November 13, 2017

OUA Women's Volleyball Roundup (Nov. 13)

November 10, 2017

Waterloo 3 RMC 1

The women's volleyball team went 1-1 in competition with RMC and Queen's in their annual road trip out East to Kingston. Waterloo remains at .500 on the season with a 3-3 record, good for second spot in the OUA west.

On Friday night, rookie outside hitter Jenna Gravina (Burlington/) was unstoppable racking up 19 points on 15 kills, three aces and one block as her Warriors cruised past the RMC Paladins 3-1 (25-16, 25-14, 23-25, 25-19). Gravina's 15 kills came on just 22 attempts while accumulating just four errors for a kill percentage of .500. She was also solid defensively with 13 digs.

Claire Mackenzie (Vancouver/) was also strong in the match with 11 kills while three other Warriors put away five. At the net Serena Otshudi (Stoney Creek/) finished with three solo blocks while Kayla Wierts (Drayton/) had one solo and two assisted.

Sarina Trasolini (Vancouver/) was strong on the defensive side with a game high 23 digs. Setting up the Warriors was rookie Katrine Eistrat (Toronto/) finishing with 21 assists.

Source: athletics.uwaterloo.ca

Guelph 2 Queen’s 3

KINGSTON, Ont. (November 10, 2017) – The Queen's Gaels (3-1) defeated Guelph 3-2 in a five set thriller on home court Friday night. The scores were 25-11, 20-25, 22-25, 25-22, and 15-7.

GAME FLOW
Opening play, the Guelph Gryphons took the first two points of the game. Quick to respond, the Gaels put up the next eight points to climb 8-2 and never looked back. Led by fifth-year Shannon Neville (Cambridge, Ont.) who had three aces during the first frame, the Gaels took the first set 25-11 over the Gryphons.

Despite a strong start, the second set saw Guelph take a 9-point run, all off the serve of Gryphons right side hitter Jessica Chung. Climbing from a 9-1 deficit, Neville stepped up with another ace. The Gryphons did not back down and continued to push the score to 17-8. Fighting their way back into the game, the Gaels were able to get within four, but Guelph took the second set 25-20.

With both sides exchanging points throughout play, the third set was a close affair that saw multiple tied scores. Late in the frame, the Gaels went on a run and scored six of seven points for a 20-19 led by attack from Julia Wiercigroch (Mississauga, Ont.) and Olivia Van Baaren (Ottawa).

Tied again at 21-21 in what could be described as a see-saw set, the next score would come from the Tricolour. Not letting up, the Gryphons would take the next two points to climb 23-22 followed by an Guelph ace. From there, the Gryphons kept rolling and took the third set 25-22.

Up two sets to one, the Gryphons would serve to open the fourth set. It would be Neville who would put the Gaels on the scoreboard first. Another close frame would see the sixth tie of the fourth set at 12-12. Edging away a point at a time, the Gryphons looked to push the margin, but the Gaels responded with a point to tie each time.

The Gaels would take their biggest lead of the set, 18-14, with a huge block from Neville. Riding the momentum, Queen's would hit the turn for the first time in four sets at 20-18. A third service error from the Gryphons would see the Gaels take the fourth set with a 25-22 score to push the game to a fifth set level 2-2.

Coming out strong, Queen's would put up the first four points of the fifth and final set. Entering the technical timeout, the Gaels led 8-1 thanks to a strong defensive effort.

With seven match points, the five set thriller would fall in the favour of the Gaels 15-7.

With the win, Queen's move to 3-1 on the season.

Source: gogaelsgo.com

Ryerson 3 York 0

TORONTO - With a 3-0 sweep over the York Lions Friday evening, the Ryerson Rams have secured their place as the OUA’s top team and remain undefeated through their first four games of the regular season.

The Rams opened the game against York tonight with a 25-16 win in the first set, asserting their dominance early on against the Lions.

York battled hard in the second set, but the Rams held their own and took the set 25-19.

The final set saw a tough matchup on both sides, but Ryerson came out with a 25-15 set victory and a 3-0 sweep to claim the win.

The Rams continued their hot streak tonight, and haven’t lost a single set dating back to their season-opening game against the McMaster Marauders on October 27th.

Sophomore setter Mady Timpany (Woodstock, Ont.) played her third game of the season against the Lions, tallying a total of 32 assists on the night. Ryerson’s Theanna Vernon (Scarborough, Ont.) lead the team with 11 kills, and Janelle Albert (Brampton, Ont.), an outside hitter, had a total of 14 digs on the match. Albert, the first year hitter, had a great defensive game today and is starting to establish herself as one of the OUA’s top hitters. She currently sits 3rd in the OUA in both kills per set (3.46 K/S0 and kill percentage (0.385%).

Looking ahead, the Rams will play one more game this weekend, this time taking on the Trent Excalibur at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Sunday afternoon. The Excalibur are 0-4 on the season, one of their losses coming as a 3-0 sweep against the Rams just last weekend.

Source: ryersonrams.ca

November 11, 2017

McMaster 3 Windsor 2

Grabbing hold of momentum midway through the fourth set, McMaster carried it all the way to a come-from-behind, five-set victory in Windsor Saturday.

The Marauders overhauled a 2-1 deficit through three sets to hand the Lancers a 25-22, 16-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-9 defeat, and improve to 3-1 in OUA play.

With the result, McMaster kept hold of second spot in the OUA West division, with a match against the division-leading Western Mustangs looming Sunday in London.

The duo of middle Maicee Sorensen and opposite Rachel Woock posted identical totals of 14 kills to lead the Marauders offensively, with Sorensen adding three aces for a match high of 17 points. Woock had an ace and a solo block to her name Saturday, ending the marathon afternoon with 16 points.

Hailey Kranics shone on the block, with four solos and two assists to go along with eight kills, for a total of 13 points.

McMaster's veteran setter Caitlin Genovy led the match with 46 assists over five sets of work, while libero Carly Heath similarly posted a match high with 20 digs.

Source: marauders.ca

Waterloo 1 Queen’s 3

KINGSTON, Ont. (November 11, 2017) - The Queen's Gaels (4-1) picked up an impressive win on Saturday 3-1 over the visiting Waterloo Warriors (3-3). The victory marked their second of the weekend and fourth of the season.

GAME FLOW
The opening set looked like it could be a long night for the Gaels but they proved they were a resilient bunch after the Warriors got out to an early lead.

Trailing 16-12 at the technical timeout the Gaels were able to climb back into the set. An Olivia Van Baaren (Ottawa) kill, one of her 20 on the evening, got the Gaels to within two down 23-21. Down 25-24 and 26-25 the Gaels didn't break and evened the score each time. Shannon Neville (Cambridge, Ont.) put down a kill to put the Gaels ahead 28-27, and Van Baaren closed out the set with a kill of her own 29-27.

The second set saw Queen's continue their offensive firepower as they broke a 10-10 set open with 12 of the next 14 points.

Queen's held on from there to take the set 25-17.

The third set had Waterloo once again going back and forth, but the Gaels were unable to close things out, and the Warriors pushed the game to a fourth set.

In the fourth, the Gaels once again put together a big streak. With the set tied at 6-6 Queen's used a pair of Van Baaren kills and Natalie Crews (North Vancouver, B.C.) aces to jump ahead 18-7. The Gaels closed out the set and the match 25-11.

Source: gogaelsgo.com

Guelph 3 RMC 0

KINGSTON, Ont. - The Gryphons women's volleyball team picked up their first victory of the 2017-18 season on Saturday night in Kingston with a straight sets win over the RMC (Royal Military College of Canada) Paladins. Set scores were 25-19, 25-23 & 25-18. With the result, both teams now sit at 1-5 on the season.

Gryphons' fourth year middle blocker Jessica Gormley led the way for the Gryphons with 17 points (11 kills, 2 aces, 4 blocks). The Georgetown, Ontario native was efficient in attack, recording an impressive .458 hitting percentage thanks to 11 kills on 24 total attacks. Gryphons' second year left side Michaela Hellinga added 10 points to along with 7 digs while setter Alex Curranracked up 38 assists. Rookie libero Tara Tanasijevic (Toronto, ON) recorded a team-high 16 digs, while fifth year senior libero Kayla McMullen helped the Gryphons control the match with some excellent return of serve. "We played our most steady match of the year," said Gryphons head coach Paul Funk. "It was a good bounce back effort on our team's part."

The Gryphons will next be in action on Friday, November 17 when they travel to York University to face the Lions. That match will be the first of back-to-back road games next weekend, with the team also heading to North Bay for a matchup with the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday, November 18.

Source: gryphons.ca

Brock 3 Western 2

The Brock University women's volleyball team defeated the Western Mustangs by the score of 3-2 (28-26, 17-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-11) Saturday night at Alumni Hall.

Leading the Badgers offense was Laura Condotta who recorded 14 kills and 23 digs for the double double. Tori Carroll collected 11 kills while Grace Pyatt and Renee Helmer rounded out the leaders with nine and seven kills respectively. Brock setter Emily Armstrong finished with 36 assists and nine digs, while libero Julia Balatbatcollected 13 digs in the victory.

Western had three players in double digits led by Kelsey Veltman who added 13 kills, five digs and three block solos. Melissa Langegger contributed with 11 kills and nine digs while Aja Gyimah chipped in with 10 kills and 13 digs for the double-double. Courtney Sestric added 19 digs while setter Kat Tsiofas finished with 39 assists and nine digs.

The Badgers recorded 49 kills and 28 errors on 169 attempts for a .124 hitting percentage. The Mustangs added 55 kills with 19 errors on 168 attempts for a .214 hitting efficiency.

The Badgers next action is Sunday at 1 PM when they take on the Windsor Lancers on the road.

Source: gobadgers.ca

Toronto 3 Nipissing 1

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team defeated the Nipissing Lakers 3-1 (26-24, 15-25, 25-20, 25-22) on the road in North Bay, Ont., Saturday evening (Nov. 11).

Despite slow starts in the first two sets, the Blue and White were able to escape with a 1-1 match split before finding momentum to secure the four-set victory.

Power hitting right side Alina Dormann led al players on the night, breaking the 20-point mark for the first time this season. Dormann notched 17 kills, two service aces, one solo block and one assisted block, while also leading all players with 13 digs defensively.

First-year middle Jenna Woock also made her mark, recording 15.5 points on six kills, six aces, two solo blocks and three assisted blocks.

Blues setter Angelica Hovanessian finished the evening with 37 assists.

The Lakers were paced by Erika Lapierre, who registered 18 points from 15 kills, two aces and two assisted blocks.

The Varsity Blues will now return home to Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport where they will face another tough challenge in the rival Ryerson Rams on Friday, November 17. First serve is set for 6 p.m. with the match also streamed live on OUA.tv.

Source: varsityblues.ca

November 12, 2017

Brock 1 Windsor 3

The Lancer women's volleyball split their first weekend at home with a tough 3-2 loss to the McMaster Marauders on Saturday and a 3-1 win over the Brock Badgers on Sunday.

Windsor continues to be .500 on the year with a 3-3 record and are currently tied for second in the west division standings with the Waterloo Warriors.

The Lancers were able to dispatch the Badgers in four sets (25-18, 23-25, 25-23 and 25-19).

For the second straight game, Phills led the way for the Lancers on offense posting 16 kills and being credited with five digs on the day. Phills also came up big for the Lancers on the service line, serving up four aces while only committing one error. On the defensive end the Lancers were once again anchored by Carleigh Bailey who posted an impressive 26 digs against the Badgers.

Source: golancers.ca

Trent 0 Ryerson 3

With yet another dominant 3-0 victory, this time against the Trent Excalibur, the Ryerson Rams remain undefeated through five games in this year’s regular season.

Today’s victory saw Ryerson maintain their winning streak. The Rams have taken 15 straight sets across five games, dropping their only two set losses in their season opener against McMaster.

Cailin Wark (Georgetown, Ont.) had a stellar first set, tallying three back-to-back service aces and four in total on the match. The Rams took the first set by a dominant score of 25-7, and continued pushing through the remainder of the game

The Rams mixed up their lineup as the game progressed, with Lindsay Kleuskens (London, Ont.), Molly Peters (Surrey, B.C.), Jade Griffiths (Windsor, Ont.), Demetra Maragos (Vancouver, B.C.) and Alicia Lam (Oakville, Ont.) all contributing in the victory.

The Rams took the second and third sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-13 respectively, topping the Excalibur by a final score of 3-0.

Ryerson’s Lauren Veltman tallied 18 kills on the match, setting a personal-best previously set last year. In her second season with the Rams, Veltman has dominated the court through four matches this year.

“I feel we’re really sticking together as a team,” said Veltman after the game. “Everyone’s clicking so well and it just happens to be working.”

Ryerson’s head coach, Dustin Reid, said the team was almost perfect on the court today.

Today’s home victory marked the team’s last game at the Mattamy Athletic Centre for the semester. The Rams will be hitting the road for their last three matchups of 2017, taking on Toronto, Guelph and Waterloo.

Source: ryersonrams.ca

McMaster 3 Western 1

Putting every one of their pieces in play Sunday, the Marauders out-duelled their divisional rival Mustangs in London to come away with a vital road win.

McMaster built a two-set lead, and rebounded from the narrow loss of the third, to defeat Western 25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22 and solidify their grasp on top spot in the OUA West with a record of 4-1.

13 Marauders made an appearance in the victory, as coach Tim Louks juggled his lineup throughout the tense, four-set affair.

There was little separating the two rivals over the course of the afternoon, as the Marauders earned just one more point than their opponents in the victory. But errors were a difference maker, as Western was -8 from the service line (five aces versus 13 errors) to McMaster's -4 (11 aces to 15 errors), and committed 27 attacking errors to McMaster's 19.

Middle Maicee Sorensen was the Marauders leading scorer yet again, with 16 points including 10 kills, three aces and six block assists.

Enjoying 35 touches Sunday, Joanna Jedrzejewska produced 11 kills while thumping down two aces.

Far and away the most prodigious defender on the day, veteran libero Carly Heath racked up 21 digs over four sets of work.

Neither team was able to attack with ease, as McMaster hit just 19 per cent as a team while limiting their opponents to 11 per cent on the other side of the net.