Lions Swept in First Game Back

            The Ambrose Lions took on the Lakeland College Rustlers in their return to action after the winter break. Both teams came into their Friday night matchup with near perfect records though the Rustlers held an edge, only dropping 3 sets total over halfway through the season.

            The Rustlers sprinted out of the gate grabbing a 5-0 lead to start the opening set. The Lions finally got on the board, but their prospects didn't improve much, forcing them to call a timeout after landing in a 2-10 deficit. The Lions couldn't manage to close the gap but they did stop the bleeding, matching the Rustlers offensive output for the remainder of the set. The Rustlers would take the first set with a dominant scoreline of 25-14.

            The Lions started the second set stronger, taking a 3-1 lead. Lions' captain Madeline Williscroft started the second set after sitting out the opener. The first lead change of the set happened when the Rustlers went up 10-9. The Lions would respond to take back the lead 12-11, but were forced to call timeout after a 5-0 run by Lakeland. Momentum stayed in Lakeland's favour as they closed out the second set 25-19 to take a commanding 2-0 lead.

            Lakeland jumped out to another early lead as they looked to close out the game in a dominant 3-0 fashion. Ambrose couldn't solve the Rustlers' defence leading to a timeout, but it could have been too late as the deficit had already grown to 3-10. The Lions got back within 2, bringing the score to 11-13. The Lions would get as close a 1 point, bringing the score to 17-18 but the Rustlers would close it out 25-20 to sweep the Lions. Rustlers #4 Jenay Varga led the way for Lakeland with 11 kills, while on the Lions side #2 Taylor Hart led the way with 9 kills and 3 digs.

            Player of the game honors were awarded to Lakeland's #7 Avery Bates the Lions' #2 Taylor Hart. The Lions will look to bounce back tomorrow evening when they take on the 8-2 Keyano College Huskies.