(London, Ontario) – On Wednesday evening at home, the Fanshawe Women's Volleyball team (2-1) upset the number 11 nationally ranked St. Clair Saints (1-2) in a five set thriller.
The Falcons came out flying in set one, as a block from Ashley Rafferty (Peace River, AB) got the Birds going. Strong hits from Hannah Onyema (St. Thomas, ON) and Kiana Lee (London, ON) gave Fanshawe a 17-11 lead midway through the set. Jaime Worsfold (Dorchester, ON) would shut down any chance for a St. Clair comeback with a massive block. The home team won the opening frame 25-15. A dig from local first-year Sam Gibson resulted in points for the red and white in the second set. The teams exchanged points throughout the frame. Lauren Vahrmeyer (Vineland, ON) had a kill for Fanshawe, and a service ace from Dez Chanthaboury (Kitchener, ON) tied the set at 22. A couple of key hits from the Falcons gave them the 26-24 set victory.
In the third set, the Saints jumped out to a 12-6 lead and continued their strong play to go up 19-12. A well-placed tip, then a strong kill from Chanthaboury started a run for Fanshawe. The five-point run was continued by Lee, who had three consecutive service aces to cut St. Clair's lead to 20-16. Blocks from Chanthaboury and Worsfold tied the game at 20, and after a long rally, Lee would add a kill to give Fanshawe their first lead of the set 21-20. Great effort from both teams had them exchanging points until it was tied at 28, unfortunately the Saints would come out on top 30-28 to capture the third frame win. A service ace from Rafferty opened the scoring for the Falcons in the fourth frame. However, the Saints would quickly heat up and took a 20-12 lead on the home team. The Saints won the fourth frame 25-18 to force a fifth and final set.
Fanshawe jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the final set with back-to-back kills from Vahrmeyer. The Saints would not let up, and came back to even the score at nine. A tip and ace from Rafferty gave the Birds a two-point lead and they would hang on and win 15-13 to upset the Saints in five sets.
Three Falcons were in double-digit scoring, Chanthaboury and Vahrmeyer both recorded 18 points, while Lee contributed 15. Fanshawe will now take to the road to visit Cambrian and Boreal for back-to-back games on Saturday, February 19 and Sunday, February 20. Game times are at 6:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. respectively and can be live streamed at: www.fanshawefalcons.ca/watchlive.
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