The York University Lions women's volleyball team needed a victory over the Nipissing Lakers to stay in the playoff hunt in the OUA East Division and they got it done, winning in straight sets in their Friday night contest at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The victory moved the Lions into a tie with the Lakers in the OUA East standings with matching 8-9 records, but the Lions hold the tiebreaker thanks to their two head-to-head wins this season.
 
The first set was a nail-biter and it was actually the Lakers who maintained a three-point lead down the stretch. The Lions narrowed the gap but the Lakers got to set point first with a 24-23 point advantage. However, kills by Kayla Clennon and Rachel Adams changed the momentum and gave the Lions a set-point of their own, and they capitalized on the next point after an attack error by Nipissing to take the first set 26-24.
 
The next two sets weren't nearly as tight as the Lions dominated play throughout both, taking the second set 25-14 and the third 25-20 for the sweep.
 
Melissa Smillie led the Lions in scoring with 13 points on 11 kills and two service aces. Heather Setka finished with 11.5 points on eight kills, three service aces and one assisted block, and Sarah Williams was right behind her with 10.5 points on seven kills, three service aces and one assisted block.
 
Sabah Kalim led the way with 12 digs, and Mimi Demski put up 24 assists and four service aces.
 
Nipissing's leading scorer was Erika Lapierre with 12 points on 11 kills and one block.
 
The Lions have two games remaining this season, beginning with a contest against the Trent Excalibur on Sunday afternoon in Peterborough, Ont. They will wrap up the regular season next Sunday, Feb. 25, against the Toronto Varsity Blues at the Tait McKenzie Centre.