The Lady Royals gave the many fans present at tonight's home opener volleyball games a great show as Redeemer knocked off the St. Clair Saints 3-2. The game was filled with changes in momentum but the Royals were able to finally swing it in their favor when it mattered, winning 15-13 in the 5th and final set. Redeemer moves to 1-0 with their first win of the season.
After dropping the first set 25-19, Redeemer won a pivotal 2nd set 26-24. The Royals trailed 24-20 before putting up 6 unanswered points behind the strong serving of Redeemer's
Curtiss Straatsma to take the 2nd set.
The next two sets saw momentum swing back and forth again in a series of sets that would have been difficult to predict. St. Clair dominated Redeemer in the 3rd winning 25-12 in what seemed like the turning point of the match. Up 2-1, the Saints appeared to be in the drivers seat and poised for their first win of the season.
However, the home crowd continued to back the Lady Royals and a 5-1 advantage to start the 4th set proved to be too much to handle for St. Clair. The Saints pushed back throughout the set but as the game wore on, Redeemer added to their lead taking it 25-17.
The 5th and final set saw both teams exchange points throughout, neither team wanting to go home without the win. The Saints were able to build a 2 point lead at 10-8 before the Royals came back to close out the match after a 5-1 run put Redeemer up 13-11.
Straatsma led the Royals with 13 points while 1st year
Nicole DeRaaf added 10 points.
Kimberly Stewart had an impressive 6 aces to go along with her 14 assists.
St. Clair's Shalena Horst had a game-high 19 points.
Redeemer will now be on the road for their next 3 matches (Humber, Cambrian, Boreal) before returning back home on November 13th against Conestoga. This Thursday, Redeemer will square off against the Humber Hawks in a rematch of last year's OCAA Provincial Championship semi-final match. The game will feature a showdown of two of the top players in OCAA Women's Volleyball when Redeemer's
Curtiss Straatsma and Humber Thalia Hanniman face off in their first matchup of the season. The Hawks won last year's semi-final 3-1.
You can catch up on the highlight from the match below.
