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Posted by: Jon_Cada on 11/16/2009 12:58 PM
Updated by: furlong on 11/16/2009 12:58 PM
Expires: 01/01/2014 12:00 AM

Canadore volleyball teams stumble in home opener

Both the mens and womens teams failed to convert strong outings into victory for the home crowd against the Fanshawe College squads.

By Jon Cada
theclaw.ca

The Lady Panthers earned the nickname 'Cardiac Cats' in the first set of the home opener at Canadore College. Fanshawe didn't give up the lead in the first set until the Panthers used a late rally to take the lead 23-22 and went on to claim the first set 25-23.

Lady Panthers Volleyball Coach Joey Rainier said he was happy with his team's effort, but lamented the early deficits and how it hurt them.

"Our serving was good tonight. We were ready to play, but we started out slow. We can play better than that. It's just a matter of focus for us," Rainer explained.

Fanshawe started off the second set with a huge 8-1 lead and managed to hold on to it with strong net play and defensive pressure. The Panthers were not giving up, however, and another brilliant comeback forced Fanshawe to called a timeout with a slim 23-20 lead. The strategy worked in the visitors' favor, once again as Fanshawe and held on for a 25-22 win to even the score at 1-1 in the match.

The third set saw the Panthers capture their first lead of the game since the first set with an early 2-0 score. Strong efforts from both sides kept the go-ahead set close until Fanshawe rallied to a 13-7 advantage before the Panthers called a timeout. The Lady Panthers dug themselves a hole too big to climb out of, falling behind as much as 20-10 before charging back to make the match close again at 23-19. Fanshawe had troubles of their own, allowing too many mistakes with the lead, but were able to hang on for third set winning 25-19.

The fourth set saw Fanshawe again jump out to an early lead but the Panthers persisted with a never-say-die attitude to keep the game close. Fanshawe played a strong defensive game during the whole set but got rattled as the score got closer toward the end and allowed the Panthers to rally back 24-17. The Panthers, late-game heroics were too little too late, however, and Fanshawe took the third set and the game by a score of 3-1.

The Lady Panthers play again on Saturday hosting the visiting Niagara College squad. Rainer said the team will need a better defensive effort.

"Niagara is a big team. They are big on blocking so we'll need to show up with a better defensive effort than tonight."

The Lady Panthers record fell to 2-2 on the season.

MEN WINLESS IN OPENER

The men's team also took a hard loss Friday as Fanshawe dominated from the outset and took the match 3-0.

In first-set action, Fanshawe came out gunslinging and easily won the by a 25-18 score. Canadore showed up early in the set, keeping the game tied 9-9, but looked lost on defence as Fanshawe built up a 21-14 lead and took off from there.

In second-set action, Fanshawe continued its assault on a hapless Panther defence that just couldn't get the line calls to go their way. The Panthers got the score to 23-16, but lost 25-17 and dropped to 0-2 on the match.

The third set action was the most entertaining as the Panthers were looking to extend the match while Fanshawe was looking to shut out Candore in their season opener. The latter came true. The Panthers found their groove and built up a comeback rally and got the score up to 23-18. In the end, Fanshawe's offensive domination proved too much for the Panthers, who dropped the third set 25-19.

Panther Men's Volleyball Coach Brad Dashnay said he was unhappy about Friday night's results but felt overall his men were getting better.

"I'm proud that we put in a solid effort, but unfortunately that didn't get us the results we were looking for," Dashnay explained. "We were getting touches, but they weren't going our way. Health has also been an issue as this was the first game that the team has played as a whole."

Dashnay added his team needed to start off Saturday's matchup with Niagara with some confidence.

"We need to come out firing in tomorrow's game. We have the bench showing full support and that's all we need is to be more confident in ourselves. We have more games this month, so we have to find our groove soon."

The men's record dropped to 0-2 on the season.

HOME STAND:

Friday's action was the first of a four-game home stand that will see The Panthers also play Sheridan College on Nov. 20 and Humber College Nov. 21.