PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – The second match of day one at the OCAA Women's Volleyball Championship at Trent University resulted in an upset with the Redeemer Royals, the fourth-place team in the West, defeating East champion Durham Lords in four sets.

The games featured impressive offensive and defensive plays from both teams. After a tough first set that Redeemer took 25-11, Durham took the second set 25-20 but Redeemer came back to take the third and fourth sets 25-18 and 25-23 on their way to victory.

The first set began with Redeemer taking an impressive 7-0 lead. Redeemer continued to push the pace offensively with Curtiss Straatsma (Brampton) leading the way. Durham tried to get themselves back in the match with some solid defensive plays but the offensive strength displayed by Redeemer proved to be too much as the Royals took the first set 25-11.

Durham looked to improve their play from the first set getting off to a quick lead in the second set. Both teams were evenly matched as they went point for point throughout the set with Leah Saar (Pickering) providing some solid offence for the Lords. Redeemer tied the set at 15-15 with an ace by Straatsma but could not keep the Durham squad down as the Lords pushed forward to a 25-20 se victory evening up the match at 1-1.

The third set looked similar the first as the Royals jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Straatsma gained momentum for the Redeemer squad with a monster kill on an overpass from Durham. Durham shook off the slow start and got the score back up to 5-6 before Redeemer pulled away again with a six-point run. Redeemer continued their consistent play for the remainder of the set as they rolled on to a 25-18 victory and a 2-1 match lead.

The fourth set began with Redeemer pushing the pace as they got off to an early 7-3 lead. Durham rallied back and took their first lead of the set at 10-9. Despite a great effort by Durham to hold onto the lead, the Royals were able to get ahead late in the set as they took the victory 25-23 in a close back and forth set and the match 3-1.

The Player of the Game for Redeemer was Straatsma with 29 points (19 kills, two service aces, eight blocks) and 14 digs. Saar took the Player of the Game honours for Durham with eight points (six kills, one service ace, one block) and 11 digs.

The next game for the Redeemer Royals will be on Friday at 6 p.m. against the Nipissing Lakers and the next match for the Durham Lords will be Friday at 1 p.m. versus the Georgian Grizzlies.

Source: Trent University