By: Ryleigh Mulvihill
SCARBOROUGH - Sophia Clement had 14 assists and 12 digs as the Centennial Colts lost to the La Cite Coyotes 3-1 on Friday Night in OCAA women's volleyball. Clement's 12 digs were part of an impressive turn for a Centennial Colts (4-12) team, who have been average in this area compared to their opponents. A total of six players contributed 60 digs in the game. "Sophia is our leader and captain, and we would not be where we are without her," said head coach Andrew Mallory.
After going down quickly 3-0, three Centennial players, Isabella Heath, Fatemah Rouhi Maleki, and Sophia Clement, each had three impressive digs to keep the Colts in it. However, La Cite (9-8) spent majority of the first set in the lead. Four aces put the Coyotes in a commanding position over the Colts, who registered zero. It was close at the timeout mark, but the first set ended up being won by La Cite 25-16.
Centennial found more success coming up with 19 digs in the second set. With an average of 11.76 digs per set coming into this game on Friday, this was a highlight for the Colts. Centennial stopped the offensive attack from the Coyotes by forcing the continued play. The multiple rallies were exciting for the loud and proud Colts crowd.
The Colts learned from their mistakes in the first set and won the second 25-20. Centennial kept it close but was ultimately outplayed in the third set. La Cite is first in the OCAA for digs, with 868 this season. Another ten in the third set saw Centennial chasing. The Colts and the Coyotes switched scores, as this time, La Cite was on the winning side of a 25-20 final.
The Colts played hard all game, but it was not enough. The last set got away from them with six attack errors versus zero attack kills. Coyotes Chloe Faulkner was a standout, as she consistently made it happen for her team. She accounted for 24 of the 31 assists recorded by La Cite. The Coyotes have now won five in a row.
The women of Centennial volleyball will look to close out the season strong as they play their last game at home on February 11th against Algonquin.