(London, Ontario) – On Saturday afternoon at the Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre, the #5 nationally ranked Fanshawe Women's Volleyball squad (16-0) defeated the #14 Humber Hawks (12-4) in five hard-fought sets. The victory clinched top spot in the OCAA West Division for Fanshawe.

The Falcons came out flying in set one, jumping out to a 7-0 lead with back-to-back kills from Meghan Morelli (London, ON). A huge block from Danielle Grasman (Komoka, ON), followed by a strong back row attack from Janelle Albert (Brampton, ON) extended Fanshawe's lead to 15-3. The red and white continued to overpower the Hawks offensively, as they also got kills from Ainsley Acton (Lucan, ON) and Jacqueline Coulter (Calgary, AB). The Falcons won the first set 25-9.

Humber stepped up their game in the second set, taking an early 5-2 lead. Fanshawe would get points from Coulter and Albert, however could not catch the Hawks. Humber took set two by a score of 25-21.

The teams exchanged points in the third set, with Falcons setter Ashley Rafferty (Peace River, AB) getting on the board with a well-placed tip. Yet another Albert hit gave the home team a slight 6-3 advantage. Humber would go on a run midway through the set and take a 15-13 lead. The Hawks would hold on to that momentum and take the third set 25-19.

In the fourth set, both teams worked hard for every point by diving all over the floor and battling to win each long rally. The Falcons were down 8-4 early, but a big kill from Acton brought the home crowd to their feet and tied the set at nine. A pair of key digs from Fanshawe libero Lauren Reycraft (Kitchener, ON) resulted in Falcons points to give them a 17-14 lead. Fanshawe would force a fifth set with a 25-19 win.

In a playoff-like atmosphere, the Falcons came out focused in the final set. Fanshawe took an early 7-4 lead and did not let up, with powerful kills from Albert and Morelli. A rocket serve from Albert led the Falcons to a 15-9 final set win for the 3-2 match victory. Albert had a game-high 25 points in the match to go along with 19 digs.  

The Falcons will finish up regular season play next weekend at home against Cambrian (3-12) on Saturday at 1pm and Boréal (0-15) on Sunday at 1pm.