PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – The Nipissing Lakers earned a berth in the gold medal final at the 2013 OCAA Women's Volleyball Championship at Trent University following a decisive three-set victory over the Redeemer Royals 25-15, 25-18, 25-17.
Redeemer came out strong at the beginning of the first set jumping out to a 4-0 lead before Nipissing got their first stop. The Lakers stayed with it and worked hard to erase the slow start tying things up at 6-6. After evening things up, the Lakers pushed to a 11-7 lead going into a Redeemer timeout. Coming out of the Royals timeout, Nipissing continued with strong defence and offence extending their lead to 17-9 forcing Redeemer to take their second timeout. Following the timeout, Redeemer gave their best effort to stay in the set but could not stop Nipissing on their way to a 25-15 victory. Jacquie Dyball (Pefferlaw, Ont.) led the attack for the Lakers picking up four kills and two blocks in the set.
The second set started with some tough serving from Nipissing's Rebecca Ramsay (Madoc, Ont.) picking up an ace as the Lakers came out to a 3-0 lead. Both teams fought hard to gain the advantage through some long rallies displaying some great offensive and defensive skill. The Lakers managed to gain the upper hand building a 9-3 lead early forcing the Royals to take a timeout. Redeemer fought their way back into the set narrowing the gap to 14-11 at the midway point. Nipissing responded well to the solid play from the Royals and opened their lead back up to 20-13 late in the set. Redeemer did not give up as they pushed to get back into the set but the Lakers held them off and took it 25-18 and grabbed a 2-0 match lead. Ramsay provided some great offence for the Lakers with five kills, one ace and one block in the set.
The third set was more of the same from the Nipissing Lakers, displaying their consistent defensive and offensive skill. Redeemer gave their best effort to keep the set close but Nipissing ended up building a 15-8 leading going into Redeemer's first timeout. Following the timeout, Redeemer rallied, bringing the score within three points but the Lakers once again weathered the storm and took a 19-13 lead late in the set. The Lakers kept up the pace as they closed out the set at 25-17 and took the match 3-0.
Player of the Game for Nipissing was Dyball picking up seven kills and three blocks in the match. Redeemer's Player of the Game was Elise Kollenhoven (Acton, Ont.) with four kills and one ace on the night.
Nipissing's opponents in the gold medal final Saturday at 4 p.m. will be decided later Friday evening in the game between Humber and Fanshawe. Redeemer will have another shot on Saturday morning in the bronze semi-final match against the Cambrian Golden Shield.
Source: Trent University