By Caio Miari
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL RECAP
The Centennial Colts women’s volleyball team suffered their sixth consecutive loss, this time in straight sets (20-25, 12-25, 23-25) to the Georgian Grizzlies on Tuesday evening at Progress Campus.
Stella Dada led the Colts (1-9) — and the match — with eight points, while Doris Lam scored six.
Angel Valenzona assisted a team-leading eight times for Centennial.
Isabella Antonelli and Carina Brooks finished with a team-high seven points each, helping the Grizzlies (7-3) to clinch their second straight victory.
Sophia Clement topped the box score with 14 assists.
The Colts’ first game in 2020 didn’t start as expected, with the Grizzlies setting a 16-8 run in the first set. Centennial bounced back after a timeout, but the home team wasn’t able to take the lead.
“I think that’s because this is a very new team," assistant coach Emily Joe said about the Colts’ slow start. "We made some adjustments, it’s a new team, so I think that finding a way back and finding a way to come together as a team it’s something that takes time.
“I think it was just trying to learn again what everyone tendencies are and every player evaluating what to come from there.”
Centennial’s slow start dictated the rhythm for the team during the second set as Georgia didn’t have much trouble to close it 25-12.
Both teams were close from start to finish in the third period. The Colts had three consecutive leads starting at 19-18, but three late errors (two from serving) ultimately cost Centennial the final set and the game.
Joe understands the home defeat based on the school’s current roster.
“It’s our first game back after a long but also short break,” she said. “We've lost players, we've gained players, so it’s a new team dynamic and we’re still finding our way, seeing what really works best for us.”
The Colts fell to 0-5 at home this season, while the Grizzlies are 4-1 on the road.
Centennial will try to snap its six-game losing streak Saturday, Jan. 18 (4 p.m.) on the road against the Algonquin Thunder.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL RECAP
The Centennial Colts men’s volleyball team fell in straight sets at home to the Georgian Grizzlies (19-25, 13-25, 17-25) in their first game in 2020 on Tuesday night at Progress Campus.
Kaelan Kloetstra led the Grizzlies (8-2) in scoring with 18 points, while Marvin Reid and Javed Baksh put up five each for the Colts (2-8).
Only two other Colts scored multiple points - Timothy Ho and Jordan Nnabuogor - with four each.
Centennial kicked off the match with a solid first set, which featured several exciting rallies. Georgian, however, prevailed with a late run to start the contest ahead in the scoreboard.
“It was a tough game. Georgian has a complete team that is very strong and has a very good serving. So we knew it would be a tough game, but not impossible,” head coach Adriana Bento said, post-game. “Our team is still missing the consistency to carry even games to the end… 20-20, 21-21, until someone do something to change the match at some point.”
The rest of the night wasn’t favourable for the home side.
The Colts weren’t able to maintain their performance, suffering from several errors in the final two sets.
“(Our players) stopped playing,” Bento said. “When things are getting tougher, they start to discredit and complain to each other. And when everyone starts to complain to each other on the court, no one ends up doing anything.”
Overall, Centennial suffered nine errors in attack and 11 in serving. The school, which entered the night ranked 15th in the OCAA in service aces this season, dropped its numbers even lower after finishing its matchup against Georgian blanket in aces.
The Colts dropped to 2-3 at home while the Grizzlies - winners of four in a row - are 3-2 as visitors this season.
The Colts, who have now lost three straight and four of their past five contests, will try to get back to the win column on the road against the Algonquin Thunder on Saturday, Jan. 18 (6 p.m.).