Panthers can’t over power Royals

Canadore College Panthers
News Release

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On Friday, January 18 the Canadore College Panthers hosted the Redeemer Royals in OCAA varsity volleyball action. The women’s game started at 6PM and the men’s game followed at 8PM.

The Lady Panthers exploded onto the court offensively, and did not look back for the first set winning it 25-16. However they lost their winning momentum, losing the next 3 sets: 15-25, 23-25 and 18-25. The Royals offence was led by Chantel Schutten with 17 total points: 8 kills, 5 stuff blocks and 4 serving aces. On the Panthers side of the court, they were led by Kristen Verkuyl with all of her points coming from her 10 kills.

“I thought we came out really strong in the first set, but then we started to slow down. We will be ready for the next game,” said rookie left side Kayla Rose who had 6 points on the night: 4 kills and 2 stuff blocks.

“Overall, I thought the girls played well, but mistakes at the crucial times in the match really hurt us,” stated head coach Joey Rainer.

Veteran right side player, Andrea Moreau echoed the optimistic attitude of her teammates, “We came out strong in the beginning and started to let our mental errors get to us. We are getting a lot better at fixing our mistakes, and having fun at the same time.”

The ladies hope to improve their mental game quickly as they are hosting the Fanshawe Falcons at the Education Centre Gym Saturday, January 19 at 5PM.

On the men’s side, the Panthers were unable to complete a full winning set. They battled hard against the Royals but could not finish any set, losing 3-0 (23-25, 23-25 and 16-25). The close game was a nail biter for the fans present at the game and led to many exciting rallies.

The Royals were led by Ryan Talsma, scoring a total of 21 points: 16 kills and 5 serving aces. On the Panthers side of the court, they were led by captain Peter Clifford, scoring 13 points and Jeremy Tremblay, scoring 11 points. “We just had problems carrying over the positive energy into the next set, and let our mistakes weigh us down,” commented setter Jonathan Hoadley.

There were similar sentiments from the bench: “We did not come together as a team very well tonight,” said head coach Mike Smith. Always finding a positive, Mike continued by saying, “Once we get that part we will do much better.”

The men need to rally together quickly as they will also be facing off against the Fanshawe Falcons at 7PM on January 19 at the Education Centre Gym.

Come out and support your Panthers

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