The Lancer women's volleyball team opened up 2016 with a strong 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 27-29, 26-24) win over the Waterloo Warriors on Friday night at the St. Denis Centre.
 
With the win, the Lancers move to 6-4 on the season and currently sit in third place in the OUA west division standings, while the Warriors fall to 4-7 on the year and sit in sixth.
 
Third year hitter Carleigh Bailey had a great overall game leading the Blue & Gold with 12 kills, 16 digs and 14 points. Emily McCloskey contributed 13 kills, and a game high 19 points while Jade Ziebarth had 10 kills and 16 digs, and senior Shannon Dean had 9 kills and 14 points.
 
The Warriors were led by starter Alyson Colpitts with 15 kills and 17.5 points, while defensively Krysten Bartmann led the way for the visitors with a game high 24 digs.
 
After being off for almost two months, the Lancers were a little shaky to start the game but continued to push through to keep the game close. Dean dominated the net, allowing the Lancers to settle in and pull together to take control of the frame.
 
The second started similar to the first, with Windsor struggling to create a consistent offence allowing the visitors to take an early lead. Both teams show great defense with the set consisting of many long rallies and keeping the score close. Windsor was able to pull ahead as Carleigh Bailey took charge at the net with a total of 5 kills in the set.
 
In the third, Waterloo took control of the set early and used strong blocking to keep the Lancer offence at bay. Windsor came from behind and erased a seven point deficit and took a 23-22 lead late in the set with some smart hitting, placing their tips and hits into the holes of the Waterloo defense. The teams then traded back and worth well into extra points until the Warriors took the set 29-27.
 
Ziebarth shone in the fourth set playing some great defense, laying her body on the line to keep the ball of the floor. Both teams conceded a number of unforced errors to keep the game close, but the Lancers prevailed with a huge kill from McCloskey that secured the win in extra points.
 
The Blue & Gold will now break until January 23rd when they travel to St. Catharine's to face the Brock Badgers. Windsor returns home on Friday January 29th when they host the McMaster Marauders at 6:00pm at the St. Denis Centre.