GEORGIAN 3, SENECA 1

NORTH YORK, Ont. - It was the official kickoff for the drive to the national championship.

Championship aspirations are held by all teams starting the season. For the Seneca Sting, there's a little less pressure over the next three months. That's because the Sting have already qualified for the 2014 CCAA Women's Volleyball Championship; a privilege rewarded for hosting the championship.

Starting on March 5, the pressure will rise to unforeseen levels as the hosts look to represent their team, their school and the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association.

The roller coaster, sure to be filled with ups and downs and twists and turns, kicked off Wednesday night in the Newnham Gym following three road matches.

Before the action got underway, the team held a pre-match ceremony, the unveiling of the hosting banner. Fifth-year captain Clare Weisser (Queensville) officially unveiled the banner with the tug of a rope, revealing the three foot by six foot banner. With the roar from the crowd, the home schedule was officially underway.

First up on the home schedule were the Georgian Grizzlies.

Having entered the match with a perfect 3-0 record, the Sting looked to extend that streak.

The first set saw the home team battle back and forth with the Grizzlies. Tied at 22, the Sting won three consecutive rallies for a 25-22 win.

Sloppy play dictated the final three sets for the Sting. It was a night where there were few positives to take away as the Grizzlies stormed back to take 3-1 match victory.

Lindsay Balance (Napanee) led the Sting with four kills. Paulynne Reyes had six assists, five serving aces and 13 digs while Weisser also added 13 digs.

The Sting will host the Canadore Panthers on Saturday at 2 p.m. while the Grizzlies return home to host the Panthers on Sunday at 12 noon.

Source: Seneca College

NORTH YORK, Ont. - The Georgian Grizzlies men's and women's volleyball teams each extended their winning streaks to three games in dramatic fashion Wednesday night when they visited the Seneca Sting in North York.

After dropping their first set 25-22, the Grizzlies women's team went on a mission not to drop another coming back with impressive set wins of 25-13, 25-13 and 25-16 to take the match 3-1.

Second-year middle Allison Marshall (Orillia) had arguably her best game of the year leading the team with a season-high 14 points, including five blocks. Hannah Campbell (Midland) and Erin McClean (Barrie) each had a team-high nine kills in the victory.

The women's team now has a 4-1 record on the season and are currently sitting in second place in the OCAA East Division standings.

On the men's side the Grizzlies had a tough start of their own.

Falling behind with a less than inspiring effort, Georgian dropped the first two sets 25-21 and 25-14 putting themselves in a big hole.

From there the Grizzlies came together as a group rallying from the deficit with set wins of 25-15 and 25-12 setting up a fifth set tiebreak for the match.

Georgian kept the momentum going taking the fifth and deciding set 15-12 to come all the way back from two sets down to claim a 3-2 victory.

Lyndon Sonego led the team with 22 points while Michael Vandinther had 15 digs as both players from Barrie continued their strong starts to the season.

The Grizzlies now sit in fifth place in a very tight OCAA East Division with a 3-2 record.

Both teams will be back in action on Sunday when they face another tough opponent in the Canadore Panthers (third place women's/sixth place men's). The games will be part of a special triple header at the Georgian Athletic Centre with the women's game at 12 p.m., the men's at 2 p.m. and a men's basketball game at 4:30 p.m.

Source: Georgian College