NORTH YORK, Ont. - How would the Seneca Sting deal with their first loss of the season?
That was the question entering their afternoon match against the Canadore Panthers. The answer was a resounding positive one which saw the Sting sweep the Panthers in three uncontested sets to improve to 4-1 and bounce back from their home opener loss.
Seneca looked more relaxed taking the court against the Panthers than they did on Wednesday night. Their sloppy play could be attributed to playing at home for the first time, being undefeated or just the lofty expectations the team has set for themselves this season.
Those early season jitters were long gone early as the Sting opened up with a 4-3 lead. With Tina O'Donnell's (Scarborough) and Maxine Law-Tan's (Burlington) keeping the Panthers off balance, the Sting scored 11 of the next 12 points to take a 15-4 advantage. A brief surge by the Panthers narrowed the lead to 21-14 before O'Donnell finished off the opening set with a pair of aces.
Looking to rebound, the Panthers took an early 3-0 lead before Seneca stormed back to take a 7-4 advantage. The teams would exchange points before the Panthers tied the set up at 12-12. A kill by Rebecca Sobie (Mississauga) gave the Sting a lead they would not relinquish. Three consecutive points off of Bianca Newman's (Ajax) serve created some breathing room for the Sting as they took the second set 25-18.
Law-Tan took over the match in the third set, helping the Sting to a 7-3 advantage off a trio of Law-Tan kills. The Panthers clawed their way back to 9-7, but the offensive fired power of the Sting took control, opening up a 17-10 lead. Lindsay Ballance (Napanee) continued a strong serving match to help lead the Sting to a 25-21 win.
Ballance and Sobie each had 10 kills for the Sting while setter Paulynne Reyes (Edmonton) added 27 assists. Sobie (15), Clare Weisser (Queensville) and Reyes (12) were stalwarts defensively for the home side.
The Sting will travel to Durham on Thursday at 6 p.m. while the Panthers travel to Georgian Sunday at 12 noon.
Source: Seneca College
NORTH YORK, Ont. - The Canadore Panthers women's varsity volleyball team lost in three straight sets to a strong Seneca Sting team on the road today.
Canadore's top scorer was Liza Grennon with eight points, including six kills.
The Panthers got off to a rough start, losing the first set 25-14. Pushing a little harder the next game, they lessened the gap to 25-18 before finally losing in the third set with a score of 25-21.
Head coach, Stefanie Hancock, was not impressed with the performance of her team. "Every game is tough from here on out, and we need to stay focused on our goals."
The girls now sit in sixth place in the East Division of the OCAA with a split record of three wins and three losses. There was no player of the game chosen for this afternoon's game.
Source: Canadore College