GEORGIAN 3, FANSHAWE 1

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - The Georgian Grizzlies will have a chance to take home a bronze medal at the 2013 OCAA Women's Volleyball Championship after a hard-fought semi-final win against the Fanshawe Falcons. Georgian came out swinging in the first set winning 25-16. The second set was much closer as the Grizzlies managed to take it 25-22 and grabbed a 2-0 match lead. Fanshawe battled back in the third, taking the set 25-22 but their excitement was short lived as Georgian took the fourth and final set 25-20 and the match 3-1.

The first set commenced with both teams exchanging points up to 6-6 until the Grizzlies pulled ahead 9-6. Fanshawe kept things close with some good defensive play but could not stop Georgian as they extended their lead to 14-9 forcing the Falcons to take their first timeout. The Georgian attack continued after the timeout pushing the score to 20-10 as they tried to close out the set but the Falcons did not give up and battled to stay in it. Georgian ended up stopping their run at 15 and eventually took the set 25-16. Allison Marshall (Orillia, Ont.) led the charge for Georgian picking up three kills and a block.

The second set was again evenly matched with both teams going point for point up to 5-5 until Georgian took the early lead once again at 9-5 going into a Falcons timeout. The Grizzlies maintained their four-point lead up until 13-9 but the Falcons evened the score at 15-15 and took the lead at 16-15 forcing a Georgian timeout. Coming out of their timeout, Georgian tied the set at 17-17 and reclaimed the lead with some tough serving from Natalie Buck (Keswick, Ont.). Fanshawe showed they weren't done yet by squaring things up at 22-22 but Georgian bounced right back taking the next three points closing out the set 25-22 and moving ahead 2-0 in the match.

The third set featured another tight start as both teams stayed even until 9-9 when Fanshawe finally capitalized and jumped ahead to 12-9 at Georgian's first timeout. Georgian kept the set close by keeping within a few points of Fanshawe and finally managed to square things up at 22-22. The Falcons regrouped after a quick timeout and took the next three points on route to a 25-22 set win, forcing a fourth set.

Georgian opened up the fourth set with some strong offensive plays grabbing a quick 7-3 lead and getting Fanshawe to take their first timeout. The timeout didn't seem to affect Georgian's momentum as they extended their lead to 13-4. After taking their second timeout at 17-7, Fanshawe faced an uphill battle as they tried to stay alive but Georgian's offensive play seemed to get the better of them as the Falcons fell 25-20, losing the match 3-1.

The Player of the Game for Georgian was Mackenzie Roy (Barrie, Ont.) with one kill, four aces, three blocks and five digs while the top player for Fanshawe was Brandie Ellis (Newbury, Ont.) picking up 11 kills, one ace and two blocks on the match. With the loss, the Falcons are eliminated from the championship. The Grizzlies will meet Cambrian in the bronze medal final at 3 p.m.

Source: Trent University