Women's Volleyball - OCAA Qualifying Round
The women's volleyball team faced off against the Cambrian Shield on Saturday at the ARC in their OCAA Qualifying game. Cambrian finished in 5th place in the OCAA West Division while the Wolves finished in 4th place in the OCAA East.
The Wolves got out to a slow start to begin the match, committing several receiving and attacking errors, and they quickly found themselves in a 7-4 hole. Algonquin managed to make it 16-15, but several service errors from the Wolves prevented them from building any sort of momentum. This allowed the Shields' high-flying offense to take over as Cambrian's leading scorer Carlie Pappano had several big kills, and the Shield took set 1 25-21. The Wolves saw themselves down 7-0 to start the second set forcing an early timeout. The Wolves began to go to Isabella Tourangeua for some scoring, as she delivered 2 of her 11 kills in the match to give the Wolves some life. Ultimately, Cambrian's lead was too much to overcome, and the Wolves lost the 2nd set 25-17.
With their season on the line In the third set, the Wolves began to up their defensive intensity, led by their libero Jordan Faig. The set went point-for-point until Cambrian held serve to make it 24-22 and double match point. Isabella Tourangeua once again delivered a powerful kill to give the Wolves the side-out and then Grace Pate tooled the Cambrian Block for the 26-24 set win. In the 4th set the Wolves ramped up their net-front presence with back-to-back stuff blocks from Grace Pate and Isabella Tourangeua tying the set at 12. However, Cambrians offense would not be denied, and despite the Wolves efforts, the Shield pulled away to take the set 25-20 and the match 3-1, to end the Wolves season. Isabella Tourangeua finished with 11 kills and 3 blocks, Carys Tenthory added 14 kills and 1 block, and Grace Pate had 10 kills, 2 aces and 2 blocks. Jordan Faig finished that match with 22 digs, and Gabbie Paquette dished out 30 assists.
The Wolves women's volleyball season has officially come to an end. With most of the roster set to return next season, the Wolves gained valuable experience that they will be able to lean on next year. We would like to take a moment to thank our loyal fans for your support all season long. See you next season!
Men's Volleyball - OCAA Qualifying Round
On Sunday, the men's volleyball team was in Sudbury to take on the Cambrian Shield in their OCAA Qualifying Game. The Wolves were in tough against the #3 ranked team in the province, who were also on a 10 game winning streak heading into the match.
The Wolves got out to a great start, taking the early 8-6 lead. However, the Shield were able to withstand the early push from the Wolves, and began to find their rhythm offensively. Cambrian's leading scorer Liam Hansen came up with a pair of big kills from the left and right-side, and gave the Shield the 14-12 lead. Ultimately the Wolves weren't able to contain the Shields' hitters, and they dropped the first set 25-19. The Wolves were once again able to keep the score close early in set 2, but several costly attacking and service errors from Algonquin prevented them from being able to take the lead. Cambrian was able to capitalize on those errors and string together several points to take the 16-10 lead. The Shield once again ran a balanced attack, keeping the Wolves guessing on defense, and were able to power their way to a 25-18 set win.
The 3rd set had a similar storyline to the first two. The Wolves were able to keep it close early in the set thanks to some big kills from Liam Arnold-Paquette, however they once again had difficulties finding a rhythm on offense, and Cambrian were able to capitalize with their speedy transition attack. In the end, Cambrian proved to be too much for the Wolves, and the Shield took the set 25-18, and the match 3-0. With the loss, the Wolves season comes to an end. Liam Arnold-Paquette led his team in scoring with 10 kills and 4 aces, while Julien Tran came off the bench and chipped in 5 kills and 1 ace.
The loss means that our men's volleyball season has officially come to an end. The future is bright for this young team who will be returning most of the roster next season. We would like to take a moment to thank our loyal fans for their support all season long. See you next year!
Women's Basketball (14-0)
The Wolves women's basketball team completed their regular season this past weekend with two road wins in Belleville and Kingston.
On Friday they took on the Loyalist Lancers (10-4) who started the weekend in 2nd place in the east standings. The Lancers were a familiar foe as the two teams met twice already this year, once in pre-season at the Battle of the St. Lawrence and once in the regular season. The Wolves took both matchups convincingly but Loyalist is a tough opponent at home.
The Lancers played the Wolves tough in the first half with the teams exchanging leads throughout. Algonquin held a slim 4 point lead going into halftime. This was unfamiliar territory for coach Jaime McLean's squad who has won their games by an average of 35 points this season.
The Wolves found their groove in the 2nd half shooting 66.7% from the floor in the 3rd quarter and holding the Lancers to just 20% to open up a 16 point lead. Algonquin was even more impressive defensively in the 4th giving up just 9 points on route to a 72-49 win.
Dasia McDonald had a monster game, finishing with a career high 31 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Cianah Miller, who transferred from Loyalist in 2023-24 scored 14 points against her former team. Libby Hirst came off the bench for a 10 point and 11 rebound double-double.
On Saturday, the team was in Kingston to take on the St. Lawrence Surge (2-12). After starting slow the night before, the Wolves came out hot in this one opening up a 29-10 lead after the 1st quarter. The Wolves managed to get to the foul line 12 times in the opening quarter, knocking down 10 of them.
Things settled down in the 2nd quarter, but Algonquin still managed to gain a slight edge pushing the lead to 23 going into the half. The Surge had their best quarter in the 3rd, playing the Wolves tough with Algonquin taking the quarter 18-17. The Wolves picked up the defensive intensity in the 4th holding St. Lawrence to 7 points, on route to a 84-47 win.
Piper Hatherall had a solid game scoring a career high 20 points and collecting 8 rebounds. Cianah Miller continued her strong play with 17 points. Dasia McDonald was the last Wolf in double figures with 11 points and 5 boards.
The Wolves completed their 3rd straight undefeated regular season. Saturday's win was the 42nd straight OCAA East regular season win for the squad. They will now turn their attention to the playoffs, hoping to improve on last season's silver medal performance.
The playoff run will kick-off on Saturday February 15th at 1:00 pm at the Jack Doyle athletics and recreation centre when the Sheridan Bruins who finished 8th in the West will come to town.
Men's Basketball (12-6)
Our men's basketball team entered the final weekend of the regular season with the goal of securing the 4th seed in the East and the right to host a 1st round playoff game. They kicked things off in Belleville on Friday night with a matchup against the Loyalist Lancers (5-11). The Wolves and Lancers have had many good battles in recent history with most games coming down to the final possession. They have met twice already this season with Loyalist taking the pre-season victory at the Battle of the St. Lawrence and Algonquin winning the regular season matchup on home court.
After a close 1st quarter, the Wolves struggled in the 2nd and 3rd, digging themselves a massive 18 point hole going into the 4th. Their chances seemed slim, but the Wolves came out with a different intensity on both sides of the ball in the 4th and managed to slowly chip away at the lead. Algonquin managed to tie the game and finally took the lead on 2 Jansen Balmaceda free throws with 30 seconds to go and managed to come up with consecutive stops down the stretch to complete the comeback and win 74-72! The Wolves outscored the Lancers 28-8 in the final frame in order to earn the win.
Tesloch Luk had a game high 21 points. Ted Braden had a strong 16 point and 8 board performance. Devonte Brooks had 10 points, 6 of which came in the 4th quarter comeback. The big man also added 6 rebounds.
On Saturday the Wolves were in Kingston to take on the St. Lawrence Surge. St. Lawrence was winless on the year and were hungry to pick up their 1st victory in the final regular season game.
Similar to the night before, the Wolves started out sluggish, trailing by as much as 9 in the first half. They managed to dig themselves out, finishing the 2nd quarter on a run that cut the Surge lead to 3 going into the break.
Algonquin proved that they were the better team in the 2nd half, out scoring St. Lawrence 54-37 on route to a 96-82 win. The big story in this game was 5th year guard Simon Desta. The Algonquin all-time leading scorer went out with a bang, knocking down 9 3's and scoring 29 points. Desta shot 50% from 3 and 9 out of his 10 field goals were from deep. The other one was a turnaround jumper to end the 1st half. Devonte Brooks had 14 points, CJ Gallaza had 11, Jansen Balmaceda and Ted Braden had 10 each.
The Wolves earned the 4th seed in the East and the right to host a 1st round playoff game. They will take on the Niagara Knights who finished 5th in the West on Saturday February 15th at 3:00 pm at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre.
It's playoff basketball time! Stay tuned to AlgonquinWolves.com for all the details.