Weekend wrap: Women’s volleyball Lions sweep Thunderwolves, remain perfect

The York University Lions women’s volleyball team continued its unbeaten season with a 3-1 win over the Lakehead University Thunderwolves at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Saturday night, Nov. 27.

The win was the second in as many nights for the Lions over the Thunderwolves. At 8-0, the Lions hold down top spot in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East standings, four points ahead of Queen’s. The loss dropped Lakehead to 2-8.

The result did not come easy for the Lions as the Thunderwolves pushed them through four tough sets. In the end, the Lions prevailed 25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 25-15. See more details at the York Lions website.

The previous night, the Lions pulled out a 3-2 victory over Lakehead, also at the Tait McKenzie Centre.

The Lions earned the thrilling five-set victory thanks largely to middle Stephanie Green and rookie outside hitter Brandie Wilkerson. The two had 21 and 23 points, respectively, to lead the squad to victory. More details.

Women’s hockey Lions edge Gryphons, win fifth straight at home

Katrina Tollis scored two goals, one in regulation and one in the shootout, and the York University Lions women’s hockey team extended its winning streak at home to five games with a 3-2 shootout win over the University of Guelph Gryphons on Saturday at Canlan Ice Sports.

Sydney McMurter stood tall in goal for the Lions for the second straight game, stopping 34 shots in the upset win over the No. 7 nationally-ranked Gryphons. McMurter also stopped all shots against in the shootout. More details.

The squad was not as fortunate the following day and saw its home winning streak snapped with a 6-2 loss to the visiting Brock University Badgers, also nationally ranked at No. 6.

Five Brock players scored in the game as the Badgers fired 36 shots at goalkeeper Sydney Brown. Four of those goals came on the power play.

Lions rookie forward Stephanie Dovaston kept Badgers goaltender Beth Clause from earning the shutout, scoring her second goal of the season midway through the third period. Autumn Mills added another late in the period on a power play, but by then the game was out of reach. More details.

Men’s basketball Lions earn monster win over Guelph

The York University Lions men’s basketball put up a dominating performance against the University of Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night, earning a huge 93-75 win on the road.

Both the Lions and Gryphons were strong out of the gate as York led a nail-biter 37-36 at halftime.

The third quarter make the difference as the Lions took full control. The Gryphons beat themselves as they turned the ball over eight times, allowing Lions a 29-9 romp in the third quarter to all but seal the victory. More details.

The previous night belonged to second-year forward Dejan Kravic, who recorded his fifth double-double of the season, but it was not enough for the Lions in a 70-61 loss to the Brock University Badgers at the Bob Davis Gymnasium in St. Catharines.

Kravic finished the game with 22 points and 13 rebounds, game-high totals in both categories. More details.

Women’s basketball Lions drop games to Brock, Guelph

The York University Lions women’s basketball became the latest victim of a red hot Brock University Badgers squad in a 68-58 loss on Friday night, Nov. 26, at the Bob Davis Gymnasium that gave the Badgers their fifth straight win.

The Lions got another solid game by team captain Brittany Szockyj, who recorded her fourth straight 20-point night and added six rebounds.

In the game’s first quarter, the Lions were the ones with the fiery touch as they outscored the Badgers 19-13. Following a great first half for the Lions in which they outpaced the Badgers 26-25, the home team found their groove in the third and raced to a seven point lead at 35-28 with six minutes remaining.

To open the fourth quarter, Whitney Gorges knocked down a three from the corner to put Brock up by 12 points, 51-39. Over the next three minutes, the Lions put together an 11-0 run of their own, cutting the lead to one point 51-50 with six minutes left in regulation.

Szockyj tied the game 53-53 after nailing a clutch three-pointer with 5:47 remaining. Just 12 seconds later, Hillary Woodside answered with a three-pointer of her own, sparking a 7-0 run for the Badgers en route to the 10-point victory. More details.

The following night, the Lions could not break the University of Guelph Gryphons defence and earned a 66-52 loss on the road. More details.

Gryphons overpower men’s volleyball Lions in win

The York University Lions men’s volleyball team lost a competitive game against the University of Guelph Gryphons by a 3-1 score on Friday night at the Tait McKenzie Centre.

The Lions played well at the beginning, particularly in the second set, but faded down the stretch in the 25-14, 22-25, 25-16, 25-21 loss.

The Lions started the game well with Karim Khalil getting his team going with a few early scores. Before long, Ray Szeto got into the fray earning a nice score off a heavy handed strike that kept things close. More details.

The next night the Lions dropped a 3-0 decision to the No. 10 nationally-ranked McMaster Marauders at the Tait McKenzie Centre. The Lions stayed close at the start, losing the first set 25-21, but were eventually overmatched and fell in the final two sets by scores of 25-15 and 25-18. More details.

Men’s hockey Lions drop 4-3 decision to Rams

The York University Lions men’s hockey team was defeated 4-3 in a closely contested match-up with the Ryerson University Rams on Thursday evening, Nov. 25, at George Bell Arena.

Despite the end result, the Lions performed well in what became a tight, competitive game between two teams who have seen their share of struggles this season. The Rams set the pace early on with the game’s first goal coming courtesy of Alex Sharpe with assists by Andrew Buck and Matt Rehman.

The Rams didn’t stay in the lead for long, however, as the Lions quickly stepped up their offence and tied things up at 1-1 following a goal by Cassidy Preston with an assist from Matt Thomson. More details.

The Lions struggled in their second game of the weekend, falling to the Carleton University Ravens by an 8-0 score in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. More details.