The York University men's volleyball team finished their regular season with a gripping 3-1 victory over the No. 2 McMaster University Marauders (17-2) at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night.
The Lions started the game with a fantastic first set. Tim Jensen and Spencer Kingzett dominated along the flanks of the court while Arthur Szwarc and Logan Mend were an unstoppable team from the middle.
With the win, combined with a Windsor loss to Ryerson, the Lions clinched a spot in the 2016 playoffs, while the Marauders, despite two losses to close out the regular season finish in first place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Standings and will have a bye to the OUA's Final Four. More details on the York Lions website.
Women’s volleyball Lions end season on winning note
The York University Lions women's volleyball team won their final game of the season on Sunday defeating the Brock University Badgers three sets to two in St. Catharines, Ont.
The Lions were led by a dominate performance from Celeste Witzell who finished the match with a game high in points with 17, including 13 kills and three blocked shots. Joining Witzell with an impressive stat line on Sunday was Cadence Currie, who finished with 15 points and 13 kills. More details.
On Friday night the Lions ended their last home game of the season with a 3-1 loss against the No. 7 McMaster University Marauders at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Marauders managed to grab the upper hand early in the game when they took the first set in a 25-14 victory. For the Marauders, Taylor Brisebois, Maicee Sorensen, and Rachel Woock totaled a game high of 10 kills each, while Sorensen led the pack with 14.5 points. Setter Michelle Chelladurai had 30 assists.
On the Lions' end, Heather Setka had nine points to her name with seven kills and one service ace. Celeste Witzell had 7.5 points with five kills, two service aces, and ten digs and Kirsten Dillon finished with 21 assists. More details.
Second half surge sees men’s basketball Lions score one point victory over Thunderbirds
On Friday the York University men's basketball came back in the second half and left Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., with a 68-67 victory over the Algoma University Thunderbirds.
The two teams went back and forth throughout the game. After a close first quarter, the Thunderbirds grabbed an eight-point lead by the end of the second, then the Lions came back to narrow the Thunderbirds' lead to two points at the end of the third.
With just three seconds left of play at the end of the fourth quarter, it was Nathan Culbreath's made jump shot that secured the 68-67 win for the Lions. Phillip Gillen was given the assist for the critical and timely basket. More details.
Strong start key as women’s basketball Lions top Thunderbirds
On Friday the York University women's basketball team pulled away with a 67-56 victory over the Algoma University Thunderbirds at George Leach Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Coming out of the gates with a 22-12 lead by the end of the first quarter, the Lions kept a steady lead throughout the game and Algoma couldn't close the gap in time to deny York the win.
Thunderbirds Laura Meadows had a game high of 19 points with five field goals, nine free throws, and five rebounds. Lions Shauney Fischer followed with 13 points on 6-10 shooting from the field and also contributed with seven rebounds. More details.
Men’s hockey Lions eliminated from playoffs by Varsity Blues with game three defeat
The York University Lions men's hockey team fell 4-1 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in the third game of OUA West Quarter Finals on Sunday. With the loss, the Lions are officially eliminated from the 2015-16 playoffs.
The OUA West top ranked Lions fought a hard battle with their cross-town rival, but a stellar goaltending performance from the Varsity Blues Andrew Hunt was one of the deciding factors in game three. Hunt finished the game with 33 saves, and made some key saves in the later parts of Sunday's win. The Lions applied constant pressure and had multiple quality scoring chances late in the second period and throughout the third, but couldn't manage to sneak one past Hunt. More details.
On Saturday afternoon, the Lions failed to close out the OUA West Quarterfinals against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues falling 3-2 at Varsity Arena.
The first 20 minutes of Saturday’s game was similar to game one, as both sides could not gather offensive momentum in the early stages. The Varsity Blues were the first to crack the deadlock, with forward Mathew Campagna beating Lions starting goaltender Chris Perugini, to give the Blues the lead going into the first intermission. More details.
On Wednesday, the Lions took game one of the OUA West Quarterfinals by a score of 5-0 over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at Canlan Ice Sports.
Derek Sheppard and company rallied the troops to a commanding defeat over their cross-town rival on Wednesday evening, in an effort that was close to a flawless game from the boys in red and white. The Lions were firing on all cylinders, which included the blue line standing strong and allowing limited quality scoring chances for the Blues. The solid defensive play was a key factor in Chris Perugini receiving his first career playoff shutout. More details.
Women’s hockey Lions close out season with exciting win over Lancers
The York University Lions women's hockey team won their final game of the season 5-4 over the University of Windsor Lancers on Saturday evening at Canlan Ice Sports.
As the first period progressed it was apparent that the Lions did not want to end their season with a defeat, and they helped their cause at the 13:52 mark of the period padding their lead. Raeanna Kelly pounced on a goaltending error and poked it by the confused Slater to give the Lions a 3-0 advantage. More details.
A day prior, the Lions were defeated 6-2 in Toronto against the nationally ranked University Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday evening.
The goals came in waves of two, as the Varsity Blues were able to put up a pair of goals per period against the Lions. More details.
Track and field Lions compete in pair of last chance meets over the weekend
The York University Lions track and field team competed in two last chance meets over the weekend, where athletes had one final opportunity to qualify for the OUA championships taking place this weekend in Windsor, Ont.
At the Hal Brown Last Chance meet at the University of Toronto on Friday third-year distance runner Harishan Karunenthiran took full advantage of his last chance as he finished the men's 1500m in a personal best time of 4:06.87 and was the only Lion to meet the OUA standard in their event for the first time this season.
Meanwhile at the Guelph Last Chance meet on Saturday, a small team of field athletes competed with thrower Brittany Crew leading the way with two first place finishes in the women's shotput (17.22m) and weight throw (17.48m). More details.