The York University Lions women's volleyball team ended the fall portion of their schedule with a five-set comeback victory over the Nipissing Lakers at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 29).
 
The Lions consistently held a lead for the majority of the first set, out-tallying the Lakers in kills (12-11) and attacks (53-48) but critical points from Nipissing's Christina Caruso and Tracy Hammerton allowed Nipissing to take the set 25-22. 
 
It was an intense second set that featured both teams rallying back and forth for points. Callie Giaccone (Ottawa) and Sarah Williams (Oakville, Ont.) did well to get above the net to hold the wall, and both nailed in the most Lions kills of the set from the left and central areas.
 
Sabah Kalim (Toronto) also had an outstanding performance in the second set, diving everywhere on the court in order to keep the Lions point for point with the Lakers. However, after Erika Lapierre was able to deliver off a spike for her team in the final stages of the set, Nipissing ended up taking it 28-26.
 
In the third set the Lions were able to regain their footing and narrowed the score to 2-1 with a tight 25-23 win. Cadence Currie (Scarborough, Ont.) played a critical role in the team's success, scoring points while Keeva MacLeod (Ottawa) and Celeste Witzell (Kitchener, Ont.) spiked bullets over the net for the set to edge out the victory.
 
After three evenly matched sets, the Lions were able to take the fourth set with a more convincing 25-18 win. Tara Leithead (Etobicoke, Ont.) was too much for the Lakers to handle, scoring three consecutive points off of two spikes and a block to help the Lions attain a 10-point lead midway through the action and finally tie up the score 2-2.
 
The game was heated as both teams headed into the fifth set, but the Lions were able to keep their composure and force two errors in the Lakers' end to take the set 15-11 and secure the victory, improving their record to 4-5 on the year.
 
Williams had a tremendous game with 15 points and 26 digs, while Witzell added 13.5 points. Currie was also strong with 11.5 points and a team-high 30 digs in the match, and setter Kirsten Dillon (Surrey, B.C.) supported the team with 37 assists.
 
The Lions have a month's break before they return to the court on Saturday, Jan. 16 to take on the Ryerson Rams at the Tait McKenzie Centre. First serve will be at 2pm.