GEORGIAN 3, SENECA 1

The Seneca Sting women's volleyball team saw their season come to an end on Wednesday night at the hands of the Georgian Grizzlies in a tough, four set match.

Coming into the match with a "win and you're in" mentality, the Sting fought hard throughout the match, but were unable to win enough of the key rallies to extend their season.

In the opening set, the two teams exchanged points for the better part of the set. With the teams tied at 15, Seneca went on a minor run to take a 20-17 lead. A Grizzlies timeout shifted the momentum as Georgian won seven of the next eight rallies to sit on the brink of a one set lead.  Seneca followed up with three straight points to even the set at 24-24. A serve long by Seneca gave the Grizzlies the opening they needed and took the first set 26-24.

Georgian carried that late momentum into the second set as they took an early 7-3 lead.  Seneca quickly rebounded to take a 9-8 lead, only to lose the momentum once again. The Grizzlies took leads of 14-11 and 17-12 to create some space on the scoreboard before taking the second set 25-17.

With their season on the line, Seneca came out strong in the third set, taking a 3-0 lead early.  The teams exchanged points with Seneca maintaining a 15-11 advantage. The pivotal moment in the set occurred with the Sting leading 18-12. The Georgian coach, unhappy with a call, showed his frustration by tossing his clipboard. The incident resulted in a yellow card and point for the Sting.  Seneca would get back in the match with a 25-17 set victory.

Looking to even the match, Seneca took a 6-5 before a Bianca Newman serving ace brought the crowd to its feet. The Grizzlies battled back to take a 13-11 lead. The Sting, not giving up, made two huge digs off unblocked kill attempts by the Grizzlies. Amy Sayaveth made the first dig while Clare Weisser matched her teammate's effort with the second dig. Seneca would use the momentum from that rally to take a 19-17 lead. The comeback would end moments later as a pair of aces doomed the Sting, dropping the fourth set 25-19.

Seneca was led offensively by Kim Cedros who had nine kills and 13 digs. Febbie Valenquela added eight kills and 15 digs along with seven from Danielle Simpson. Simpson and Amy Sayaveth each had three serving aces. Clare Weisser had 19 digs.

Georgian received 10 kills from Erin McClean and nine from Allison Marshall. Marshall and McClean each had four aces along with four blocks from Hannah Campbell. Natalie Buck had 11 digs.

Prior to the match, the Seneca coaching staff recognized three graduating players: Febbie Valenzuela, Yvonne Chow and Delia LeBlanc.

The Seneca Sting finished the season 9-11, tied for sixth in the OCAA East Division. Due to the tiebreaker rule, Seneca narrowly missed out on a post-season bid. Seneca will be hosting the 2014 CCAA National Championship March 5-8 where the host school will receive an automatic spot in the championship.

Source: Seneca College