(London, Ontario) – The No. 6 nationally ranked Fanshawe Women's Volleyball team (20-1, 1st in West) won 3-1 over the St. Clair Saints (15-6, 3rd in West) in their OCAA semi-final match. The provincial championship is being hosted by Canadore College in North Bay.
With the Falcons only loss in their regular season being at St. Clair, Fanshawe came out with a vengeance. Strong attacks from Kiana Lee (London, ON) and Tarea Heshka (Erin, ON) gave the Birds an early 8-5 lead. Back-to-back stuffed blocks from Ashley Rafferty (Peace River, AB) and Mattea Deleary (Ridgetown, ON) started an 8-0 run for Fanshawe that resulted in a 25-14 first set win.
The Saints were ready to play in set two and took an early lead. Janelle Albert (Brampton, ON) tried to keep the Falcons within reach with a pair of powerful kills, however Fanshawe would drop set two 25-22.
The teams traded points in the third frame. St. Clair took a 22-19 lead late in the set, but the Birds bounced back with a huge kill from Deleary. Excellent serving from Lee resulted in a run for Fanshawe and they went on to win the third set 25-23.
The Falcons flew out to a 10-4 lead in the fourth set, ready to put the game away. Fanshawe continued to lead and would close the match on an Albert point. The Falcons won by a commanding fourth set score of 25-11 to advance to their second consecutive OCAA championship final on the 3-1 victory. Deleary had nine points and was named the Player of the Match for her performance. Albert and Lee contributed 26 and 14 points respectively.
The Falcons will look to defend their OCAA title on Saturday, February 29 at 5pm. They will face the No. 15 Humber Hawks (18-3, 2nd in West). The match can be viewed live on fanshawefalcons.ca/watchlive.