Lakers impressive in OCAA volleyball debut

The Nipissing Lakers volleyball teams opened the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association regular season in front of a packed house and did not disappoint.

Saturday in the lone match of the day the Lady Lakers defeated the Lambton Lions 3-0 (25-6, 25-16, 25-10). Stefanie Hancock led the offense with 14 points while Chandra Massey added 12 points.

Sunday the Lakers took on the much improved St. Clair Saints and swept them 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-14) to improve top 2-0 on the season. Hancock once again led the offense with 14 points followed by Laura Hudson with 11 points.

“Overall it was a good weekend,” said head coach Marc LaRochelle.

“We played better as the match went on Sunday. Once the jitters and excitement of playing our first home games faded our focus and execution got better.

“As long as we continue to strive to get better everytime we step on the court then we are moving in the right directions towards our long term goals.”

On the men’s side the Lakers came out with some intensity and fired up the crowd with some big hits and great blocks. The first set was a back and forth battle with the Lakers edging St. Clair 25-22.

In the second set the Lakers committed some unforced errors and the Saints ran away with the set winning 25-13. The Lakers and Saints battled it out point for point for the remainder of the match that featured some big kills from both sides. The Lakers did manage to secure both final sets by an identical score of 25-22 and prevailed with a hard fought 3-1 victory.

Lakers rookie twin brothers Andre and Adam Leblanc led the Lakers offense with 14 points and 11 points respectively. Jamie VanderZande poured in 11 points while Drew Pahapill added 9 points.

'The coaches were very pleased with the balanced scoring we got from the guys today,” said head coach Grant Ross.

“I have always liked teams that had it, and this group is definitely balanced.

“As a group we expected a little more from ourselves I think. We were happy with the win to open up the season, but we know that we didn't pass all that well and we made far too many service errors. The effort and intensity level is there though and we showed today that we are a great group of guys who will stick together and play for each other. The rest will come with practice,” added Ross.

Submitted to BayToday.ca