OCAA Volleyball - Lakers men sweep and Lady Lakers split

WINDSOR, ON – The Nipissing Lakers volleyball teams came away with mixed results this weekend as the men swept their way to victory 3-0 over the St. Clair Saints while the Lady Lakers dropped a 3-2 contest to the Saints while sweeping the Lambton Lions 3-0.

The Lakers (1-0) men’s team began the season on the right note putting together a solid performance and in doing so notched the first victory of the season.

Gerry Dupelle led the Lakers offence collecting 9 points on seven kills and two aces while Matt Rice and Jamie VanderZande each contributed 8 points.

"The game went well,” said second year setter Dave Hudson. “We got off to a slow start but managed to pick it up when it counted most. Our serving was great. We were able to take advantage of their weaker passers and forced them to pass outside their comfort zone."

Head coach Grant Ross also echoed the statement that he felt him team got off to a slow start after the eight hour bus ride.

“I thought our rookies looked good for the first game of the season, but we will have to keep improving to be competitive with the top teams in the league. We have two weeks before the home opener to work on a few things but I think the guys are looking forward to playing at home in front of a good crowd.” added Ross.

Saturday, the Lady Lakers were on the losing end of a tight 3-2 victory by the Saints however we able to respond the next day with a solid performance sweeping the Lambton Lions 3-0.

Against the Saints the Lady Lakers battled inconsistency throughout the match and were unable to execute in key times during the match which allowed the tenacious home team to prevail.

Lucia DeMarco led the Lakers offense with 13 points while rookie left side Melissa Graham had 9 points and six digs.

Sunday it was Kayla Gerrits who led the offence with 11 points while rookie middle Jacquie Dyball added 9 points. Dyball did a solid job of filling in on short noticed for 3rd year middle blocker Chandra Massey who was out with an injury.

“Today we were able to overcome yesterday’s loss and came together as a team to execute our game plan,” said Graham.

Coach LaRochelle was disappointed with the loss however put in perspective by saying: “Sometimes you have to lose before you learn how to win. We are a young team and at times a little frail but as we gain experience we will learn to dig in and not give chances to our opponents to stay in the game.”

LaRochelle noted the he was happy with the performance of rookie left side Melissa Graham and Jacquie Dyball.

“Melissa is working very hard and learning at a quick pace. Jacquie has come a long way and certainly did an admirable job given the tough circumstances.”

The teams will have some time to prepare before the home opener scheduled November 7 & 8 when Fanshawe and Niagara come to town. Women start at 12 followed by the men at 2 p.m.