Centennial's Terrain Too Much for Huskies to Overcome

The women's team are all smiles as they take a group photo in their Movember shirts just before their game against the Huskies. Their smiles grew bigger after defeating George Brown in straight sets. (Nicole Ventura/Colts Media)
The women's team are all smiles as they take a group photo in their Movember shirts just before their game against the Huskies. Their smiles grew bigger after defeating George Brown in straight sets. (Nicole Ventura/Colts Media)

By: Kajan Thiruthanikasalam

SCARBOROUGH, ONT.- After a gut-wrenching loss to the Canadore Panthers last Sunday afternoon, the Centennial Colts were looking to bounce back against their rival George Brown Huskies.

Christmas must have come early for the fans that made it out to the Athletic and Wellness Centre on Thursday night, despite the heavy snowfall, as they received the gift of the home team dominating in straight sets (25-12, 25-16, 25-21) over the Huskies.

The Colts improved to 3-2 on the season while the Huskies dropped to 2-4.

GAME STATS

Centennial outclassed George Brown in every stat with the exception of service errors, in which they had three more than the Huskies (10-7). The most notable stat discrepancies came in kills (34-15), assists (32-15), and digs (42-30)

LEADING SCORERS

Heather Sanchez was once again excellent as she led all scorers with 14 points on nine kills and five service aces.

"She really can hit in angles that other players have difficulty to do," Bento said of Sanchez's performance. "When we need to resolve something (on the court), we know who we have to go to."

"Sometimes just looking at them helps me reset as a player during frustrating times," Sanchez said of the coaching staff reassuring presence. "I think that's the thing that's made me a better player (this season)."

Emily Joe had 11 points on 10 kills and a block but it was Stella Dada who had a breakout performance with nine points on seven kills, an ace, and a block. All seven kills came in the final set.

"Her reading in the defensive backcourt was incredible; she dug out a lot of balls for us in crucial moments," Bento said of Dada's improvement in her passing.

"It's unbelievable how she's been able to adapt," said Sanchez of Dada, noting that the rookie was previously a track athlete.

Meilin Carmichael adjusted nicely to the libero position with a game high 17 digs while Nadjema Soro led all players with 29 assists.

GAME PLAY BY PLAY

It didn't take long for Sanchez to get into the groove of things as she scored six points in the first set on three kills and three aces as Centennial never trailed, taking the set, 25-12.

The second set saw both teams go back and forth as the Colts called for time with the score tied at 14. From that point onwards, they proceeded to go on an 11-4 run to close out the second set, 25-18. This time, it was Joe who had six points, on five kills and an ace.

Tiana Samuel of George Brown had six points in the third set on five kills and an ace as the Huskies looked to climb back into this game, taking a 19-15 lead and threatening to extend the match further.

Dada would have none of that as her seven points in the set helped the Colts close out the match on a 10-2 run, which was sealed by a block from Taylor Liou.

COLTS CARES

The women's team were wearing their Movember shirts during warmups in a tribute to raising awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide.

TOP 3 PERFORMERS OF THE GAME

  1. Stella Dada (Left Side/Middle Blocker)

  2. Heather Sanchez (Outside Hitter)

  3. Taylor Liou (Outside Hitter)

CATCH OUR NEXT GAME

The Colts play their final home game of the semester against the Fleming Knights on Saturday afternoon with game time set for noon.