Lady Lakers edged in semi's at the Durham Invitational

The Lady Lakers were edged 2-1 (26-24, 20-25, 9-15) in semi-final action by the Humber Hawks at the Durham College invitational.

The Lakers came out strong in the first set and took an early 8-2 lead on the strength of good blocking and solid defense. The Hawks tied the game at 24-24 with a run of three straight points before rookie left side Stefanie Hancock closed out the set with a powerful attack that gave the Lakers the 26-24 victory.

The Lakers jumped out to a quick start in the second set leading 6-2 but surrendered 5 straight points in the middle of the set to give the Hawks a lead they would not surrender. The Hawks closed out the second set 25-20.

In the final set the Lakers passing was ineffective and the Hawks took advantage of the Lakers weak defensive efforts and closed out the match 15-9.

“It was certainly a disappointing end to a good tournament,” said head coach Marc LaRochelle.

“The most disappointing part of this match was that Humber didn’t beat us, we simply beat ourselves. We were our own worst enemy. The challenge for us as a team will be for our leaders to start leading and our veterans to strive to reach their full potential. We realize that our players have the skills but now it’s a matter of determination and execution in big games.

“Although this was not the result we wanted we also realize that the OCAA championships are played in February and if we continue to work hard and focus on our goals we will be successful.”

Hancock led the offense with 12 kills and one ace while Megan Stacey added 4 kills and three stuff blocks.

The Lakers finished first in their pool by defeating Algonquin, Canadore, John Abbott, Durham and St. Clair, 2-0.

The Lakers will be back in action Thursday January 12th when they face cross campus rivals the Canadore Panthers. The women play at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8:00 p.m.

Submitted to BayToday.ca