WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL: LAKERS GRIND OUT ANOTHER WIN

The Nipissing Lakers women’s volleyball team is heating up at the right time as the season winds down.

Winners of four in a row with five matches left, the Lakers are in the middle of a playoff push and looking to climb the OUA standings.

After a sweep of the TMU Bold Friday, the teams were back on the court Saturday afternoon and despite a big push from the Bold, the Lakers won 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-14).

In the opening set, the Lakers started strong, jumping out to an 11-7 lead early and led 19-17 near the final few points of the set.

The Bold replied, however, going on an 8-3 run to steal the set and go up 1-0.

Nipissing replied in the second set, once again starting strong, taking an early 9-8 lead, which turned into a 17-13 advantage midway through the set.

Despite a pushback from TMU, Nipissing earned a 25-21 win even up the match at 1-1.

Nipissing kept control of the match, going ahead thanks to a gritty third set victory.

Up 14-12, the Lakers extended their lead to 23-21 before putting the set away, winning 25-22 and putting themselves in a position to claim the win.

The Lakers grabbed an early 13-6 lead in the fourth set, coming out strong after back-to-back wins to take over the match.

They controlled the set and led 20-12 before putting game and match away, winning 25-14 in the fourth.

Paige Owen led the Lakers with 22 kills, Anna Marie Horvat had 20 and Oceane Raymond-Leduc added 12 in the victory.

Nipissing is back in action next weekend when they hit the road to take on the RMC Paladins in Kingston.