Box Score It was historic night at the RJ Surtees Athletic Centre on Wednesday as the Nipissing Lakers women’s volleyball team hit the court.
The Lakers hosted the Trent Excalibur in Round 1 of the OUA Playoffs, as the teams began their quest for the Quigley Cup and in the end.
The match marked the first playoff appearance for the Lakers since joining the OUA in 2013-14 and thanks to an impressive performance, marked the first post-season victory for the program, a 3-0 sweep of the Excalibur.
Nipissing got off a quick start, building up a lead and holding an 8-7 advantage over Trent.
They extended the cushion to 16-13 at the technical timeout and kept some distance between themselves and the Excalibur throughout the entire game.
They were able to put Trent on the ropes late, up 22-17 before claiming the opening set 25-19.
Once again, the Lakers started strong, picking up a 5-2 lead early in the second set.
Nipissing opened up a commanding 16-8 lead at the technical timeout in the second set and was in complete control of the set.
They cruised into the twenties, leading 22-10 and didn’t allow Trent back in the game, winning 25-14 to go up 2-0 in the match, setting themselves up for the sweep.
In the third and what turned out to be, final set, the Lakers didn’t slow down.
For the third straight game, they jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back.
They led 6-3 and pushed it to 16-9 at the technical break.
From there, they went on an 8-5 run to put the sweep in reach.
Up 24-14, Amy Connelly put the match away with an absolute bomb for the match-winning point.
Nipissing used a balanced attack to grab the win, as Connelly led the team in points with 11.5 thanks to a huge match at the net.
Shayla Kessler led the way with nine kills, while Kristine Ledger, Shaelyn Francis and Elizabeth Junger each added five.
After their victory, the Lakers head to Toronto to take on the top-ranked Varsity Blues Saturday.
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