HAMILTON – Sports – The Lakehead University women’s volleyball team finished their weekend at the Mizuno-McMaster Thanksgiving Classic with a win over the Guelph Gryphons, 3-2 (11-25, 25-7, 14-25, 25-18, 16-14). It was their second 5-set match of the weekend, this time finishing the job and sealing a victory.
“Our dynamics this weekend have been solid,” said coach Chirs Green post-game. “This game showed us that when we play well we can compete with our peers in the OUA. But when we do not focus and pay special attention to the details, we can suffer in a frustrating manner.”
Jasmine Fox had a breakout match, which included a string of 19 consecutive serves in the second set, totaling 14 points on the day (5 service aces, 7 kills, 2 Stuff Blocks). Captain Brittany MacLeod was on point as well, with 8 kills (.460 efficiency), 3 stuff blocks and 2 service aces for 13 points. Outside hitter Jorie Daymond also played a big factor in the win, with 8 kills, 14 digs, 2 service aces and 1 stuff block (11 points). Rookie Stephanie Chartrand was also scoring from the service line with 3 aces on top of 1 block and 3 kills for 7 markers.
Setter Sarah Hudson had her best game of the pre-season thus far, with 32 assists, 1 block, one service ace and 3 kills.
Lakehead coach Chris Green continued, “Today was one of those games where both coaches were perplexed as to the course of the game. Jasmine Fox serves 19 balls in a row in the second set? All sets won on one side of the court, until the 2nd half of the 5th set when we were able to finally control what we knew was coming. We had timely contributions from athletes like rookie middle Stephanie Chartrand who entered and in 1 and 1/2 sets changed the dynamics of the game. The same was true of Nicole Vercaigne who has been solid all weekend coming in to serve and pass consistently. I was pleased with their ability to rebound, but consistency is vital and we will work towards it aggressively in the next 2 weeks as we prepare for a 3-game road trip to open the season against York, Queens, and RMC.”
Green added, “It’s a challenging start to the season for us, but we will tough it out and our girls will be ready.”
