Lakers volleyball teams split weekend games

The Nipissing Lakers volleyball teams welcomed the Redeemer Royals and the Humber Hawks to the new courts of the expanded Robert J. Surtees Student Athletics Centre January 21 and 22.Here’s a recap of all the action:Women’s ResultsHawks edge Lakers?The Lady Lakers swept Redeemer on Saturday before dropping to the Humber Hawks on Sunday.
The Humber game was another classic chapter in the battle between the two top West Division teams, now in its seventh year. In the end it is only fitting that the game would need extra points in the fifth set as the Humber Hawks (13-0) edged the Lady Lakers (9-2) 16-14 in a two-hour-fifteen-minute dual.
The Lady Lakers started poorly, as Humber took the first set easily 25-18.  The Hawks looked poised to claim the second set before a late rally ignited the Lakers and propelled the team to a 25-23 victory. The Lady Lakers gained some momentum from the previous set and executed very well, claiming the third set 25-15. The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair that saw numerous lead changes. The turning point came when Humber retrieved a ball from the back wall that just cleared the net and the Lakers were unable to take advantage, which led to the 25-23 fourth set win for Humber.
The final set was a classic, with Humber taking a 14-11 lead before the Lady Lakers reeled off three points to tie the match. At 14-14 the Hawks where able to side out by the Lakers block and took the final point with a stuff block.
“Despite our slow start I thought it was a good match,” said head coach Marc LaRochelle. “I think the lesson we have to learn is to avoid making unforced errors at key moments during a match.  When we do that, good things will happen.”
Saturday the Lady Lakers easily defeated the Redeemer Royals 3-0 (25-17, 25-8, 25-8).
The Lady Lakers will be back in action when they travel to Niagara and Sheridan next weekend.Men's ResultsHawks hand Lakers first loss
The visiting Humber Hawks (12-1) handed the Lakers (10-1) their first regular season loss with a 3-1 victory (21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-16).
The Lakers came out firing on all cylinders, playing a strong first set behind a great crowd of more than 500 people at the Surtees Athletic Centre. The momentum would change quickly, however, as the Lakers started making uncharacteristic unforced errors and Humber capitalized on their opportunities.
The Lakers posted a balanced offence with Andre Leblanc, Frankie Edgecombe and Scott Coulthard each collecting 13 points while Humber's offence consistent of Terrel Bramwell who collected a game high 21 points.
The Lakers will need to regroup quickly as they hit the road for a pair of games against Niagara and the always thorough Sheridan Bruins.
On Saturday, the Lakers played a solid game sweeping the Redeemer Royal 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-21). Andre Leblanc led the offence with 14 points while Coulthard and Edgecombe added 11 and nine points respectively.