play a forceful offensive game. The Tricolour took the third set with a score of 25-16 with only one error.

In the fourth set, the Gaels and the Varsity Blues were evenly matched until the set was tied at 8-8. The Tricolour capitalized on a kill streak of eight points, taking a gaping lead on Toronto. The Gaels and the Varsity Blues played point for point for the rest of the set and Queen's won the set and the match with a score of 25-19.

The Gaels were led by fantastic offensive play by Shannon Neville, Julia Wiercigroch and Isabelle Korchinski (Anmore, B.C.), each with double-digit kills on the afternoon. Wiercigroch also racked up three serving aces and twenty digs. Natalie Crews (North Vancouver, B.C.) led the Tricolour in blocking against the Varsity Blues with seven defensive blocks. The Gaels made only 18 errors collectively this game.

Source: gogaelsgo.com

York 1 Windsor 3

Source: golancers.ca

Nipissing 0 Western 3

LONDON. Ont. – The Western Mustangs extended their winning streak to a season-high four games after shutting down the Nipissing Lakers in only three sets (25-22, 25-10, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

"We're really starting to get into our groove and figure things out. We know what we need to do on our side to win games now. That's great to see towards the end of the season," said starting setter Kat Tsiofas.

The win brings Western's record to 10-3, maintaining their spot in second in the OUA West behind McMaster. Nipissing sits at an even 6-6 for the season, and now sit fifth in the OUA East.

Kelsey Veltman led the team in points, registering 15 over three sets. Second year Carly Kimmett was only half a point back, and was the offensive leader with 13 kills.

What began as a back and forth battle in the early going would soon turn into a set dominated by Veltman. The middle took control of the first set after the two teams were locked in at 9-9 and anchored an offensive effort that saw the Mustangs go on a 7-2 run to head into the technical up 16-11.

Aja Gyimah served through the point streak, recording an ace in addition to forcing the Lakers to send over free balls.

Nipissing clawed their way back from the deep deficit through a combined effort that showcased the versatility of Cassandra Dobson in addition to the strength of the entire lineup at the baseline.

Kylie Fast, Annabelle Harvey, Madison Murphy, and Dobson all bested the Mustangs from the line, while Dobson was also identifiable as one of the mots well-rounded athletes on the floor, contributing in all facets of the game.

The left side is also listed on the Nipissing roster as a libero, and more than proved her ability to shine in either position as the most effective attacker and defender on the Lakers' side of the court. However, her performance wasn't enough to stall the Mustangs en route to the win, as they would take the first set 25-22.

Western rushed through the second set and allowed no time for the Lakers to attempt any semblance of a comeback, closing out the frame with a score of 25-10.

"We realized that eve though we won that first set, we still made a lot of errors on our side and there are things we could be doing better. We really focused on our side and cleaning up our plays, and it really worked in that set."

The purple and white defensive game shone throughout the set, allowing only four kills from the entirety of the Nipissing roster.

Four more points came off serving errors from Western, while the remaining two were attack errors.

The Lakers that rejoined the court for the third set played like a completely different team, and began to really challenge the Mustangs for the first time all match.

Harvey's performance at the net proved to be a game changer, as she managed to beat several Mustangs with her block. Her efforts were matched by Veltman and Danielle Grasman, who earned five blocks between the two of them.

Despite strong blocking being a theme that ran through all three sets, it wasn't until the final game that either team was able to directly generate points thanks to tight defensive coverage.

Blocking and comprehensive defensive coverage would become the bread of butter of the purple and white game for the majority of the final frame, leading the team to a 25-19 victory.

"We've been working hard on our defence, and we've been practicing blocking a lot – footwork and handwork with out coaches and we really improved that during today's game," noted Kelsey Veltman about the match.

Western will be back on the court tomorrow afternoon, when they welcome the York Lions to Alumni Hall at 1 p.m.

Source: westernmustangs.ca

Lakehead 0 McMaster 3

Early success allowed the Marauders to tinker Saturday, as McMaster ran through several lineup options and saw balanced contributions on both the offensive and defensive ends on route to a sweep of the Lakehead Thunderwolves.

Marking the end of a spotless month of January, McMaster won their sixth straight contest of the New Year and extended their streak to 19 sets unbeaten with a 25-10, 25-17, 25-20 victory.

Fourth-year outside Jill Eisenhauer (Toronto, ON)led the Marauders with 9.5 points, including six kills on 14 attempts versus two errors (.286), an ace and two and a half blocks.

While their own offence was far from its best Saturday, the Marauders effectively stifled the Thunderwolves throughout the contest, holding the visitors to a negative hitting average of -.092 with just 19 kills versus 27 errors on 87 attempts.

McMaster opened the night with a 9-0 run, and kept the pressure on Lakehead to enter the technical timeout with an 11-point lead after an error from Thunderwolves outside Leah Mousseau.

There was little resistance on offer from there, and the Marauders closed the set with another run, winning eight of the final 10 points to run away with it, as Jennifer Hammerton's service error brought a merciful end at 25-10.

A pivotal service run from Eisenhauer saw McMaster wrap seven consecutive points around the technical timeout in the second set, building a 17-6 lead by the time the damage was done.

Despite late signs of life, which hinted at a more coherent effort to come in the third, Lakehead simply had too far to climb in the second. The visitors staved off four consecutive set points to draw within seven of the Marauders, before Jessie Nairn connected on a high ball on the right side to end the second.

Taking their first lead of the match in the early stages of the third set, the Thunderwolves won three of the first four points before the Marauders re-asserted control and reeled off an incredible 15-2 run to build an 11-point lead at the technical timeout.

It all seemed comfortable for the home side, but Lakehead began to dictate with their block, and found fruitful rotations with Meghan Routier and Mousseau at the service line, roaring back to within three points at 23-20.

A timeout from McMaster righted the ship in short order, however, as the Marauders quickly claimed the next two points, and the match

Source: marauders.ca

January 28, 2018

Lakehead 0 Guelph 3

GUELPH – The good times continue for the Guelph Gryphons women's volleyball team. The surging Gryphons defended their home court Sunday afternoon at the GGAC, defeating the Lakehead Thunderwolves in straight sets (25-28, 26-24, 25-17) for the team's fourth win in five matches since the new year began.

Head coach Paul Funk told his players to be careful of a "trap game" Sunday, less than 48 hours after an energy-sapping five-set win over Waterloo Friday night. But the Gryphons were sharp, staying true to their "make them play" focus by committing just 13 errors on the day.

"To have to wait a day, come back and play on Sunday afternoon, which has never been a strength, there was a danger of letting up," said Funk. "We played well enough to win." Libby Donevan attempts a kill

Middle blocker Libby Donevan had 9 kills and 3 blocks for Guelph (5-9), while left side Michaela Hellinga had 8 kills along with 4 service aces. Second-year setter Alex Curran had an impressive day with 28 assists, 13 digs and 4 solo blocks. One of those blocks was timely, giving Guelph an 8-5 lead in the decisive third set.

Guelph didn't necessarily start well but the team has been learning how to finish. The focus on minimizing mistakes was evident in the third set when the Gryphons produced 14 kills and zero errors. Up 11-10 in third, Guelph got a kill from Hazel Atkins that spurred a 6-1 run. Jessica Chung would eventually end the match with a big kill.

The Gryphons found themselves down 8-2 early in the first set. But the hosts cleaned up their game and manufactured a huge 14-3 run coming out of a timeout to seize control. Guelph was in a battle in the second but got a key block from Donevan to make it 25-24 before Lakehead made an attack error on a Jessica Gormley serve to end the set.

Guelph was just 1-8 after nine matches this season but has turned the year around since the calendar rolled over to 2018. The Gryphons' run started with a 3-1 win against Lakehead back on Jan. 12 and their only loss in the last five was a competitive match with the OUA West leaders McMaster. The team's turnaround has them contending for a playoff spot.

"At the halfway point of the year, we needed about 23 things to break our way in order to have a shot," Funk said of Guelph's playoff chances. "Probably 12 of them so far have gone our way and a couple haven't. We were dead and gone in the first semester but we're back in the hunt now.

Funk is happy for his players, who have given everything all season.

"This group is putting in the work that's necessary in order to get better and it's nice to see that it's paying off," he said. "Even when we were struggling, the girls were working hard. They just weren't getting rewarded for it. I've seen improvements from certain players with certain skills.

"They are gaining a little bit of confidence. That comes with winning."

Source: gryphons.ca

RMC 0 Toronto 3

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team defeated the RMC Paladins 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-9) on Sunday, January 28 at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

With the win, the Blues advance to 9-4 and move into a tie for second place in the OUA East division, while the Paladins drop to 2-11 on the season.

Third-year right side hitter Alina Dormann led all players with 11 points off of 10 kills and one ace, while also adding five digs.

Third-year middle Anna Licht notched a season-high 10.5 points from seven kills and 3.5 blocks, and added five digs in the win.

First-year setter Rayn Perry led all players 23 assists in the win, while second-year libero Sophia Currier led the Blues with 11 digs.

RMC's Logan Rook led her team with 6.5 points in the loss.

Source: varsityblues.ca

Nipissing 0 Windsor 3

As they seek their first playoff berth as a member of the OUA, the Nipissing Lakers women's volleyball team had a tough weekend on the road.

Just one win out of the playoffs as of Monday morning, the Lakers dropped a pair of matches - Saturday to Western in London and Sunday to Windsor in Windsor.

They have six matches remaining, including one left with York, the team they're battling with for the final playoff position.

On Saturday, the Lakers lost 3-0 to Western in London.

Annabelle Harvey led the way with 10 points for the Lakers, while Cassie Dobson had seven and Shayla Kessler scored 6.5.

On Sunday, looking to bounce back, the Lakers faced the Lancers.

Things didn't go Nipissing's way, as they lost once again in three sets.

Cassie Dobson led the Lakers attack with nine points, Shannon Lebreux, coming off the bench, and Shayla Kessler each added eight in Sunday's match vs. Windsor.

Source: nulakers.ca

York 0 Western 3

LONDON, Ont. – A 19.5-point performance from Kelsey Veltman helped the Western Mustangs take down the York Lions in straight sets (25-11, 25-16, 25-12) on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

"A lot went well, I think it started with serving," said Mustangs head coach Melissa Bartlett. "We served exceptionally well this weekend with minimal errors and hit our targets, and that as a big part of our success."

The Mustangs currently sit in second in the OUA West, with a 10-3 record, and move to four points back of McMaster for first in the division.

Veltman's 19.5 points led all players and came off 14 kills, two service aces, and seven assisted blocks. Melissa Langegger also hit double digits on Sunday with 10 points coming from six kills, three aces, and two assisted blocks.

"Everyone's passing was perfect which me up to have a perfect situation," said Veltman. "Just going in I was thinking to hit it as hard as I could, I just went up and tried to see where the blockers were, and I just swung."

Despite their dominant performance in the first set, claiming it by a score of 25-11, it was the York Lions who jumped out to an early lead, capitalizing on the Mustangs struggle with their serve control and several unforced errors. However, York never managed to gain more than a three-point lead on the Mustangs, who regained control of the game mid-way through the set.

"As coaches right now were trying to ask them to play a little more aggressively, and it's coming out as some nervous errors at the start of sets," said Bartlett. "I think we were ahead at five and ahead at 10 in every set, so as long as that trend continues I'm ok with some early errors."

After tying the set at nine points a piece, the Mustangs went on an impressive points run that saw them earn 13 unanswered points, going up 22-9 at one point on the Lions. York struggled to make solid contact with the ball in the back half of the set, resulting in 10 errors that bolstered the Mustangs dominant attack.

"We were able to split up their blockers really well, they never really knew who was going to get set," said Kelsey Veltman. "We had a lot of one on ones and we just told everyone to hit it as hard as they could, and it turned out really well"

In the second set it was the Mustangs turn to jump out to an early lead, leading 11-5 after exchanging points to start the set. However, York managed to claw their way back in, tying things up at 12-12.

A strategic time out taken by Bartlett saw the Mustangs come out flying, dominating the court and going on a seven-point run that saw them take a 19-12 lead. In the end, this would decide the set, as York managed only four more points, with the purple and white claiming the set by a nine-point differential at 25-16.

"We just talked about maintaining quality, because we got a little sloppy and we weren't communicating well," said Bartlett. "It just shows the maturity of the team that we were then able to go out and the next seven points; it was a good reaction for our team."

The third set saw another decisive victory, giving the Mustangs the match in straight sets. After tying things up at two points a piece, falling behind off of two errors, the Mustangs quickly took the lead and never looked back. The attack was a well-oiled machine, optimizing on every opportunity.

The Mustangs played a complete, well-rounded game, from attack to defence. Western made solid first contact and showed diversity and depth in their attack.

The purple and white blocking was phenomenal, with 11 blocks through the three sets, in comparison to York's two. This is an impressive feat, even when considering that the Mustangs blocking is strong to begin with.

Western's defence did an excellent job limiting York's opportunities, and shut-down their star player Celest Witzell, holding her to only four kills on 14 attempts.

"She's one of the best middles in the OUA and we really minimized her scoring opportunities and but the pressure on their outsides, and I knew that our blocking could contend with their outsides," said Bartlett. "I think that's definitely our strength as a team, I think were leading the OUA in blocking and close to top three in Canada."

First year Chloe Biel also had a strong showing for the Mustangs, with three aces in what was an excellent serving game.

"She went in a served sixteen in set one, and seven or eight in set two, and served exceptionally well yesterday," said Bartlett. "Those types of contributions off the bench are really key."

Source: westernmustangs.ca

Trent 0 Brock 3

The Brock University women's volleyball team defeated the Trent Excalibur by the score of 3-0 Sunday afternoon at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.

Today's game was the final event of the Badgers for Breast Cancer Weekend which was put on by the Brock women's hockey, basketball and volleyball teams. Together Brock Sports raise $3300 to be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Niagara Division.

Each year the Brock Badgers student-athletes get involved with many community initiatives where they give back and make a difference. Both the men's and women's teams from Brock and Trent were decked out in pink promoting breast cancer awareness.

Leading the Badgers offense was Renee Helmer who finished with 10 kills and five digs. Laura Condotta collected eight kills and eight digs well Tori Carroll chipped in with six kills in the victory.

For the match Brock collected 43 kills with 11 errors on 100 attempts for a .330 hitting percentage. Trent was held to just 18 kills with 15 errors on 82 attempts for a .037 hitting percentage.

Source: gobadgers.ca

Queen’s 1 Ryerson 3

The Queen’s Gaels presented one of the toughest matches the Ryerson Rams have seen this season so far, but the Rams pulled through to come out on top of the matchup with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22) victory.

A phenomenal game on both sides lead to long rallies and close leads through all four sets. The Rams had a weak start, though, as Queen’s took a 25-20 victory in the first set. Ryerson had 12 errors in the first two sets of the matchup - an uncharacteristically high number for the undefeated team.

“Queen’s is a really intelligent team,” noted head coach Dustin Reid after the game. “They take a lot of risks and try to score when they’re in good situations, then they try to keep it in place when they’re not.”

The Rams would bounce back from a one-set deficit to claim three straight set wins and a match victory. Queen’s kept the score close throughout the game, keeping Ryerson on their toes during all four sets.

Senior libero Julie Longman (Newmarket, Ont.) tallied a team-best of 20 digs on the matchup.

“Our game plan was to control our side and win the serve and pass battle,” said Longman. “We wanted to constantly be in system so we could put them in a tough position. [...] Our blocking was able to handle their side and their attack more in the latter half of the game once we started on a rhythm.”

With the victory today, Ryerson improves to a noteworthy 14-0 record on the season. The Rams only have five games remaining in the regular season, and Reid noted that a tough challenger this late in the season will only have a positive effect on the team looking ahead.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been in a really competitive game against a team that played super well against us,” said Reid. “It was great that we got challenged today. We need it and it showed a lot of things we need to get better at.”

Source: ryersonrams.ca