Trojans dropped by Lions

CALGARY, ALTA., (Jan. 11, 2019) — After a strong week of practice, SAIT Trojans women's volleyball head coach Art O'Dwyer was surprised Friday night.

The Trojans won the first set, but lost the next three, as they fell to the visiting Ambrose University Lions 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 27-25) in their Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) game played at SAIT's Campus Centre.

"We came in tonight and played afraid," said O'Dwyer. "We played like we were trying not to lose and we can't do that."

The Trojans fall to 10-5 on the season, while Ambrose saw their record jump to 9-6.

In a first set filled with service errors, it was SAIT who came out on top.

After that, SAIT's errors were of the hitting kind, allowing the Lions to tie up the game at 1-1.

Sets 3 and 4 went to Ambrose, as SAIT tried to find anything to get them going. The more SAIT sunk, the more energy the Lions seemed to gain.

"You have to give them credit; they didn't try and hit the ball. They used the block and were strategic in how they attacked us," stated O'Dwyer.

Jadyn Leong (2^nd year, Calgary, Emergency Medical Technician) led the Trojans with 14 kills and nine digs. Teammate Elly Prince (3^rd year, Calgary, Legal Assistant) did a bit of everything, as she recorded eight kills, 16 digs, five assists and two service aces.

Madeline Williscroft paced the Lions with 15 kills.

The teams will finish their weekend set tomorrow night at Ambrose, and O'Dwyer is hoping for a better performance from his team.

"We had about three stretches where we played with speed and aggressiveness, we controlled the game," he said. "We just have to make a decision to play that way all the time and we should alright."