York Lions Defeat Lakehead Thunderwolves In Home Opener
The York University Lions women’s volleyball team defeated the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves by a score of 3-1 in the season opener for both teams at Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night (Oct. 19).
The two teams began the match trading points back and forth, and the Lions held a narrow 16-15 lead over the Thunderwolves at the first technical timeout. The home team then turned up its intensity to take the first set 25-19.
The Lions continued to dominate the Thunderwolves in the second and rolled to the finish, winning 25-5. But the Thunderwolves quickly took control of the match at the start of the third and led throughout, earning a set for themselves by a score of 25-20.
Lakehead carried that momentum into the early part of the fourth set, but the Lions regained control and held a 16-9 advantage at the technical timeout. They continued their strong play after that, winning the fourth 25-16 for their first regular-season win.
Second-year left side Melissa Monkhouse (Guelph, Ont.), making the first start of her CIS career after serving as a back-up in her rookie season, led all players with 17 points. She tallied 11 kills, four service aces and two blocks, and also added four digs.
Reigning York female athlete of the year Melissa Humana-Paredes (Toronto), who was an OUA all-star and CIS all-Canadian last season, was again tremendous in this contest. She tallied 10.5 points, on six kills, four service aces and an assisted block, and also added a game-high 21 digs.
Fellow OUA all-star and CIS all-Canadian Brandie Wilkerson (Innisfil, Ont.), the OUA’s leading scorer last year, finished the night with 14 points on 11 kills and three blocks. Middle Michelle Pierce (Windsor, Ont.) also contributed 14 points on nine kills, four blocks and one service ace.
Setter Tisha Rouse (Brampton, Ont.) ran a tremendous offence for the Lions and finished with 39 assists. She also contributed four points and three digs.
Lakehead’s leading scorer was Vanessa Chorkawy (Lively, Ont.), who was the OUA’s top scorer in 2010-11. She finished the match with 15.5 points on 14 kills and 1.5 blocks and was followed by Jorie Daymond (Ottawa), who had 12.5 points.
Sara Hudson (Winnipeg) led the Thunderwolves with 29 assists, and Breanne Hilhorst (Killarney, Man.) had a team-high 12 digs.
Story from the OUA Website | OUA.ca
