By Caio Miari
Playing for the second consecutive day, the Centennial Colts women's volleyball team faced its third loss of the season, this time in straight sets (19-25, 22-25, 19-25) against the Algonquin Thunder Saturday afternoon at Progress Campus.
Despite the negative result, the Colts' (0-3) overall performance received positive support from their coaching staff.
"We played really well today," said the team's assistant coach Emily Joe. "That was definitely the best game that we've had so far in terms of how we played as a team. We stayed together and kept our intensity high as much as we could."
Algonquin's performance on the other side also made things tougher to the home side.
"We also know that Algonquin kept switching it up," Joe said. "They never gave us the same hit twice and it kept us on our toes."
Stella Dada topped the Colts' scoring list with a game-high eight points, tied with Thunder's Marie-Chantal Ozorak and Samantha Balys.
Following a 15-assist performance Friday, setter Coco Solomon added six assists, while Jada Bradford contributed with 11 digs.
Right side hitter Brianna Watson, who according to her coaching staff 'showed up in all of the set,' posted seven points throughout the afternoon.
Centennial couldn't find answers for the Thunder's (1-1) attacking plays in the first set.
Although the Colts' adjustments played a factor in the second set, they weren't able to get the momentum of the action. After starting the set up 5-2, the Colts collapsed to a 10-1 Thunder run.
Despite coming close in the scoreboard several times, Centennial never overcame Algonquin's second-set advantage, setting the tone for another visitors-dominated third set.
"There are so many areas where you can gain points and also lose points," Joe said. "Just because you're up doesn't mean you're going to win, and just because you're down doesn't mean you're going to lose. I think that it shows that we have many aspects that we need to work."
After finishing the game without winning a set for the first time this season, Centennial will now face the Fleming Knights on the road Friday, November 1 at 6:00pm looking for its first win.