Women’s Volleyball open season with pair of losses to TMU

The Windsor Lancer women’s volleyball team were back in action this weekend for the first time since last season debuting their 2023-24 OUA season on the road in a pair of matches in Toronto against the TMU Bold. 
 
On Saturday afternoon the blue and gold gals dropped a 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 15-25, and 12-25) contest to the Bold while on Sunday afternoon the Bold swept the Lancers 3-0 (22-25, 17-25, and 23-25) in straight set fashion.
 
SATURDAY STATS
Saturday’s stat leaders for the Lancers were Yaila Sealy who had 9 kills leading the way for Windsor while Aliah Admans had 5 kills. 
 
Lancer setter Nicole Woelk had 17 assists and 10 digs in the loss while Admans also came up strong defensively with 10 digs of her own dug up. 
 
SUNDAY STATS
Stat leaders for the Lancers on Sunday were Woelk with 24 assists.  Meanwhile Admans with 9 kills, and Marlee Horton with 6 kills in the Sunday afternoon outing.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY
The opening set went back and forth between both squads dawning blue and gold uniforms with TMU staying within striking distance of the Lancers on several occasions despite the lead being traded throughout the first set.  A see-saw battle which then started to favour one side towards the midway mark of the set saw the Bold come out of the back-and-forth struggle and emerge victorious down the stretch when they were able to break away with a 21-17 lead on the Lancers which eventually did not let up allowing them to close out the first set on top 25-20 and go up 1-0 in the match.
 
The second set saw a similar opening with points exchanged very early on into the new set but the Lancer saw successful plays with Raiya Millin on the service line allowing them to jump out to a 6-2 lead triggering an early TMU timeout.  The Bold would then battle back into the midway point of the second set making it a close score and overturning the once held Lancer lead margin.  The Lancers would then determinedly fight back with a run of their own allowing them to stay within the race and eventually after another swapped lead exchange both sides were knotted up at 19-19.  Both sides would lock horns at 20-20, 21-21, and 22-22 respectively before Windsor tugged out the lead and kept it to the very end of the set coming away with an eventual 25-23 hard fought second set victory which tied the match at one set apiece for both teams (1-1). 
 
The third set started out strong for both sides seeing once more a trade of points throughout each rally however TMU would start to come away with this set towards the middle of the set with a 17-9 eight-point spread.  The Lancers would do their best to fight back but ultimately fall to TMU who would go on to win the third set 25-15 and take a 2-1 set lead advantage in the match.
 
Finally in the fourth set, the blue and gold could not size up to the Bold in their attempt to try and shift momentum back to their side of the net and force a fifth and final deciding set as TMU took an early commanding lead and never looked back.  TMU held an 18-8 lead down the stretch which put the Lancers on their heels and the Bold were able to finish off the Lancers on the first day of action between both teams closing out with a 25-12 fourth set win and 3-1 match victory over the Lancers handing Windsor their first loss on the year.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED ON SUNDAY
The first set was a battle of rallies for each team as they continuously traded the lead throughout the set. Some solid serving and attacks from the Lancers kept them in the game and kept the Bold guessing where the next kill would come from. The Blue & Gold mounted a comeback at the end of the set but fell short and dropped the set 25-22.
 
Coming out in the second set looking for redemption, the Lancers put up a couple big blocks to get the first couple points of the set. A Bold run forced the Lancers into a timeout, but the blue and gold came back hard to bring the match within striking distance again. A couple of service aces from Woelk put the Lancers back in the lead for a bit before the Bold ran away with the set, winning 25-17 and putting them ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
The Bold came out in the third set with something to prove and took the lead early, but the Lancers were not ready to be done their day just yet. Kills from Aryn Markett and Sealy and a big block from Markett and Megan Gahima showed the Bold that the Lancers were still alive. The Blue & Gold took the lead in the middle of the set with great play from Admans, Sealy, and Woelk and it looked like they were going to take this one from the Bold, but ultimately TMU battled back with some hard hitting to regain the lead right at the end, winning the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
 
UP NEXT
The Lancers will now travel back home and prepare for their upcoming home opener matches with the McMaster Marauders which are slated for Friday November 17th at 6:00pm and Saturday November 18th at 4:00pm at the Toldo Lancer Centre.
 
Fans can purchase tickets in advance for either or both events online here at goLancers.ca/tickets or purchase them in-person at the TLC box office gate on game day.  For fans who cannot be in attendance inside the TLC, the game will be live streamed on OUA.tv from inside the venue and follow our official Windsor Lancer social media accounts including our X (formerly Twitter) account for live in-game updates which will be provided on game day.