The Windsor Lancer women's volleyball team travelled up the 401 to play against the Waterloo Warriors at the PAC on Friday January 5th and Saturday January 6th to kick off their second half of the season in the winter semester and 2024 calendar year.
 
The Lancers lost on Friday evening 3-1 (14-25, 25-19, 23-25, 18-25) and followed up on Saturday with another 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 21-25, 20-25) loss in the rematch matinee. 
 
FRIDAY STATS
Aliah Admans and Raiya Millin shared the team lead offensively of 8 kills each in the extra set loss on Friday night.  Jordyn Brearly had 7 kills as well in the first loss on the weekend to the Warriors.
 
Aryn Markett had a game high lead of 4 service aces contributing with a strong serving performance from the Lancers serving zone.  Markett also had 9 digs along with Millin as each were the defensive leaders for the blue and gold on Friday.
 
Lancer setter, Nicole Woelk had 23 assists as well in the Friday night loss to Waterloo.
 
Waterloo's offense was led by Rachael Meilikhan and Abbey Neufeld who each had 13 kills in the victory over Windsor.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED ON FRIDAY
The Lancers opened the scoring of the first set and found themselves in a fight with the Warriors early in the set.  The Warriors would then begin etching a lead approaching the midway mark of the opening set. 
 
Waterloo's lead grew to a 14-5 spread which made it an uphill battle for the blue and gold to match up with the black and gold hosts down the stretch. 
 
Ultimately, Waterloo would continue building their lead to take away Windsor's chances of reaching an equalizing score or overturning their lead which stayed intact to close out the first set with a commanding 25-14 first set win and 1-0 match lead.
 
The Lancers would respond with oomph in the second set generating momentum in the form of a comfortable lead which did see the Warriors strive to battle back on and remain within a reasonable point spread distance. 
 
Windsor would continue to carry momentum forward and find a way to stay engaged in the game to close out the second set on top of the Warriors with a 25-19 response to the opening set loss and stalemate the match at 1-1.
 
A tough battle ensued in the third set which saw both sides see-saw back in forth in a series of points and leads traded on the scoreboard and not allowing either team to breakaway with the set in their full control. 
 
It would come down to the wire late in the third set when both teams met at 23-23 and made it a win-by-two set scenario which saw Waterloo earn two unanswered points to round out the third set on top 25-23 and take the 2-1 match advantage.
 
Waterloo would find themselves challenged by Windsor again in the fourth set as the Lancers looked to even up the match once more and send this game to a fifth and final deciding set if necessary. 
 
However, though their intentions were met with valiant efforts put on display, the shorthanded Lancers continued to fight hard in search of the set win but saw themselves in another deadlock at 16-16 which after that point became a Waterloo advantage on the scoreboard up until the end of the fourth set where the Warriors were able to top the Lancers 25-18 off a series of clutch kills from their top attackers in Meilikhan and Neufeld.  The Warriors would serve the Lancers a 3-1 loss and their seventh loss of the season.
 
SATURDAY STATS
Aliah Admans had another impressive offensive outing with 11 kills while Jordyn Brearly also put away 10 kills on the Waterloo side of the court while Yaila Sealy had 7 kills of her own in the second straight loss to the Warriors on the weekend. 
 
Defensively Raiya Millin had a monster 14 dig performance while libero Sam Loshusan had 11 digs of her own in the defensive efforts which came up short to the Warriors.
 
Nicole Woelk produced 31 assists in the second straight four set loss to the Warriors in Waterloo. 
 
Meanwhile on the other side, Waterloo was led by Avery Kelly who had an impressive all-around game consisting of 15 kills offensively and 14 digs defensively to lead her team over the Lancers for a second time on the opening weekend of 2024.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY
The Lancers were in search of immediate revenge on Saturday afternoon looking to respond to the Warriors after dropping the decision the night before. 
 
A sluggish start in the first set did leave room for improvement as the Lancers were able to find their mojo and get back in sync with the Warriors throughout the duration of the set holding onto the tight margin which saw the lead mostly remain in possession of Waterloo. 
 
Despite being within a one to two-point spread the Lancers remained determined to battle to the end of the first but in the end the Warriors proved to be the victors with a 26-24 extra point set one victory to go up 1-0 in the match.
 
The second appeared in a lot of ways like how the night before's second set went at the PAC.  The Lancers gained momentum and control throughout the crucial stages of the set and were able to find a way to keep up the spirits and energy to take the second set 25-19 and tie the match up at 1-1. 
 
Back in the swing of things, Waterloo shook off the second set aura that was embodied by Windsor and find a way to uplift their spirits back into the contest and regain focus.  The Warriors broke open a doubled up 14-7 lead midway through the set which made it tough for the Lancers to climb back within reach of their cross-court counterparts.
 
However, to their credit, Windsor managed to overcome the deficit and get back within one point at 18-17 Waterloo and again at 21-20 Warriors to try and snag a set lead for the first time on the weekend. 
 
But despite more noteworthy strong efforts made by the blue and gold gals, it would be the black and gold gals coming out ahead with a 25-21 third set win and going up 2-1 in the match on the verge of repeating another four-set victory if able to win the next set that followed.
 
Indeed so, Waterloo jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the fourth generating early momentum and thriving off the flurry of points which set them apart early.  Despite the whopping early lead, Windsor did fight hard to get back within striking distance of the Warriors score including getting as close as one-point back at 20-19 in favour of Waterloo.
 
In the end, the Warriors would finish off the Lancers in four for a second straight outing on the weekend capping off the fourth 25-20 and the match 3-1 to keep the hosts undefeated in 2024 to date and visiting Lancers still in search of their first win this season.
 
UP NEXT
The Lancer ladies will be back on the road again next weekend heading up to Peterborough to take on the Trent Excalibur at the Trent University Athletics Centre on Friday January 12th at 6PM and again on Saturday January 13th at 4:00pm. 
 
Both teams will be heading into next weekend with 0-8 records on the season and without a doubt each team will be hungry in search of their first win(s) of the season in what will be an interesting affair across the OUA women's volleyball landscape. 
 
The Lancer Family can tune in and support the blue and gold gals on OUA.tv or follow our official Windsor Lancers social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter) for live updates of the Lancers gameday action.