LIONS DEFEAT WARRIORS, CLINCH FIRST PLACE IN OUA

The York University Lions women's volleyball team clinched first place in the OUA East standings on Friday night (Feb. 3) with a straight-sets victory over the Waterloo Warriors at the Physical Activities Complex in Waterloo, Ont.

The win improved the Lions' record to 14-1 on the year and they are assured of home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Sophomore outside hitter Melissa Humana-Paredes (Toronto) continued her strong season with another impressive showing on the court. She led all players with 12 points, earned on 11 kills and one service ace, and added nine digs.

Sheraine Henry (Oakville, Ont.) and Thinesa Sriskandarajah (Scarborough, Ont.) each finished with nine points. Sriskandarajah earned all hers on nine kills and also added 11 digs, while Henry had seven kills, one service ace and one block. 

Libero Jennifer Black (London, Ont.) led all players with 17 digs, and setter Tisha Rouse (Brampton, Ont.) also had a game high with 33 assists.

After a close first set that the Lions won by just two points – 25-23 – they turned up the heat and cruised in the final two sets, winning 25-18 and 25-21 for their ninth straight-sets win of the year. The team has dropped just eight sets all season, 10 fewer than any other team in the league.

Laura Klein was Waterloo's top player on the night with 12 points, including 11 kills and one service ace, and seven digs, both team highs.

The loss dropped the Warriors to 6-10 on the year and they are tied for ninth place in the OUA standings, just two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

The Lions will play their final road game of the regular season on Saturday night (Feb. 4) when they travel to Guelph to face the Gryphons in a game beginning at 6pm.

They will return home next weekend for their final two games of the regular season. Up first is a game against the Ryerson Rams on Saturday (Feb. 11) at 2pm, followed by a contest against the McMaster Marauders in the finale on Sunday (Feb. 12) at 12pm. They will also be at the Tait McKenzie Centre the following Saturday (Feb. 18) for an OUA quarter-final contest against the eighth seed in the standings. The time of that match has yet to be determined.