The Laurier Brantford extramural volleyball played their first tournament of the season at Redeemer College on November 16 and is the latest Laurier Brantford athletic squad to bring home some serious hardware. Their goals going in were to keep communication flowing and have a positive attitude, and they did that and more as they fought their way to a silver medal.

They breezed through their first three games, not dropping a single set and facing no real adversity. They beat Redeemer White and Mohawk in the morning, and took care of an undersized Centennial team in the afternoon. Of the seven teams in the tournament, they were one of three undefeated teams going into the last round-robin game.

Their fourth game was against the undefeated Humber North team, and provided them with their first test of the day. Humber dominated early and was hitting very hard. Seemingly out of the set at 11-18, Laurier kept their composure and battled back. They had all the pressure at the end, but came up just short, losing 25-23. The next set started off the same early, and stayed that way throughout as Laurier lost 25-13.

Laurier had a brief break before their semi-final matchup, and they did not let their loss affect their game. They played the other undefeated team, Humber Lakeshore, and it was a thriller the whole way. They got off to a great start and took the lead at 10-4. Humber, clearly rattled early, rallied and had Laurier back on their heels, tying the set at 19. But Laurier finished strong and took the set 26-24. The second followed the same formula as they took an early lead, and finished strong with eight straight points to take the set 25-16. The playoffs are first to three sets, and that third set was hard to get for Laurier.

It went back-and-forth the whole way, and Humber was not willing to go down without a fight. They took the third 25-20. The fourth set defined Laurier’s toughness in this tournament. Trailing most of the set, and not wanting to let Lakeshore tie the game, Laurier played their hearts out. Down 21-19, they scored four straight points and after a timeout Laurier took the set 25-22, and the game 3-1.

The final was a rematch against Humber North, and this time Laurier came to play. They gave everything they had, but were not able to win a set, losing 25-20, 27-25, and 25-23. Compared to their first match, this was a much better result, and shows the potential that Laurier has. One of the leaders on the team is second year student Aryan Avandi, who thought the team played excellent.

“It was evident on the court that the team was in great synchronization,” says Avandi .

Laurier plays in a co-ed league in Brantford and has a record of 5-1. Their next game is November 19. Their next tournament is February 1 at Humber Lakeshore, where they will be looking for redemption and gold.