It was a five-set thriller at Bob Davis Gymnasium.
Despite winning the first two sets, the Badgers were unable to conquer the Nipissing Lakers as they dropped a 3-2 decision (25-13, 25-22, 18-25, 26-28, 13-15) on Friday, Feb. 14.
Three Badgers finished the contest with 13 kills in Laurin Ainsworth, Emma Baruchelli and Sadie Dick, with Ainsworth and Baruchelli both having a team-high 16.5 points. Lauren Teehan started in the setter position and finished with a game-high 47 assists.
Dick set a new program milestone, as she now has over 1000 points in her Ontario University Athletics (OUA) career and is now the program leader in points, passing Laura Condotta.
The Badgers used strong serving and blocking to win a commanding first set 25-13, with Baruchelli notching a team-high three service aces while the team as a whole delivered six blocks.
Nipissing started the second set strong, taking a lead as large as 15-12. A timeout from the Badgers sparked the comeback as five service aces including two straight from Charlotte Ross helped elevate them to a 25-20 victory.
In the third frame, the Badgers struggled with numerous attack errors and ultimately fell 25-18.
Brock had a three-point lead multiple times in the fourth and as late as 20-17, but Nipissing did not go away, After tying it at 20-20, the visitors kept clawing and won the fourth frame off a kill from Paige Owen and a block from Ramanda Bell and Logan Garvey.
In the fifth set, Brock got to the changeover first with a tight 8-7 lead. Although the Badgers’ advantage got as large as 11-8, it was the Lakers who went on a 7-2 run off of seven kills to defeat the host Badgers in a five-set marathon.
The Badgers were outhit .319 to .218 but controlled the service game, outperforming their opponents 14-6.
Up next, the Badgers will honour their seniors after their matchup with the Nipissing Lakers tomorrow Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. Get your tickets at University Tickets and watch the game at OUA.tv.
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