Mariners Meet Lords

VIU Mariners vs. Durham Lords – Friday March 7, 3:00pm PST / 6:00pm EST

Thursday evening was a tough one to swallow for the PACWEST champion Mariners falling in five sets to the OCAA Humber Hawks in a women’s semi-final the CCAA national championship.

It was the first loss they suffered since October 25^th, an incredible run of dominance.  On Thursday the Mariners dropped the first two sets 25-21 and 25-17 before finally finding some momentum, showing tremendous heart.  They claimed the third set 25-12 in a lopsided score, then kept the energy going in the fourth with a 25-18 victory to force a decisive fifth set.

In the final frame both teams went back and forth with the Mariners the first to eight to change sides.  The set was so close they needed extra points to determine a winner with the Hawks squeaking out a 16-14 win to advance to play for gold.

Offensively the Mariners had outstanding production from Regan Ingram who collected 18 kills and was named Player of the Match.  Aimee Skinner had another terrific match with 15 kills, three aces and 10 digs while Megan Duffy added 10 kills out of the middle.

With the set back, the Mariners move over to the bronze medal side of the bracket and still have a shot at a medal.  They will meet the host Lords on Friday afternoon, a team that lost their opening match, before bouncing back on Thursday with a three-set sweep over the Mount Allison Mounties.  They finished 14-4 during the regular season but fell in their opening playoff match and were eliminated from postseason play before hosting this national championship.

The winner will advance to play for CCAA bronze on Saturday.