The Brock Badgers women’s volleyball team picked up their first win of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) regular season against the York Lions on Saturday, November 4, winning in four sets (21-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-16).
The Badgers got to work early in the first set, picking up the first five points. York then found their own run, bringing the game back to even at 7-7.
After the York Lions took a lead in the set, a service ace from third-year middle Gigi Markotic cut into the deficit. Momentum briefly swung back into the favour of the Badgers before York again put themselves in front.
Multiple errors late in the set from the Badgers ultimately gave York the first-set win 25-21.
A key back-and-forth rally early in the second set ended with a kill from Markotic, giving the Badgers some much needed momentum.
In the middle of the set, the Badgers gave themselves a commanding lead which prompted a York timeout.
A service ace from Aurora product Madison Chimienti led to a bad set from the Lions, giving the Badgers a 25-18 win in the second set. The offence led the way for the Badgers in the set as they notched 17 kills as compared to York’s eight.
Service errors were a problem for York, with the Badgers picking up the first points of the third set off of one. Another service ace from Chimienti put the Badgers up 11-8. Plenty of errors late in the second from York increased Brock’s advantage.
Yet another service ace from Chimienti closed out on the third set for the Badgers, winning it 25-15.
The fourth set saw a massive block from setter Sara Rohr earn Brock a 7-5 lead.
Midway through the fourth, Badgers then picked up five consecutive points, pushing their lead to 19-11, with outside hitter Emily Foest picking up three straight kills, leading to a Lions’ timeout.
Shortly after the timeout, York tried to claw back into the game, but it was not enough as the Badgers closed out the final set 25-16 to take the game in four sets.
Much like the second set, Brock used strong attacking to keep the Lions at bay, finishing with 15 in the set while holding York to only five of their own.
Foest led the Badgers in kills with 12 in the game while Chimienti led the defence with 15 digs which was a game high for either team. An impressive 46 assists from Rohr was also a game high.
Up next, the Brock Badgers play their second of a back-to-back matchup on Sunday, November 5 against this same York Lions team in Toronto.