WINDSOR, Ont. - The St. Clair Saints battled to the wire with the Algonquin Thunder late into the night at St. Clair's very own SportsPlex on Friday in the OCAA Women's Volleyball Championship presented by belairdirect.

The Saints were looking upset the higher-ranked Thunder. Early in the first set the Saints took a quick lead which helped them beat the Thunder 25-19. Throughout the second set, Algonquin gained control as they kept the Saints to 14 points and St. Clair fell victim to the Thunder as they won 25-14.

In the third set the Saints regained control after dominating and only allowing the Thunder to get 10 points, giving the Saints the edge with a 25-10 set win. The fourth set of the match provided a variety of back and forth plays that kept the crowd on their feet the majority of the set as the Thunder prevailed for a 25-23 win.

Due to the 2-2 tie at the end of the set, the fifth and final set was needed to help decided the match. The Saints gained back their control with aggressive play and great teamwork as the Saints pulled out a hard fought win with a set score of 15-9 and a final match score of 3-2.

The Saints had a great offensive display from Angela Evans who had a game-high 19 kills, one ace and one stuff block. The Saints also received offensive help from Kaila Crough who had eight kills of her own along with five aces. Fantastic setting was provided by Madison Trotter and Kimberly Quintanella to help push the Saints to victory.

The Thunder's leading players were Breanne Scheerhoorn who had 12 kills, two aces and three stuff blocks. Algonquin's other key offensive player was Rylee Leger who had four kills, one ace, and one stuff block.

Players of the Game for the Algonquin Thunder was Julianna Tebrake and St. Clair's Evans.

The Saints are set for their semi-final game against the top-ranked Humber Hawks at 8 p.m. Saturday at St. Clair's SportsPlex.

Source: St. Clair College