After starting the season with a 2-1 record, through two weekends, the Nipissing Lakers women's volleyball team hit a bit of a speed bump during a trip to Toronto.
In their second of back-to-back weekends on the road, the Lakers lost 3-0 to the Ryerson Rams Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, before falling 3-0 to the Toronto Varsity Blues Sunday at the Goldring Centre.
On Saturday, it was a slow start that hurt the Lakers, as they were behind the eight ball quickly versus a talented Rams squad.
After losing the first set 25-12, the Lakers picked up their play, but couldn't recover and bounce back to the level they were hoping.
They dropped the second set 25-17 and once again upped their play, but it wasn't enough.
In the third and final set, another jump in effort wasn't enough, as the Rams held on for a 25-21 win and the sweep – the Lakers second loss of the season.
Leading the way offensively were
Tracy Hammerton, who had seven kills,
Annabelle Harvey who had six kills and 7.5 points, and
Shayla Kessler, who added four kills and six points.
Both setters got some time on the court, with
Stephanie Armstrong grabbing 10 assists and
Kylie Fast earning eight.
Looking to bounce back against the undefeated Varsity Blues, the Lakers knew they were in tough and had trouble keeping pace with the defending champs.
Toronto grabbed a 25-12 win to kick off the match and set the tone.
The Lakers bounced back a bit in the second set, closing the gap, but it still wasn't enough as Toronto cruised to a 25-15 win and a strangle hold on the match.
In the third, Toronto put the match away with a 25-7 victory to send the Lakers to their second straight loss and drop their overall record to 2-3.
Kessler led the way with five kills, Hammerton had three and both Harvey and
Erika Lapierre added two each.
The Lakers will get a weekend off and are back in action Nov. 26 and 27 when they close out the first semester.
Nipissing will host RMC Saturday afternoon before wrapping up the first half against Queens Sunday afternoon.
Both matches begin at noon at the RJS Athletic Centre.
