The Lancers’ Leah Christensen (No. 12) prepares to spike the ball against the Durham Lords. Photo by Robert D. Champagne, QNet News
By Kyle Ellington [1]
BELLEVILLE – The Loyalist Lancers [2] volleyball teams fell short on Wednesday night.
Both the men and women were coming off a pair of victories against the Seneca Sting [3] on Saturday and were looking to win their second game in a row.
In front of a raucous home crowd, the Lancers were in for a tough match against the No. 1 seeded team in the Ontario College Athletic Association’s eastern division, the Durham Lords. [4]
The first game of the night was the women’s team, which ended in the Lancers losing three sets to none.
The team had a tough first set but responded in the second, giving the Lords a tougher matchup.
After the game, Lancers outside hitter Aingele Campbell-Stewart [5] told QNet News, “The first set was kind of embarrassing. For the second set, we were trying to push because we know we can play better than what we played in the first set. We kind of got down on ourselves. We have a bit of a problem getting out of our own heads, so in the second set we played more for each other, getting out of our own way and kept pushing.”
Lancers coach Ryan Stoness [6] said the second set showed how well the team can play against a tough opponent.
“I think the second set shows what we’re capable of playing against a really strong team. As a coach, we would have liked to see the first set and the third set be similar in capacity in terms of the second,” he said.
Stoness added that this game showed what the team would have to work on heading into the final games of the season.
“I think that the two primary areas that we will focus on in practice this week as we prepare for our next game are serving reception and defence,” he said.
The Lancers’ Jaden Collier spiking the ball against the Durham Lords. Photo By Robert D. Champagne, QNet News
The men played a tightly competitive match against the Lords, pushing the team to five sets.
The Lancers lost in the first set but pushed the No. 1 team in their next two sets. The second set was back and forth, with the final score being 30-28 for the Lancers.
Josh Roberts [7], the outside hitter for the Lancers, said he believes the Lords may have underestimated Loyalist heading into the match. Despite what the Lancers’ record says, they are a competitive team, he said.
“Our record doesn’t showcase how talented we are. We’re a very competitive team and we clearly showcased it tonight. It would’ve been nice to pick up a win. Durham did a nice job to close out the game. It could’ve gone either way, but the stars fell in their direction,” Roberts said.
The teams will play again on Saturday on the road against the Centennial Colts [8]. The women will play at 1 p.m. and the men will play at 3 p.m.