February 11, 2008
TORONTO WINS 10TH IN A ROW WHILE LAURIER SWEEPS WATERLOO IN THREE STRAIGHT SETS
Toronto 3, Ottawa 1
Varsity Blues women's volleyball capped off their regular season with a 3-1 victory Sunday afternoon, Feb. 10, over the Ottawa Gee-Gees (17-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-10). This victory was the Blue and White's 10th consecutive win, maintaining their first seed entering the OUA playoffs.
The visiting Gee-Gees picked up the opening points of the first game, benefiting from a few Toronto errors and some tips over the Blues' block. The set would continue with each team exchanging points until fifth-year physics student Anastasia Danilova (Toronto, ON) would land three pace-changing kills for the home team.
The Blues held a slight lead early in the first (8-6). However the battle for dominance in this game would continue with the Gee-Gees Kirsten Brouse accurately sneaking a hit through the block before four-year veteran Ellen Zalecki (Mississauga, ON) would answer shortly there after with a kill of her own.
The Ottawa defence holding strong, Blues graduating veteran Mila Miguel (Victoria, BC) would be turned down twice at the net and the Blues would call timeout to regroup down 14-19.
A determined Gee-Gees squad would take the first set after a couple Toronto errors and some big blocks against the Blues. Ottawa fifth-year veteran Christine Lamey (Ottawa, ON) would end it 25-17 for the visitors with a powerful kill through the Blues block.
The second set opened with Toronto's Danilova gunning a few crushing kills for the Blues, putting the host team ahead early. Another big hit from Ottawa's Lamey had the Gee-Gees back at par early on in the second (4-4).
The next five Blues points would all be from Toronto-native Kristina Valjas, who dominated control of the net. Along with an ace serve from Mila Miguel, the Blues were back in front 12-7.
The next several points would follow huge rallies, with Ottawa fighting to recover some lost ground. However, Toronto's Heather Bansley (Waterdown, ON) ended the drama with a big kill and the Blues lead 16-13 at the technical timeout. The remainder of the set would be a series of scrappy point-for-point rallies; however with Valjas supporting the Blues front line, Toronto is able to pull off a 25-23 win.
In the third, the Blues got off to an early 3-1 lead. Again the Gee-Gees would not allow the home team gain too much ground as the scrappy rallies continued with the Blues maintaining a two-point lead to the second technical time out (17-15).
Valjas continued to be a force in the front court with some big points, pushing the Blues lead to four (19-15). Toronto would not look back from there and take the third set 25-21.
Bansley's serve got things started for the Blues in the fourth set and the Blues would again lead at the first technical timeout (8-5). Between serves from Valjas and hits from Bansley, the Blues ran up a ten-point lead into the next technical time out (16-6).
Ottawa would return to the floor looking for an answer to the barrage of Blues kills from heavy hitters Danilova, Bansley, and Bowmanville-native Caley Venn. After several short rallies, Venn would seal the deal and the match with a service ace 25-10, extending the Blues regular season winning streak to 10 games.
Danilova was a force on the floor with a game-high 19 kills. Bansley added 15 kills, while Valjas' 12 kills were crucial through the third and fourth games.
For the Gee-Gees, the OUA's leading-hitter Christina Lamey led the team with 13 kills, while teammates Karine Gagnon and Ariane Thibault contributed nine and eight kills respectively.
Laurier 3, Waterloo 0
In front of 200 fans at the Athletics Complex, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks defeated their crosstown rivals, the Waterloo Warriors, in three straight sets. The game had playoff implications as Waterloo will now face Laurier in the first round of the post-season.
Before the game began, Laurier Head Coach Luke Snider honored four graduating players on the team. Middle Erika Mohle (Moorefield, ON), libero Melissa St. Amant (Penetanguishene, ON), left side Kaitlin Sauder (St. Jacobs, ON) and left side Danielle Walker (Oakville, ON) were all congratulated by the head coach for their dedication and hard work while within the Golden Hawk program.
After the presentation the game took centre stage as Laurier got out to a 6-1 lead in the first set and continued to control the play as they earned both technical timeouts. After the second timeout, Waterloo stormed back came within two, but the Golden Hawks gutted out the win the take the first set 25-23.
The second set saw Laurier continued to dominate as Kaitlin Sauder continued to make accurate strikes. Kristi Town's (Orillia, ON) strong passes enabled Laurier to roll to a 25-15 win.
For the third set the Golden Hawks continued to control play around the net with Erika Mohle's blocking. The Warriors however, continued to earn points and received the first technical timeout for their hard work. Laurier stormed back in the close set to earn the second technical timeout. The match continued to be back and forth and was ended by a excellent serve by Victoria Cowley(Etobicoke, ON), 28-26.
The Golden Hawks have now concluded their regular season with a record of 12-7, which is good for third in the OUA West. Their first round playoff opponent will be the Waterloo Warriors at Waterloo.
Varsity Blues women's volleyball capped off their regular season with a 3-1 victory Sunday afternoon, Feb. 10, over the Ottawa Gee-Gees (17-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-10). This victory was the Blue and White's 10th consecutive win, maintaining their first seed entering the OUA playoffs.
The visiting Gee-Gees picked up the opening points of the first game, benefiting from a few Toronto errors and some tips over the Blues' block. The set would continue with each team exchanging points until fifth-year physics student Anastasia Danilova (Toronto, ON) would land three pace-changing kills for the home team.
The Blues held a slight lead early in the first (8-6). However the battle for dominance in this game would continue with the Gee-Gees Kirsten Brouse accurately sneaking a hit through the block before four-year veteran Ellen Zalecki (Mississauga, ON) would answer shortly there after with a kill of her own.
The Ottawa defence holding strong, Blues graduating veteran Mila Miguel (Victoria, BC) would be turned down twice at the net and the Blues would call timeout to regroup down 14-19.
A determined Gee-Gees squad would take the first set after a couple Toronto errors and some big blocks against the Blues. Ottawa fifth-year veteran Christine Lamey (Ottawa, ON) would end it 25-17 for the visitors with a powerful kill through the Blues block.
The second set opened with Toronto's Danilova gunning a few crushing kills for the Blues, putting the host team ahead early. Another big hit from Ottawa's Lamey had the Gee-Gees back at par early on in the second (4-4).
The next five Blues points would all be from Toronto-native Kristina Valjas, who dominated control of the net. Along with an ace serve from Mila Miguel, the Blues were back in front 12-7.
The next several points would follow huge rallies, with Ottawa fighting to recover some lost ground. However, Toronto's Heather Bansley (Waterdown, ON) ended the drama with a big kill and the Blues lead 16-13 at the technical timeout. The remainder of the set would be a series of scrappy point-for-point rallies; however with Valjas supporting the Blues front line, Toronto is able to pull off a 25-23 win.
In the third, the Blues got off to an early 3-1 lead. Again the Gee-Gees would not allow the home team gain too much ground as the scrappy rallies continued with the Blues maintaining a two-point lead to the second technical time out (17-15).
Valjas continued to be a force in the front court with some big points, pushing the Blues lead to four (19-15). Toronto would not look back from there and take the third set 25-21.
Bansley's serve got things started for the Blues in the fourth set and the Blues would again lead at the first technical timeout (8-5). Between serves from Valjas and hits from Bansley, the Blues ran up a ten-point lead into the next technical time out (16-6).
Ottawa would return to the floor looking for an answer to the barrage of Blues kills from heavy hitters Danilova, Bansley, and Bowmanville-native Caley Venn. After several short rallies, Venn would seal the deal and the match with a service ace 25-10, extending the Blues regular season winning streak to 10 games.
Danilova was a force on the floor with a game-high 19 kills. Bansley added 15 kills, while Valjas' 12 kills were crucial through the third and fourth games.
For the Gee-Gees, the OUA's leading-hitter Christina Lamey led the team with 13 kills, while teammates Karine Gagnon and Ariane Thibault contributed nine and eight kills respectively.
Laurier 3, Waterloo 0
In front of 200 fans at the Athletics Complex, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks defeated their crosstown rivals, the Waterloo Warriors, in three straight sets. The game had playoff implications as Waterloo will now face Laurier in the first round of the post-season.
Before the game began, Laurier Head Coach Luke Snider honored four graduating players on the team. Middle Erika Mohle (Moorefield, ON), libero Melissa St. Amant (Penetanguishene, ON), left side Kaitlin Sauder (St. Jacobs, ON) and left side Danielle Walker (Oakville, ON) were all congratulated by the head coach for their dedication and hard work while within the Golden Hawk program.
After the presentation the game took centre stage as Laurier got out to a 6-1 lead in the first set and continued to control the play as they earned both technical timeouts. After the second timeout, Waterloo stormed back came within two, but the Golden Hawks gutted out the win the take the first set 25-23.
The second set saw Laurier continued to dominate as Kaitlin Sauder continued to make accurate strikes. Kristi Town's (Orillia, ON) strong passes enabled Laurier to roll to a 25-15 win.
For the third set the Golden Hawks continued to control play around the net with Erika Mohle's blocking. The Warriors however, continued to earn points and received the first technical timeout for their hard work. Laurier stormed back in the close set to earn the second technical timeout. The match continued to be back and forth and was ended by a excellent serve by Victoria Cowley(Etobicoke, ON), 28-26.
The Golden Hawks have now concluded their regular season with a record of 12-7, which is good for third in the OUA West. Their first round playoff opponent will be the Waterloo Warriors at Waterloo.
