Date: November 23, 2007
Panthers Do Battle with the Knights
Lady Panthers lose fight 3-1
The lady Panthers faced off against the Niagara Knights in the Education Centre Gym at 6PM. It was the first regular season home game for the Panthers. Although they fought hard, they lost the game 3-1 (25-17, 25-15, 23-25 and 25-14). The ladies have been struggling lately with their game, and it was noted by head coach, Joey Rainer: “I was happy with the way the girls were able to battle back to take the third set. It’s now time for them to pick up their game and take the next step.”
Catharine Waines, who scored 11 points for her team, led the Knights. For the Panthers, Kristen Verkuyl who scored 10 points, 7 kills, 1 block and 2 serving aces led them. “This is the most fun our team has had this season. Although we weren’t able to take the win, we still enoyed ourselves and played each set as if we were winning,” said the rookie left, Kristen.
“I was very proud of our first year players who came out and played well. Leadership was well highlighted by everyone,” said captain, and returning player Sophie Rocheleau.
The ladies face off against the Mohawk Mountaineers tomorrow at 5PM at the Education Centre Gym. Go Panthers!
Knights too much for Panthers
The men’s game followed the women’s game at the Education Centre Gym. The men struggled throughout the game, and it was reflected on the scoreboard, losing 3-1 (17-25, 12-25, 25-23, and 16-25). “The competition was tough, but I think that we played hard,” stated men’s coach Mike Smith. “We will be assessing what went wrong in the upcoming practices to better execute different and more effective systems for upcoming games.”
Cody Evers led Niagara’s scoring, with an impressive 15 kills and 1 block for a total of 16 points. Peter Clifford and Jeremy Tremblay, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively, shared offence for the Panthers. “This was a big opportunity for us. We have all the things needed to win, but couldn’t pull it together,” said Jeremy.
Rookie and middle hitter, Toby Weins, had a more positive spin on the day’s game: “We came into the game as underdogs but managed to push to 4 games. It was a disappointing loss, but we’ll keep our heads up and be ready for the next game.”
That next game will be at 7PM at the Education Centre Gym.
