Hawks score first win of 2010

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women’s volleyball team bounced back from their four-set loss on Friday night to the Western Mustangs to sweep the Windsor Lancers for their first win of the season.

Against Western, the Golden Hawks fought hard but lost their first two sets 25-18 and 26-24. In the third set, the ladies rallied together and won the set 25-14. Their hard work and determination paid off but unfortunately for the purple and gold the Mustangs took the fourth set 25-14, largely because of their ability to keep the ball in play and capitalize on opportunities. This defeat took the Hawks’ record to 0-5.

After the disappointing loss on Friday night, the Lady Hawks looked for redemption on Saturday night as they took on the Lancers, the only other winless team in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) west division. They went into the game confident and focused and came away with their first win of the season, a blowout victory with the Hawks taking the game in a three-set sweep.

The Golden Hawks came out strong and took the first set 25-17. With confidence the Lady Hawks took the second set 25-19 and then sealed the victory with a 25-16 victory.

“The key to success tonight was discipline and consistency in being able to control what you need to control at the right time of the game,” said Golden Hawks head coach Luke Snider.

This was shown through Laurier’s ability to win rally points, which successfully ended any Lancer momentum. They showed focus and determination and maintained composure throughout the game.

The Golden Hawks team captain, Tesca Andrew-Wasylik, was proud of her team for their first win of the season.

“Everyone worked together really well,” she said. “We’ve been building up through every game and it all came together tonight.”

“We were able to get touches on everything and pop up the ball and then ripping on the ball as hard as they could,” continued Wasylik, who had ten and nine kills on Friday and Saturday respectively. This takes the captain’s attack percentage to an impressive .412.

Lauren Carter, the Golden Hawk all-star of the game, contributed to the win by contributing 38 assists, three kills and five assisted blocks against Western. Julie Gordon, last year’s OUA west rookie of the year, led the Hawks offensively with 11 kills on Friday night against Western. She is also currently in twelfth in Ontario, averaging 3.45 points per game.

Second-year Brittney Hopley also had a great weekend with ten kills against Western and nine kills, five digs and three blocked shots against Windsor.

The Lady Hawks will look to keep up their momentum when the University of Toronto Varsity Blues visit the Laurier Athletic Complex on Nov. 27 in their last game of the semester.

A win against Toronto would put the Golden Hawks one win away from a tie for fifth in the OUA west with the Waterloo Warriors.