Lady Lakers end regular season with a pair of wins

The Lady Lakers completed their OCAA volleyball regular season on the weekend by sweeping the Redeemer Royal 3-0 while edging the Mohawk Mountaineers 3-2. The pair of wins improved the Lady Lakers record to 12 wins and 2 losses with both losses coming at the hands of the number one ranked Humber Hawks.

The Lady Lakers sit in second place in the Central-West division and have qualified to host a home playoff match against the Loyalist Lancers who finished third in the East division with a 4-9 record.

Saturday the Lakers made quick work of the Royals as the high powered offense proved to be too much. The Lakers aggressive serving put consistent pressure on the Royals and the offense executed well off free balls.

“We did not pass well off serve receive in this match,” said head coach Marc LaRochelle. “Our hitters did a good job of executing when we were out of system and our aggressive serving really put our opponents on their heels.”

Megan Stacey led the offense with 12 points followed by Carrie Baldwin with 10 and Laura Hudson added 9.

Laura Hudson was named the Lakers players of the game.

Sunday was a different story for the Lakers as they jumped out to a quick start winning the first two sets 25-21 and 25-19 however some unforced errors allowed the Mountaineers to stay in the match as they edged the Lakers 28-26. The win seemed to ignite the Mohawk squad as they captured the fourth set 25-16 forcing the deciding set.

In the fifth set the Lakers Lynn Danis provided the necessary offensive spark for the Lakers as they took an 8-6 at the turn and never looked back as they closed out the match 15-6.

“I thought Lynn (Danis) and Aleda (Carr) had a great match,” said LaRochelle. “We played some really good defense and our passing was the best it’s been all year. What hurt us was some unforced errors and our blocking.”

“I was however really impressed how the team rallied in difficult circumstances and took the momentum back.”

“We must now focus on our cross-over match with Loyalist. The team isn’t taking anything for granted and we know if we want to reach our goals its important that we continue to roll up our sleeves and get back to work.”

Stacey led the offense pouring in 28 points while Danis added 16. Rounding out the offense was Carrie Baldwin, Tara Preeper and Hudson each with 7 points.

Lynn Danis was named the Lakers player of the game.

Men have tough weekend

On the men’s side, the Lakers were looking to finish the regular season on a high note however the inability to maintain their first set intensity was key as Redeemer edged the Lakers 3-2 while Mohawk defeated the Lakers 3-1.

Saturday the Lakers came out flying on the strength of the offense provided by Eric Yung claiming the first set 25-19. The Lakers could not maintain their high level of execution and intensity and dropped the next two sets 25-23 and 25-20. The Lakers rebounded in the forth set with some timely blocks and good defense forcing a deciding set by winning 25-19. The fifth set was a nail bitter as both teams exchanged some impressive rallies but in the end Redeemer edges the Lakers 15-13 to close out the match.

“We started the match very well however we have been having problems maintaining a high level of play for an entire match.” Said head coach Duane Culin. “ This is what is separating us from the elite teams around the league. We are not good enough to go out on the court and not play our best. We need to play aggressively and work as hard as we can for every point.”

Yung led the offense with twenty points followed by Seamus Strutt with 12 and Ian Dunville added 8.

Seamus Strutt was named the Lakers player of the game.

Sunday the Lakers would be in tough as they faced the undefeated and number one ranked Mohawk Mountaineers. The Lakers once again started the match on a strong note overcoming the loss of left side hitter Seamus Strutt on the first play of the match to take the first set 26-24. As has become habit with the Lakers they could not maintain that level of play and the Mountaineers cruised to a 25-15 second set win. The Lakers never seemed to re-cover as they battle a lack of intensity and execution for the rest of the match and Mohawk went on to win the next two sets 25-21 and 25-18.

The bright note for the Lakers was the outstanding effort put in by Yung who was both the offensive leader with 16 points but also provided some solid defense.

For his efforts Yung was named the Lakers player of the game.

“It was definitely a set back losing Seamus on the first play of the game,” said Culin. “We did however step it up during the first set unfortunately winning the first set has been our kiss of death as we have lost the last 3 matches after taking the first set.”

“What bothers me most is not that we lost but how we lost. Positioning is the most important aspect on defense and the guys know exactly where they need to be however for some reason they are not getting there. We are failing to do the things that we control such as positioning, getting low on defense and stopping your feet. It doesn't matter whose on the other side of the net, these things need to be executed every single time.

“Jennifer Heil said in an interview that in preparation for the Olympics, she worked on the little things because after just missing the medal podium in the last Olympics she realized that the little things make the difference. It is exactly the same in volleyball. Guys need to start taking ownership of all the things they need to do on the court as individuals, then and only then will our team game improve to where it needs to be.”

The Lakers finished the season with a 7-6 record finishing second in the Central-West division.

The Lakers drive to the OCAA championships will begin February 18 as both the men’s and women’s squad will host a home playoff crossover match. The women will play Loyalist at 12 p.m. and the men’s opponent is yet to be determined however the game is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Robert J Surtees Athletic Centre.

Submitted to BayToday.ca