LIONS VOLLEYBALL TEAMS FEND OFF EXCALIBUR TO EARN WEEKEND SWEEP

The York University Lions volleyball teams faced the Trent Excalibur in the second matches of their season-opening series in Peterborough on Saturday evening. Both Lions squads are coming off 3-0 straight-set victories on Friday night’s season openers.

Women’s Match: 

The Lions got on the board fast with a bad set from Trent’s Isabella Pellerine and a Quincy Johnson kill on the following Trent serve for an early 2-0 lead. York would take a 6-4 lead before Trent went on a 10-point run to lead the set at 14-6. York would rally back with kills from Kianna Drewinak, Julia Typa, Amarai Endes and another bad Trent set, this one by Sydney MacLellan, as the set became tied at 20-20. However, the home side would ultimately take the first set, 25-21, to take a 1-0 lead.

The Lions put forth strong effort in the second which was paced by Typa, who provided two aces on top of six kills. Endes added five kills and a service ace of her own, while Victoria Herrington, Alexis Miller and Ella Rohani added kills to round out the set. York would recover to win the second set 24-15 to even the match at 1-1.

The Lions marched out to an 8-1 lead to open the third set, as Typa and Endes continued to sting the Excalibur offensively. Typa would record three aces and four kills as the Lions took the set with relative ease, 25-14 to go up 2-1.

The fourth set was a tightly-contested battle, with York looking to avoid a fifth and deciding set. Each team exchanged points throughout the set, as both teams were tied at 25-25, sending the set to extras. York would ultimately get the two-point separation needed for victory, off a Lexy Schmidt-Roycof error and another Typa kill, as The Lions won the set at 27-25, and won the match 3-1.

Men’s Match:

Trent would jump out to an 8-2 lead in the first set, but York followed that up with a five-point run to get back within one, bolstered by two kills from Dennis Cota in that span. It would be a back-and-forth set from there, with York having a set point opportunity with the score 24-23. After an extended rally, Dan Lafleur would record the set-clinching kill, giving the Lions the set at 25-23 and giving them the lead, 1-0.

The second set was much like the first, with both teams exchanging points early. Leading 18-15, the Lions began to pull away. Nathan Luken had five kills in the set, including two with the Lions within five points of taking a stranglehold on the match. Alex Doring closed the middle set with an ace, handing the Lions the second set by a score of 25-18 to put them up 2-0.

York opened the third set with a 3-0 run, but Trent would keep pace with York from there. In the hard-fought set, the Lions were buoyed by kills from Doring, Cota, Luken, Chris Hoffman and Shaun Schonert. On set point, with the Lions leading 24-23, Trent’s Yazan El Hajj’s attack was blocked by Cota and Luken after another long rally, giving the Lions the set at 25-23 and a straight-set match victory.

LOOKING AHEAD: 

Both Lions will host the Waterloo Warriors for two matches next weekend, beginning on Friday. The women’s match is set for 6:00 pm, and the men’s match is set for 8:00 pm.