THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Thunderwolves still have to learn how to better play with the lead, but did more than enough Saturday to kick their 2018-19 OUA campaign off in a winning fashion.
The host Thunderwolves scored a straight –set win over the Trent University Excalibur, taking the opening match 25-23, racing out to an 8-0 lead in the second set to win 25-16, then finishing off with a 25-22 victory in the finale.
Lakehead led most of the way throughout the afternoon, but after strong starts in all three sets, let a young Excalibur squad claw their way back in the first and third, making the match a little closer than it needed to be.
Still, first-year coach Craig Barclay, whose last gig was at Trent, said he’ll take the win and use it as a teaching tool as the team moves forward into tougher competition, the Excalibur in just their third season at the OUA level.
“It’s tough to play with the lead. It’s easier to catch up,” said Barclay, who took over a 6-13 program from former coach Chris Green, who left after last season. “Our goal is just to continue with our execution. That’s really key for us – and to not play timid.”
Barclay said there was a lot to like about how they triumphed.
“I think we did a great job controlling the serve-and-pass game,” he said. “If you can control the serve-and-pass game, you have a really good chance of winning. We had a really simple game plan and we pretty much executed it to a tee.”
Up 15-6 in the first, Trent went on a 9-2 run to cut the LU lead to 17-15, later cutting it to 24-23 before a long return gave the Wolves the point they needed to claim the set.
The hot start in the second set was ultimately countered by the Excalibur, but after pulling to within four, down 15-11, Trent’s Emerald Grob fired her serve into the net and the Thunderwolves rolled off three of the next four points to jump in front again by six, then finished with the final five points of the set to take a two-set lead.
The two sides were more evenly matched in the third, at least in the early stages, but a 7-0 run gave the Wolves the early momentum – only to have the Excalibur battle back from a 17-9 deficit to pull within one, trailing 22-21. Lakehead scored the next two points and were serving for the match, but needed a spike from Jessica Korchak with Trent on serve to close out the match.
Next up for Lakehead is a pair of home dates against Waterloo on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3.
