Coming off their trips to the Montreal Invitational and West Coast Classic tournaments, the women’s volleyball team will kick off the 2013-2014 regular season with two contests at Tait Mckenzie Gym this weekend on October 18 and 19.
The Lions struggled through pre-season tournament play, maintaining a 3-5 record but they have more than proven they can get the job done when the regular season rolls around.
The Lions have been extremely successful the past two seasons, finishing first in the Ontario University Athletics standings two years in a row, 17-1 last year and 16-2 the year before. York will begin the 2013-2014 season on October 18 with a meaningful bout against the Guelph Gryphons in front of their rowdy home fans.
The Lions have been extremely successful the past two seasons, finishing first in the Ontario University Athletics standings two years in a row, 17-1 last year and 16-2 the year before. York will begin the 2013-2014 season on October 18 with a meaningful bout against the Guelph Gryphons in front of their rowdy home fans.
The Gryphons limped through the regular season last year, ending up ninth in the OUA and missing the playoffs. Guelph finished the season with a record of 6–12.
However, the Gryphons did accomplish something no other team in the OUA could. The Gryphons were the only team to hand the Lions a loss in the regular season. York will be looking to power through their season opener on October 18, taking care of unfinished business from last season on York’s home floor.
The Lions’ second game of the opening weekend will be against the Waterloo Warriors on October 19. The Warriors struggled last season, only winning four games but one of the few bright spots they had was Clara Tse, who had 242 points to her name and finished the season averaging 3.56 points per game. The Warriors will have a new bench boss this season after the departure of long time coach Gabriele Jobst, who led the Warriors to a 68-68 record during her tenure. Even with the help of some promising first-year players, the game against York will not be a walk in the park by any means for Waterloo.
York fields one of the strongest teams in all the OUA, led by the trio of Brandie Wilkerson, Michelle Pierce, and Melissa Humana-Paredes. Wilkerson put together another dominant performance in 2012-2013, finishing third in the OUA with 4.21 points per game. The trio averaged a combined 10.88 points per game.
The Lions’ second game of the opening weekend will be against the Waterloo Warriors on October 19. The Warriors struggled last season, only winning four games but one of the few bright spots they had was Clara Tse, who had 242 points to her name and finished the season averaging 3.56 points per game. The Warriors will have a new bench boss this season after the departure of long time coach Gabriele Jobst, who led the Warriors to a 68-68 record during her tenure. Even with the help of some promising first-year players, the game against York will not be a walk in the park by any means for Waterloo.
York fields one of the strongest teams in all the OUA, led by the trio of Brandie Wilkerson, Michelle Pierce, and Melissa Humana-Paredes. Wilkerson put together another dominant performance in 2012-2013, finishing third in the OUA with 4.21 points per game. The trio averaged a combined 10.88 points per game.
While the Lions have been dominant the past two seasons, they are still looking for a way to ride their regular season momentum into the playoffs. After being disqualified two years ago, and losing by just two points in the OUA gold medal game against Ottawa last season, York’s window of opportunity is beginning to close with this core group of girls. After two seasons of dominating the regular season, it once again will be OUA gold or bust for this Lions team.
Amjed Al Salman
Contributor
