LIONS VOLLEYBALL SPLITS OPENING MATCHES WITH WARRIORS AS MEN START 3-0 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2017

The York University Lions volleyball teams hosted the Waterloo Warriors at Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night in the first matches of their home schedules. Both sides are coming off a pair of victories against the Trent Excalibur. The men’s squad sought to improve to 3-0 for the first time in seven years, while the women’s side pursued their first 3-0 start since the 2021-22 season.

Women’s Match:

The two teams began the opening set exchanging points, with the set remaing close early at 10-8 in favor of the home team. Kills by Julia Typa, Amari Endes, Victoria Herrington and Quincy Johnson spearheaded an early lead for York. Waterloo would take control of the set from there, however, at one point going on a 10-1 run, to win the opening set 25-14.

Much like early in the first set, the second set was very competitive, with the teams reaching a 16-16 tie as the set was reaching its climax. Herrington and Typa had multiple kills in the set to aid the Lions offence. With Waterloo threatening to pull away with a 21-17 lead, York attempted to mount a late-set comeback, started by a Payton Dougherty kill, and two more from Typa. However, the Warriors would preserve their lead and win the set 25-22 to move to within a set of a sweep.

Staring at a 2-0 deficit Warriors, the Lions entered the third set with a sense of urgency. Herringston, Typa, Johnson and Endes accounted for all of York’s kills on the set. The Lions lurked with the Warriors throughout the set, but Waterloo would ultimately win the set 25-19, giving them the straight-sets victory.

Men’s Match:

The Lions got off to a fast start in this one. A four-point run early in the set, which saw kills from Dennis Cota and Chris Hoffman, as well as two service aces by Nathan Luken, gave the Lions a 5-2 lead. They would build off the strong start and maintain that momentum throughout the opening set, as they took it in convincing fashion, 25-16.

The second set was tightly contested throughout. In a set that reached a 24-24 deadlock that necessitated extra points, the Lions tallied nine kills and two service aces, including the set-winner. York’s Alex Doring’s serve was out of reach from Waterloo’s Will McIntyre on set point, giving the Lions the set, 26-24, and a 2-0 lead in the match.

Facing a 2-0 hole, Waterloo mounted a fast start in the third, scoring six of the first eight points and seven of the first 10. The Warriors maintained the advantage for the majority of the set, but York was able to stay within striking distance thanks to kills by Doring, Luken, Martin Prinsloo, Bodhi Jones and Dan Lafleur. Despite York’s efforts, Waterloo’s early momentum was too much to overcome, as the Warriors walked away with the third set by a score of 25-19, making the match 2-1 still in favor of the Lions.

In contrast to the third set, the Lions were the team that started fast in the fourth, leaping out to an 8-3 lead. While Waterloo clawed back to tie the set at 11-11, the Lions held strong through six kills and an ace from Prinsloo and three forced block errors from Cota. Dan Lafleur sealed the deal on match point, with York up 24-19, on an service ace that Lucas Redmann couldn’t handle, giving the Lions a 25-19 fourth-set win and a 3-1 match victory.

LOOKING AHEAD: 

The Lions squads host the Warriors in the second half of their double headers on Saturday evening. First serves fly at 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm for the women’s and men’s matches, respectively.