The win gives York a 2-0 start to the season after the Lions also defeated the Guelph Gryphons in their season opener. Coming in as the underdogs, Waterloo played with a much more relaxed style than the Lions in the first set, capitalizing on multiple errors by our home team. The Lions’ lazy play eventually led to nine unforced errors and a 1-0 Waterloo lead, losing the first set 25-20. Although they were down just one game, the lead was a shock to the Lions, says Head Coach Nick Tran.
“Waterloo played quite well. They came in and were ready to go right at the first whistle and they challenged us on every ball,” says Tran. “Their desire to dig in that first game was unmatched on our side, and I thought that they caught us by surprise.”
York came out flying in the second set, overwhelming Waterloo on the way to a quick 9-3 lead. Once again, however, York’s own mental mistakes allowed the Warriors back in the game, at one point seeing their lead dwindle to just 12-11.
Sensing momentum was slipping away, the set was then taken over by two-time Ontario University Athletics all-star Melissa Humana-Paredes, helped by newcomer Brittney Hopley. Both took turns trying to smash the ball through the floor as the Lions rebuilt their lead to a stable 23-16. The game was then finally put to rest by Michelle Pierce, who hammered away the final two points, knotting the match up at 1-1.
Humana-Paredes and Hopley then carried their dominant play into the third set, helping York slowly pull away from the War- riors. With the game sitting at 6-5, a Hopley smash was the first of six straight York points scored by either Hopley or Humana-Paredes. The Lions would eventually take the set 25-19, giving them a 2-1 ad- vantage going into the fourth set.
Despite the victory, the Lions struggled mightily to build a lead and sustain it, a trend that Tran says he would not like to see continue. “We need work on finishing strong. In all three games that we won, we had huge leads, and the score really shouldn’t have been that close, but it was because we let the team back in,” he says.
“The same thing happened against Guelph. We need a little bit of maturity about finishing the game strong so we will continue to work on that.”
Ryan McCabe
Sports and Health Editor
