Lady Lakers pick up pair of road wins

LONDON, ON – The Nipissing Lady Lakers improved to 4-0 on the season picking up wins in Kitchener and London.

On Saturday, the Lady Lakers defeated the new kids on the block the Conestoga Condors 3-0 (25-18, 25-5, 25-14) who returned to OCAA volleyball after a 17 year hiatus. Fifth year left side Stefanie Hancock led the Lakers offence with 21 points in her season debut followed by Lucia DeMarco, Liza Grenon and Stephanie Tiegs who each added 6 points.

On Sunday, the Fanshawe Falcons pushed the Lady Lakers to the limit forcing the match to five sets however the Lady Lakers experience propelled the team to a thrilling 3-2 (25-21, 15-25, 25-19, 21-25, 15-11) victory.

Hancock, Grenon and DeMarco led the offence with 26, 15 and 14 points respectively.

“When we limit our unforced errors and put pressure on the defence, good things always happen for us,” stated Hancock and Grenon. “We made some adjustments during the game and they paid off.”

The Lady Lakers will take a break from regular season play to attend the Humber Cup Invitational Tournament scheduled November 5/6 at Humber College.

Lakers split road games

In men's play, the Nipissing Lakers (2-1) split a pair of road games in OCAA weekend volleyball action.

Saturday, the Lakers dropped the first set but rallied back to claim a 3-1 (15-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-23) victory over the surprising Conestoga Condors (0-4).

Second year middle player Frankie Edgecombe led the offence with nine points while Zach Halwachs and Andre Leblanc added eight.

Sunday, the Lakers suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the undefeated Fanshawe Falcons 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-13).

Third year right side Leblanc and first year left side Scott Coulthard led the Lakers offence with nine points each.

Edgecombe felt that the team’s lack execution negated the consistent passing.

“We had trouble letting go of our mistakes today," said Coulthard.

"This led to more mistakes and we need to find a way of letting errors go and support each other on the court.”

Both Coulthard and Edgecombe feel that the Lakers have all the pieces in place to content with the top teams in the OCAA and that with time, practice and game experience the team will feel more comfortable on the court.

Submitted to BayToday.ca