The York University Lions women's volleyball team took on Trent Excalibur in their final regular-season match of the fall term Sunday afternoon. Heading into this afternoon's match, the Lions were on a two-game winning streak and they extended it to three following their 3-2 win.
The Lions started the first set incredibly strong, racing ahead to an early lead while the Excalibur struggled to keep up. At the technical timeout, they were leading 16-10 and they maintained the intensity of their playing and had a huge win in the first set, finishing 25-16 over the Excalibur.
In the second, the Excalibur were able to regain their composure and stormed ahead to an early lead. The Lions had managed to close the gap a bit by the technical time out and only trailed 16-13. Efforts to make up for lost points in the second half of the set weren't enough to catch up and the Excalibur claimed this set 25-19 and tied the match 1-1.
The score remained close at the start of the third set. At the technical time out, the Lions had a decent lead of 16-10 over the Excalibur. The Lions maintained this lead and won the set 25-21 to put them back in the lead at 2-1.
The fourth set saw the Excalibur make a lot of big plays, and they often came out victorious in long rallies. At the technical time out, they were leading 16-11. To the dismay of the Lions, the Excalibur were able to hold onto this lead and won the set. The match score was tied 2-2, and they had to enter a fifth set.
The Lions got out to an early lead in the final set. Unfortunately, the Excalibur were able to capitalize on some Lions' errors and tied things up 11-11. In a rapid race to 15 points, the Lions managed to just pull ahead and win the match 3-2.
Leading the points for the Lions was
Celeste Witzell with 13.5 points on 10 kills, two service aces and three assisted blocks. Not far behind was teammate
Kayla Clennon, who earned 13 points for the Lions on 12 kills and two service aces in Sunday's match. Leading the team in digs was
Sabah Kalim with 14.
Mimi Demski earned six service aces in Sunday's match and had 38 assists.
On the Excalibur side, Camile Garzon led in points with 17.5, consisting of 14 kills, three services aces and one assisted block. Carley Gougeon led the Excalibur in digs with 18.
The Lions improve to a 5-2 season record and moved up to fourth place in the OUA East standings with the win. They are now off for the holiday break and are back in action on home court on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 12pm when they host the Queen's Gaels, a team they defeated in straight sets in their meeting earlier this season.
