The women’s volleyball team improved to 5–12 on the season in a straight sets victory versus Lakehead. The Warriors swept the two-match weekend series, winning a close five-set match Friday night to snap out of a 10-game losing streak, and then winning Saturday night in a tight straight sets victory (25–21, 25–23, 26–24).
The first set was tightly contested, where the Warriors and Lakehead went back and forth. The set was characterized by long rallies, until excellent defensive play by the Warriors and unforced errors from Lakehead, stemming from over aggressiveness, allowed the Warriors to take the set.
The second set started off one-sided, with the Warriors jumping out to a 6–1 lead, until Lakehead picked up their pace of play. Late in the set the ladies managed to hold off Lakehead and take a somewhat commanding 21–16 lead, when Lakehead began a run of their own tying the set up at 21–21. Similarly to the first set, Lakehead’s over-aggressiveness led to errors that cost them critical points late in the set as the Warriors managed to take the frame 25–23.
Similar to the Warriors’ start in the second set, Lakehead stormed through the gates to start the set, taking an early 6–1 lead. Lakehead continued exceptional play through the set, but the Warriors out-did their effort and managed to come back from the early deficit. The team capitalized on the errors committed by Lakehead, due to their aggressive style of play, to take the set by a score of 26–24.
Gillian Henderson once again was a standout for the Warriors. She led the Warriors to victory recording a team-leading eight kills, while adding 11 digs to her 11 digs.
Head coach Luke Snider recognized that Lakehead’s over-aggressiveness at times cost them critical points that the Warrirors were able to capitalize on.
“I thought in the second set Lakehead attacked quite a few balls out of bounce, made quite a few attacking errors, which we were happy to receive those points.” In addition, Snider acknowledged that, “In order for Lakehead to be successful they need to be that aggressive, unfortunately for them it just wasn’t clicking.”
With two games left in the season and two points separating them from the fourth place Brock team, holding down the last playoff spot, Snider further expressed how crucial the last two games of the season really are. “We need to prepare to win every single game to give ourselves a chance. We can’t focus on what other teams are doing or not doing because that’s out of our control.”
The girls look to stay in playoff contention as they take on Western and Windsor this weekend at home, in the PAC gym. Playing at home should prove to be an advantage for the Warriors heading into a crucial, do-or-die weekend that marks the end of the regular season.
