LANCERS GO 2-1 AGAINST GRIZZLIES
The Lancers came out on top of a 3-game showdown against the Georgian Grizzlies on Saturday.
The lone squad on the road, the men's basketball team, led by 3 after the first quarter before widening the gap to a 13-point lead at the half. The Grizzlies battled back in the third quarter, going on a 9-point run to bring the game back within 3 and eventually taking over the lead. Maleek Ekumba and Georgi Nedyalkov combined for 12 points in the 4th quarter and pushed the Lancers to an 85-78 victory over the Grizzlies. Nedyalkov was the top scorer in the game with 26 points, followed closely by Ekumba who contributed 23.
The win brings the Lancers exhibition record to 4-2 with victories over the Lambton Lions and two against the St. Lawrence Surge.
The volleyball squads returned to the home court for the first time since February of 2020. Having played a combined 12 games on the road since October 15th, it was a long overdue return.
The women took to the court first and battled to a 3-1 victory over a hard-hitting Grizzlies team.
After dropping the first set 25-23, the Lancers came alive in the second with smarter attacks, tougher serving and more aggressive defense. First year libero Natalie Hetherington provided a solid foundation for the Lancers to build their offense around with great passing on both on serve receive and defense. Taking a 25-21 win to even the sets 1-1, the Lancers rolled through set 3 with a convincing 25-15 win to take a 2-1 lead.
The Lancers maintained control throughout set 4, but the game was sealed with an exciting showing from Brighton Mathieson at the service line. Subbed into the game at 20-17, Mathieson came up clutch for the team with 4 tough serves to push her team to game point.
Jenica Centurione led the team in scoring with an impressive 14 kills, 2 aces and 2 blocks for 18 points while Sierra Scott contributed 7 kills, 6 aces and 3 blocks for 16 total points.
The men's volleyball team played a terrific first set against a tough Grizzlies squad before falling 3-0. Despite losing the set 25-20, the Lancers showed vast improvements in their game both offensively and defensively. With well-timed and perfectly placed blocks, the Lancers managed to disrupt the Grizzlies offense for much of the set. However, with momentum on their side, the Grizzlies ran away with the game and continued to a 3-0 victory.
First year middle Noah Gray showed plenty of potential in the match with 4 kills on 10 attempts and an array of block touches in the front row to help slow down the Grizzlies.
Josh Vreugdenhil's defensive abilities were on full display with smart positioning, tough passes, and aggressive saves in the back row. Vreugdenhil led the Lancers in scoring with 15 kills.
All four Lancer teams are back in action at home next weekend when they host the George Brown Huskies. The volleyball teams kick off the weekend Friday night with games at 6 & 8 PM while the basketball teams follow on Saturday at 2 & 4 PM.