HAWKS SWEEP THE NORTH IN EARLY SEASON EXHIBITION PLAY
Story by: Ashleigh Darrach
NORTH BAY, Ontario: The Humber Hawks women's volleyball team packed up their gear and headed to North Bay to play three exhibition games to kick off their pre-season.
Their first game was on Saturday against Nipissing University where the Hawks took three sets, only dropping the fourth. Second year, Elizabeth Deakin-Poot said the first game was "a refresher on last year," and allowed the team to dust off the rust and find their rhythm.
With almost an entirely veteran team this year, the Hawks have a huge advantage that they've never had before. The team only has one new player, who is making quite the impact on the court already.
"I found over the two days it got a lot easier to play with everybody, and it seems like we're already coming together so well," said Devan O'Connor, a transfer from University of Toronto, but a new addition to this all-veteran team.
After the team won their first game, they played Nipissing again in the morning, and although it was a slow start dropping the first set 26-24, the Hawks came back and won the next three.
Shortly after, they headed across the parking lot and played the Canadore Panthers, as this will be the gym where they hope to capture their ninth consecutive OCAA provincial title.
Coach Chris Wilkins wanted to give the team an opportunity to get some reps and observe their surroundings for the championships early on.
"We had a lot more energy and control in this game then we were in our first two games, we felt more comfortable… we started to re-gel with each other. I'm excited to see what's to come, what we're capable of and how hard we can challenge ourselves," said team co-captain Alley Newman.
The Hawks will play against York University in another exhibition game on September 22, 2015 at York.
FINAL SCORES.
Nip 1 – 25-18, 25-19, 25-22, 18-25
Nip 2- 24-26, 25-22, 25-21, 25-22
Canadore – 25-18, 25-19, 25-17, 25-16
