In a rematch of last night’s faceoff, Queen’s Women’s Volleyball took on the Nipissing Lakers, finding another victory — The Gaels defeated the Lakers in five sets. (25-19, 23-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-9).
Using the momentum from last night, the Gaels picked up an early seven-point lead, soundly putting away the first set.
In the second set, the Lakers rallied to take their first set of the weekend. Despite big swings, Queen’s trailed, unable to deal with Nipissing’s attacks.
“It’s always really difficult to come back the second night and play as good as you do the first night. I think they did a really good job of serving us tough and getting us out of system so we were really uncomfortable being out of system and we had a hard time figuring out shots and ways to score through that,” Head Coach Shanice Marcelle said.
The Laker’s momentum carried them to a strong start of the third. However, The Gaels fought to change the tides. They built several brick-wall blocks at the net, foiling the Lakers attacks.
Middle, Amanda Siksna (Faculty of Education) led the Gaels in blocks, picking up four assisted and one solo block. Siksna also led in points, with 16.
“I told her to keep going, to keep trusting in her moves. She’s so athletic and so high up there,” Marcelle said.
A five-serve run from Sophia Henson (Arts & Science) also aided the Gaels in finding their grove. Henson nabbed one service ace in the run.
The momentum shift didn’t occur early enough in the third to stop the Lakers from taking the set, however, it did carry Queen’s into a powerful fourth set.
In the fourth the Gaels came back with a vengeance. Big kills from Aimee Lemire (Faculty of Education) and Hannah Duchesneau (Arts & Science) propelled the Gaels forward; the Lakers were unable to deal with the increased offensive pressure.
Queen’s stayed consistent through the fifth to bring home a win, closing the set out with a kill from Siksna.
“They did a really good job of sticking together, trusting in the process, and finding a way,” Marcelled added.
Next weekend, the Gaels head to St. Catharines to take on the Brock Badgers at 6pm on Friday, Nov. 1, and 4pm on Saturday, Nov. 2. Games are available to stream on OUA.tv.