The OCAA quarterfinal matchup between Durham and St. Clair was a toss up heading into a tie-breaking set Saturday afternoon. This was a match with extreme swings for both teams.
"When it was working, it was great," Julie Ann Milling, St. Clair Saints head coach.
Things were working well for the visiting Lords who stunned the home team with a 25-12 win in the opening set. The Saints rebounded in the second set 25-13. They carried the momentum into the third set for a 25-17 win but another big swing took place in the fourth set with Durham, last year's silver medallist, taking charge for a 25-15 victory.
"We kinda looked back at our first set and realized how much energy and how much want we wanted for the entire game," said Durham 3rd year middle Amanda Larsen. "We kinda lost it once they started playing back at us and we realized that we had to get on our horse and really get going."
A quick unscientific survey was done with respondents not know how the 5th and deciding set would go based on what they had seen in the first four.
Looking to set the tone, Saints 2nd year middle Geneva Huisman put away three straight kills to give St. Clair a 3-1 lead. Not to be outdone the Lords responded as the set turned into a seesaw battle. Durham would take an 8-6 lead into the side switch and extend their lead to 12-7. The Saints tried to make a push but a clutch dig 3rd year Libero Alisia Lush was put away with authority by Chelsea Oke as the Lords went on to win 15-12.
"We knew we were the underdog. We had so many freshmen on the team (7) and we worked so so hard," said Larsen whose team is one of four teams left standing for a fifth straight year. "Beating a nationally ranked team to go to the semis is more than we could have ever asked for this season."
The finality of the loss lingered for the Saints as players greeted family and friends following the match. "It's tough seeing the team like this coz I feel as much, if not more, and I know what they're feeling." Milling said.
Check out the highlights and post game below.