After starting the season with a 3-0 win over Lakehead, the Lakers hit the road for the first time and had mixed results.
Friday night, the Lakers fell 3-0 to the York Lions, but bounced back in a big way Saturday against Trent, winning 3-0 to earn the weekend split.
On Friday, the Lakers stuck around, but couldn’t manage enough offence to climb back into the match, losing 25-18 top open the match.
In the second set, it was 25-20 for York, as the Lakers pushed back, but still couldn’t manage a win.
And finally, in the third set, York closed out the match with a 25-13 win.
Shayla Kessler had seven kills to lead the Lakers, while Tracy Hammerton and Victoria Willars each had five kills and five points.
In the second game of the weekend, the Lakers did exactly what they needed to.
Nipissing handled Trent relatively quickly, winning in straight sets.
The Lakers came out strong, winning 25-14 to get things rolling in the match.
In the second, they continued their strong play and claimed the 25-18 victory to go up 2-0 and in the third, they sealed the win with a dominant 25-6 win.
Hammerton was strong offensively, leading the way with 10 kills, Willars added six and Vanessa Arbour had four kills and 10.5 points.
Nipissing finished the weekend with a 2-1 record and will now prepare for a tough weekend in Toronto, facing the Ryerson Rams Friday night and the Varsity Blues Saturday.
Ryerson is 2-2 so far this season and Toronto is a perfect 3-0.
Nipissing returns for two home matches to close out the first semester on Nov. 26 and 27.
With two regulars out of the lineup, it would have been easy to give the Nipissing Lakers a bit of a pass this weekend and just get through the two games, hoping for the best.
Instead, the Lakers came out determined and firing on all cylinders to open the season, dominating both York and Trent, to end the weekend with two wins.
On Friday night, Steve Wood led the attack with 16 kills and 19 points, as the Lakers swept York aside, winning 25-20, 25-23 and 25-16.
Lyndon Sonego added eight kills, Jack Peckham had six and Mason Blais chipped in with four.
The start was exactly what the banged up Lakers needed and wanted – a quick victory to get the season going in style.
Things continued in the right direction on Saturday, as well as they battled two matches in two days, plus travel to sweep Trent.
The Excalibur put up a fight, but the Lakers used their depth to claim the win.
Wood once again led the attack with eight kills, while Curtis MacPherson put up seven and Peckham added another six.
Nipissing took the first set 25-21 to open the match and give themselves a lead.
The Lakers then took control in the second, winning 25-16 to grab a strangle hold on the match and didn’t mess around, winning 25-20 in the third for the sweep.
With the 2-0 start, the Lakers are the only undefeated team in the East Division after the first few weekends of play.
The Lakers will face a tough challenge next weekend, when they hit the road and travel to Toronto to battle Ryerson and Toronto.
Ryerson is 3-1 so far, having won two in a row, while Toronto is 1-2, losing to Queens in their previous match on Saturday.
Nipissing will return home on Nov. 26 and 27 as they host RMC and Queens to close out the first semester of play.
