OUA roundup: Varsity Blues take lead in OUA East

TORONTO - Heather Bansley recorded 22 kills and 17 digs in the Toronto Varsity Blues thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18, 15-7) victory over the 2008-09 OUA defending champion York Lions on Sunday.

Down 2-1, Bansley (Waterdown, Ont.) led the rallying effort, helping the Blues notch their second consecutive win. The Blues now sit atop the OUA East division with a 7-4 record.

Both fourth-year outside hitter Karlee Diesing of Coquitlam, B.C. and fifth-year rightside hitter Kristina Valajas (Toronto) also posted impressive numbers in the win. Diesing tallied 16 kills and eight digs, while Valjas had 12 kills and 11 digs.

Fifth-year libero Michelle Wood (Toronto) recorded a season-high 28 digs and veteran setter Kathleen Mahannah (North Vancouver, B.C.) had another solid night with 44 assists in the victory.

The Lions (6-3) were led by Kristina Vleck's 13 kills and nine digs. Sarah Sutton also garnered 10 kills and 15 digs in the loss.

RYERSON 3, LAKEHEAD 2

At Ryerson, the host Rams rallied from a two set deficit to defeat the Lakehead Thunderwolves 3-2 (22-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-22, 15-11) on Sunday.

Leah Saar (Ajax, Ont.) led the Rams with a game-high 19 kills. Teammate Jennifer Williams (Stoney Creek, Ont.) earned 10 kills and 12 points.

Lakehead's Karla Bradshaw earned 19 kills and 22 points in a losing effort.

Ryerson improved to 5-5 while Lakehead dropped to 1-10.

BROCK 3, WESTERN 0

At Brock, the host Badgers made easy work of the Western Mustangs on Sunday, winning 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-20).

Erin Mercer led the Badgers with 10 kills and 12 points overall. Rachel Roorda also contributed 10 points to the Brock cause.

Sarah Lowry (Calgary) had nine kills and 11 points for the Mustangs.

The Badgers improved to 7-5 with the win, while the Mustangs dropped to 7-4.

GUELPH 3, QUEEN'S 2

At Guelph, the Gryphons outlasted the Queen's Gaels 3-2 (26-28, 25-20, 25-19, 17-25, 15-12) on Saturday.

Kylen Van Osch (Exeter, Ont.) led the Gryphons with 13 kills and 17 points. Also contributing 17 points was teammate Erinn Bickle (Whitby, Ont.).

Leading the Gaels was Natalie Gray (Oshawa, Ont.) with 12 kills.

The Gryphons improved to 7-3 while the Gaels dropped to 5-5.

MCMASTER 3, WESTERN 1

At McMaster, the Marauders survived a marathon second set, dumping the Western Mustangs 3-1 (25-14, 33-31, 15-25, 25-16) on Saturday.

Larissa Puhach (Burlington, Ont.) earned 19 kills and 23 points for the Marauders. Kaitlyn Ognibene (Whitby, Ont.) and Jacqueline Robinson (Vancouver) recorded 12 kills each for the Mustangs.

The Marauders are the leaders in the OUA West with a 10-1 record.

TORONTO 3, OTTAWA 0

At Toronto, the Varsity Blues swept the Ottawa Gee-Gees in straight sets on Saturday, winning 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-9).

Heather Bansley (Waterdown, Ont.) led the way for the Varsity Blues with 13 kills and 17 points.

Kaely Whillans (North Bay, Ont.) earned a team-high five kills for the Gee-Gees (4-7).

LAURIER 3, RMC 0

At Wilfrid Laurier, the Golden Hawks (4-8) swept the RMC Paladins in straight sets, winning 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-23) on Saturday.

Julie Gordon (Barrie, Ont.) led Laurier with a game-high 12 points, including six kills. Teammate Brittney Hopley (Thornhill, Ont.) also contributed six kills.

Leading the way for RMC were Melissa McKoy (Kingston, Ont.) and Norah Collins (Ceder Valley, Ont.) with six kills each.


RMC (0-8) remains winless on the OUA season.

RYERSON 3, LAKEHEAD 1

At Ryerson, the Rams took the first game of a two-game series against the Lakehead Thunderwolves, winning 3-1 (21-25, 25-5, 25-20, 25-22) on Saturday.

Jennifer Williams (Stoney Creek, Ont.) led the way with nine kills and 15 points for the Rams.

Vanessa Chorkawy earned a game-high 13 kills in a losing effort, earning 14 total points.

BROCK 3, OTTAWA 1

At Brock, the Badgers defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-13) on Friday.

Shannon Anderson earned a game-high 17 kills and 19 points, while teammate Erin Mercer contributed 12 kills and 14 points.

Karina Krueger-Schwanke was a bright spot for Ottawa with 12 kills and 13 points.

QUEEN'S 3, LAURIER 0

At Wilfrid Laurier, the Queen's Gaels picked up a hard fought 3-0 (28-26, 25-21, 26-24) road victory over the host Golden Hawks on Friday.

Katie Matthews (Aurora, Ont.) earned 10 kills and a game-high 13 points, while teammate Natalie Gray (Oshawa, Ont.) added 12 kills.

Julie Gordon (Barrie, Ont.) and Kaitlyn Sauder (St. Jacobs, Ont.) of the Golden Hawks contributed eight kills each.

GUELPH 3, RMC 0

At Guelph, the Gryphons swept the RMC Paladins in straight sets, winning 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-16) on Friday.

The Gryphons were led by Claire Sandor (Waterloo, Ont.) who contributed eight kills and 12 points, and Jenny Vance (Aurora, Ont.) who had seven kills and 11 points.

Norah Collins (Cedar Valley, Ont.) earned 13 kills and 15 points in a losing effort.

WATERLOO 3, LAKEHEAD 0

At Waterloo, the Warriors opened the 2010 portion of their season by defeating the Lakehead Thunderwolves 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 28-26) on Friday night.

Megan McKenzie (South Surrey, B.C.) led the Warriors with eight kills and 12 points. The Warriors improved their OUA record to 10-2.

Vanessa Chorkawy earned a game-high 14 kills in a losing effort.

MCMASTER 3, WINDSOR 1

At McMaster, the Marauders defeated the Windsor Lancers 3-1 (25-16, 25-18, 18-25, 25-17) on home court on Friday night.

Kailee Stock (Newmarket, Ont.) earned a game-high 18 kills and 21 points for the Marauders.

Kaila Seguin (Windsor, Ont.) recorded a team-high 11 kills and 12 points in a losing effort.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues with files from OUA Communications