NORTH YORK, Ont. - It appeared to be déjà vu.
Just as they did in their home opener on Wednesday night, the Seneca Sting took a two-set lead. Just as they did in that same match, the Sting lost the next two sets, setting up a winner-takes-all fifth set.
This time, the team rose to the occasion. They weren't just hoping to find a way to win. The Sting knew how to win the fifth and final set.
With a number of key contributors, the Sting defeated the Canadore Panthers on Saturday night to earn their first victory of the season.
The first set saw back-and-forth play from both teams. An electrifying kill by David Lyon (Bangkok, Thailand) gave the Sting a 13-9 lead midway through the set. Serving was the biggest liability for the Panthers in the opening set, missing six serves to aid the Sting in their 26-24 win. Lyon finished off the set with kill.
The seesaw battle continued in the second set as the teams battled to a 10-10 draw. A pair of points by the Panthers gave them a momentarily lead, but a thunderous kill by Jordan Darlington (Ajax) off a perfectly set ball by Patrick Asuncion (Scarborough) helped keep the Sting in the set. Trailing 24-21, Seneca mounted a comeback. Toms Gaikis (Toronto) aided the comeback with a kill and block to tie the set at 24. Following an attack error by the Panthers, Seneca had a two sets to none lead.
The Panthers stormed back in the third and fourth sets, dominating play and evening the match following 25-20 and 25-21 set victories.
With history looking to repeat itself, Seneca bounced back, taking a 4-1 lead in the fifth and deciding set. A rally by Canadore closed the Seneca lead to 5-4, but the Sting were able to recover and took an 8-5 lead as the teams switched sides. A lengthy rally was ended by a Tyler McMath (Mississauga) kill, giving the Sting a 10-5 lead. With the Sting up 14-11, history resurfaced in a match ending missed serve by the Panthers, to the elation of the home crowd.
Darlington paced the Sting with 18 kills and five blocks. Lyon added 15 kills and 18 digs.
The Sting will travel to Durham on Thursday at 8 p.m. while the Panthers travel to Georgian Sunday at 2 p.m.
Source: Seneca College
NORTH YORK, Ont. - The Canadore Panthers men's varsity volleyball team was unable to defeat the Seneca Sting, losing in five sets at the Toronto campus.
Canadore's top scorer was Charlie Hancock with 24 points, all coming from kills.
The Seneca Sting got off to a strong start, putting the Panthers behind two games straight. Canadore rallied back to win the third and fourth set before falling to the Sting with a tight score of 15-12 in the fifth.
Canadore head coach Tim Ryan says, "My team was down 2-0; we fought back but still weren't able to hold off a highly motivated and hardworking Seneca team."
Source: Canadore College