CIS women's volleyball Saturday roundup: Mustangs upset Marauders in OUA quarterfinals

The top-seeded Lions faced little resistance from the fourth-seeded Paladins. In three meetings this season, the Lions have outscored the Paladins 9-1, dropping just a single set in their second meeting.

Lions' third-year outside hitter Thinesa Sriskandarajah (Scarborough, Ont.) had a game-high 12 kills and led all scorers with 14 points. Captain Sarah Sutton (Scarborough, Ont.) was second in team scoring with 12 points, which included a game-high three service aces. Gina Morphy (Ottawa) added a game-high 28 assists and received player of the match honours for the Lions.

Mallory Litjens (Ottawa) led the Paladins in scoring with 13 points. Norah Collins (Cedar Valley, Ont.) had a game-high 12 digs and three blocks. Danielle Vortisch (Whitby, Ont.) received player of the game honours for the Paladins with six points, nine digs, two assists and one block.

The Lions opened the game with an impressive 11-point win in the first set.

After dropping the first two points of the frame, the Lions won eight of the next 12 to take an 8-6 lead into the first technical timeout. Sutton began the run with a service ace and Stephanie Green (Ottawa) followed up with two kills and a block.

Following the timeout, both teams traded points until the Lions swung momentum in their favour for good. Sriskandarajah took the wind out of the Paladins' sails with a huge score that capped a long rally and put the Lions up 14-9. The Lions then went on to win 11 of the next 16 points en route to the set win. Sriskandarajah and Sutton both had a pair of kills on the run, and rookie Sheraine Henry (Oakville, Ont.) had a service ace before the Paladins conceded the set on an error.

The Paladins were the architects of their own demise in the second set.

After holding a lead through the first 21 points, the Paladins turned momentum over to the Lions courtesy of a few costly errors. After rookie Allison Peters (London, Ont.) tied the set at 11-11, the Lions put together a 4-0 run courtesy of back-to-back errors by the Paladins. Sutton capped the run with a service ace that helped the Lions to a comfortable 16-12 lead at the second technical timeout.

The Lions continued to roll following the timeout, taking nine of the next 16 points. Sutton had a pair of kills down the stretch, while Henry added a service ace and closed out the set with a huge kill.

The Paladins came alive in the third set, but the Lions were equal to the task. Despite the back-and-forth nature of the frame, the Lions never lost control; they bent but never broke in the face of the Paladins' attack.

Peters opened the set with a pair of kills on Morphy's serve that helped the Lions to an early 3-0 lead.

The Paladins tied the set at 4-4 on a service ace from Litjens, but Sriskandarajah replied shortly after with two kills that put the Lions up 7-6. The Lions then went on a 5-0 run thanks to a trio of errors from the Paladins and points from Sutton and Green to take a comfortable 12-6 lead.

The Paladins evened the set at 20-20 off two service aces from Ariel Brown-Berkeley (Cambridge, Ont.) and a net violation by the Lions, but the Lions refused to surrender the lead.

The turning point of the set came on the following point when rookie libero Melissa Humana-Paredes (Toronto) kept a lengthy rally alive with two huge digs before Sriskandarajah ended it with a kill. The Lions went on to win four of the next five points on scores from Henry and Sriskandarajah to close out the set and the match. Henry ended the match with an exclamation point, throwing down a huge kill.

With the win, the Lions become the first team to qualify for the OUA Final Four Championships next weekend. The remaining three quarter-final matches to determine the other participants will be played later in the day on Saturday.

Source: York Sports Info

Right from the get-go it was obvious that the Gee-Gees were facing a much different Queen's team than they had welcomed into Montpetit Hall just ten days ago. The first set was back and forth with both teams exchanging powerful kills, big blocks, and hard digs. The Gee-Gees were able to pull through and win the first set 25-23 after trailing 23-21. It was second-year Laura Carminaco, Stittsville, Ont., who paced the Gee-Gees aggressive attack with four kills, ten attacks and two blocks.

The second set was another intensely close battle. Both teams needed to show great resiliency as the lead would change hands several times throughout. Nearing the end of the set, fourth-year libero Claudia Séguin, St-Pascal Baylon, Ont., would provide some crucial saves for the Gee-Gees. With the score at 23-23, the Gee-Gees would go up one after winning a big rally and then close it out after a Queen's shot went wide. Again, it would be Laura Carminaco who punished Queen's for the second straight set with 7 kills, and 19 attacks.

Now up 2-0, the Gee-Gees would try hard to close this one out against a Queen's squad that would just not quit. Not until midway through the set did the Gee-Gees begin to assert their dominance. It was finally the beginning of the end for Queen's as they garnet and grey would go on to win the set, and the game, 25-20.

Gee-Gees head coach Lionel Woods was obviously pleased with the win and his team's solid performance under pressure. He credits his players' willingness to compete for their success: "It's exciting! These kids just love to compete, every time we have had an important match they just love to compete. They're one of the few teams that I've said going into the game 'enjoy the adrenaline', they just seem to thrive on it and don't blow it. Some teams get nervous, but this team just takes it to another level on that adrenaline."

Woods was also quick to point out that he knew Queen's would come into this game with nothing to lose, and credits them for an amazing game of volleyball in which they never quit. He went on to say that in being well prepared for this match, his players never lost their focus and just came coming at them hard and aggressive.

In looking forward to the OUA Final Four, Woods is hoping his team can match the same intensity on the road. He explained how fortunate the Gee-Gees are for such an incredible fan base that bring so much energy into the gym, and a big reason why they remain unbeaten at home this season; making Montpetit Hall one of the toughest gyms to visit in the OUA.

The Gee-Gees will hit the road next weekend for the OUA Final Four, and their chance to qualify for CIS nationals being held at Université Laval in Québec City, Qué., March 4 to 6, 2011. Stay tuned to www.geegees.ca for full playoff coverage.

Source: Ottawa Sports Info

HAMILTON, Ont. - The McMaster Marauders women's volleyball season was cut short Saturday evening when they lost an extremely close 3-2 (15-25, 22-25, 25-18, 26-24, 10-15) match to the visiting Western Mustangs.

The Western Mustangs took charge in the first set, dominating the home-side by ten points. The Marauders shortened the gap in the second set, but the Mustangs managed to pull out a 25-22 win. The Marauders stormed back, winning the third set thanks in part to Big Mac of the Game Shannon McRobert's (Whitby, Ont.) impressive blocking. The Marauders continued to chip away at Western's firm lead, winning the fourth set 26-24, keeping themselves in the match and setting up for a thrilling fifth set. Unfortunately, the Marauders were unable to carry on their momentum, and the Mustangs strong serving prevailed. The Mustangs will now move on to OUA Final Four to be played in Guelph next weekend.

Larissa Puhach (Burlington, Ont.) led the Marauders with 17 points, on 13 kills. McRobert also contributed 15 points, in addition to her eight blocks. Meagan Nederveen (Dundas, Ont.) had a strong defensive game, coming up with 24 digs.

Western's Elaine Screaton (Calgary, AB) had a game-high 22 points, followed by Sarah Johnston (Stratford, Ont.) who scored 15 points on 11 kills.

The Marauders finish the season with a 16-4 conference record.

Source: Jessie Barrett, McMaster Athletic Communications

The energy level in the gym was high as the teams battled back and forth for most of the first set. Ahead 19-18, the Gryphons went on a late run to take the set 25-18. Some tough Brock serving helped them jump out to an early 6-1 lead in set 2 and Guelph was never able to catch up in the set, losing 25-18. The third set proved to be the pivotal set of the match. The Gryphons were down 16-12 at the second technical time out, but raised their level to take control of the set winning 25-19. Guelph had a better start in set 4 and were ahead 16-9 at the time out. Brock made a push to narrow the margin to 19-14, but some clutches side outs down the stretch allowed the Gryphons to close out the match at 25-17.

"We had some nervous moments in tonight's match, but we really fought through them and were able to get back on track. Our girls came through when they had to and were deserving winners. Now, we can concentrate on trying to achieve the rest of our goals next weekend," said head coach Paul Funk.

Guelph's offence was led by Brooke Lloyd with 20 points (16 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks) followed by Claire Sandor (13 kills, 1 ace, 1 block) and Erinn Bickle (7 kills, 4 aces, 4 blocks) with 15 points each.

The Gryphons will now host the OUA Final Four on Feb. 25-26 and will play the Ottawa Gee-gees in the semi-finals (game time to be determined).

Source: Guelph Sports Info

Senior left side Proudfoot had a game-high 16 kills, while third-year setter Ellis earned a baker's dozen and third-year outside hitter Zubick also cracked the double-digit barrier with 10. Ellis also added 22 assists while outside hitter Alyssa Jones, a third-year as well, had 24.

Lindsay Russell, a sophomore right side from Surrey, BC, notched 13 kills for the Dinos while setter Sarah Lacny tallied a game-high 36 assists.

The Alberta Pandas now move on to the Final Four next weekend, hosted by the top-seeded UBC Thunderbirds, likely facing the second seed Trinity Western Spartans in a one-game Canada West semi-final. The top three Canada West teams will advance to the CIS National Championship at Université Laval in Québec City, QC.

Fulfilling the intensity of the "Battle of Alberta" moniker, neither team relented on their attack in the opening two sets on the evening, keeping the scoreboard relatively even.

Alberta was able to stake out a five-point lead late in the first set, though, but Calgary erased it with Lindsey Doland, last night's kill leader for the Dinos, leading the way to an extended opening-set victory.

The second set featured the reverse, with Calgary claiming a late five-point lead before Ellis notched four kills, six total in the set, to vault the Pandas to the same extended set score of 27-25.

The three-pronged PEZ attack then started to eat away at the Dinos, combining for 13 of Alberta's 15 kills in the third set, with Ellis commandeering a super-charged 80% attack rating to give the Pandas a 2-1 set lead.

A slew of Calgary attack errors helped Alberta to an 11-2 lead in the fourth set and the Dinos were unable to mount a comeback before Ellis ended the Calgary season with a power kill that was too much for Calgary's back row.

The Mississauga, ON native improved upon her game one 42.1% performance by hitting an overall 47.8% attack rating in four sets and has a combined 22 kills and six aces in two games. Teammate Proudfoot leads all Pandas with 25 kills and seven aces on the weekend.

The Pandas move on to the Final Four next weekend to first play a one-game Canada West semi-final where winning guarantees them a trip to nationals.

Source: Alberta Sports Info