Lancers fight hard; fall to No. 4 Gaels

The Windsor Lancer women’s volleyball team hosted the Queen’s Gaels twice this weekend in what was the final fall action for the blue and gold for the 2023 portion of the 2023-24 season.
 
The shorthanded Lancers dropped a pair of contests to the competitive Gaels as on Friday night they lost 3-0 (13-25, 19-25, and 22-25) while on Saturday night they lost in a thrilling five set showdown that was pushed to the brink at the Toldo Lancer Centre 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 20-25, 25-23, 14-16). 
 
FRIDAY STATS
Aliah Admans had 8 kills leading the offensive flow for the Lancers in the first loss to Lancers.
 
Sam Loshusan had an impressive defensive game leading the Lancers with 7 digs despite the loss to the Gaels while Raiya Millin had 3 kills, 2 service aces, a block, and 5 digs in the defeat. 
 
Danika Scharff had 15 assists in her attempt to coordinate the Lancer offense which came up short against Queen’s in the Friday night sweeping loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED ON FRIDAY
The first set started off with both sides trading points early before the Gaels were able to break away with a controlled lead which caused the Lancers to have to call an early timeout before double digits reached the scoreboard.
 
The Lancers would find themselves troubled by the Gaels strong and consistent kills that landed on their side of the court to propel them to an eventual 25-13 first set win to go up 1-0 in the match.
 
The second set saw Windsor improve with more stablility offensively and defensively in remaining within a reasonable range with Queen’s despite the tricolours leading throughout over the blue and gold. 
 
The blue and gold gals would continue to challenge the Gaels more than set one, but Queen’s was able to close out down the stretch with a 25-19 second set victory to go up 2-0 in the match.
 
The third set would be where the Lancers best volleyball was on the night with a competitive beginning to the set turning into a close contest throughout trying to extend the match to an additional set.
 
However, the Gaels would remain undeterred from forfeiting a set to the Lancers on Friday night as they were able to hold on and complete the sweeping 3-0 match win with a 25-22 victory despite the Lancers last ditch efforts to hold on late in the third and final set of the game.
 
 
 
SATURDAY STATS
Admans and Millin each recorded 9 kills of their own in the five set follow up loss to Queen’s while Dylan Moyer had a great offensive performance with 7 kills and defensively putting up 5 blocks.
 
Loshusan also had another tremendous defensive game for the blue and gold earning 10 digs to keep the Lancers alive on several rallies and give them a chance to remain in the hunt throughout the contest despite the loss. 
 
Scharff started the match again on Saturday and put up 10 assists before being replaced midway through by Nicole Woelk who recorded 17 assists of her own in the second loss on the weekend to the Gaels.
 
Queen’s Hannah Duchesneau led the Gaels offensively on both Friday and Saturday but put up a more impressive 21-kill performance to lead the Gaels over the Lancers in the five-set finish.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY
The Lancers came out of the gate determined to hang around with the Gaels in an effort to plot a revenge victory in response to the previous night’s sweeping loss. 
 
The blue and gold were successful in countering the Queen’s attacks early in the first set and managed to keep a close distance on the scoreboard which included overtaking the Gaels with some Windsor leads which did eventually allow the Lancers to earn their first set win on the weekend with a hard fought 25-23 first set win to go up 1-0 in the second match in Windsor.
 
The second set saw similar action as the first in the early stages with both sides swapping points early before the midway point of the set where the Gaels came alive and began to take back control of the TLC breaking away from a once 12-12 tie to later become a 19-12 lead which created a widened gap on the scoreboard that produced woes for the Lancers defence to have to respond to. 
 
Queen’s would indeed maintain their lead and come away with a 25-19 set two win for the second time on the weekend to tie the match up at 1-1.
 
Windsor would drop the third set 25-20 to go down 2-1 in the match despite the Gaels and Lancers equally exchanging points throughout the early and midway portions of the set but the late stages would be favoured towards the visiting Gaels who were able to close out the third set on top and take the match lead advantage.
 
The fourth set saw the Lancers continue to fight working hard to try and find a way to keep their hopes alive of earning their first win of the season on home court.  The Gaels made it difficult for Windsor to breakaway in the set as both teams remained trading partners for points going back and forth which included lengthy rallies again throughout for competitive volleyball action.
 
In the end the Lancers were able to prolong the match after breaking the 22-22 deadlock and triggering a fifth and final deciding set to be played to excite the home crowd at the TLC with a 25-23 edged fourth set win to stalemate the match at 2-2.
 
It all came down to the fifth set action which was played at the narrowest of margins.  Both teams were hungry for the victory consistently trading points throughout which was a common recurring theme on the weekend between both sides.  The Gaels would have a three-point lead heading into the late stages of the fifth set which is normally played up to 15 points instead of 25 of course. 
 
However, in this contest, the fifth did not end at 15 although the Lancers had an opportunity to close out with a 14-13 lead but with Queen’s called a timeout, they came out of it alive and managed to tie the game up at 14-14 in a win by two scenario that would go beyond the 15-point threshold. 
 
The Gaels would get a kill to trigger match point of their own and put the Lancers on their heels before closing out in heartbreaking fashion for the Lancers with Queen’s winning 16-14 and 3-2 over the blue and gold for the second time this weekend at the TLC to round out fall semester play.
 
UP NEXT
The blue and gold will now head into the head into the fall exam period which will be immediately followed up by the holiday break later this month which means they have officially wrapped up the first half of the 2023-24 campaign.
 
The Lancers will return to the court on Friday January 5, 2024, and again on Saturday January 6, 2024, where they will take on the Waterloo Warriors up in Waterloo.
 
The Windsor Lancers wishes the members of the women’s volleyball team all the best with their upcoming exams and would like to wish all of the Lancer family a happy and healthy holiday season and are looking forward to seeing action resume in 2024!