Humber Hawks women’s volleyball team beat Conestoga for its 30th time since their first meeting in October 2010.
The Hawks, ranked number 1 in Canada, continued that streak by defeating the Condors in a 3-2 set victory on Nov. 12 at the Hawks Nest.
Fifth-year player Hannah Manners led the way with 22 kills in her first game back from injury. She talked about how good it felt to be back after being sidelined with an injury.
“Honestly, it feels good just coming off as an injury, coming back into my first game, it felt good to play well,” she said.
It was a see-saw contest that needed five sets between the two teams.
Head coach Chris Wilkins said the team did not play as well as he expected they would, but he credited the players with sticking together to get a win.
“Obviously we didn't play very well today, but we found a way to win, and I think the one thing that was nice is that we stuck together, you know, we stuck together as a team, and you know, we were just off, but everyone sort of support each other and just kind of got it through it,” he said.
The Hawks were up by three at the start of the first set, but Conestoga came back strong, maintaining a five-point lead.
Humber lost the first set 25-20.
However, the Hawks turned it around in the second set, pulling ahead for as much as eight points.
The Condors were still trying to rally, but by the end, the final ball was hit out, and Humber secured the 25-13 victory to tie the game at a set apiece.
The battle continued in the third set, both teams exchanging one-point leads until the Hawks took the lead with an 18-17 score.
The Hawks are also scoring their most kills – 13 – in a set in the match.
The fourth set stayed close in the beginning, but then Conestoga took the lead and won the set 25 -20.
That took the game to sudden death.
The Hawks came out flying in the fifth and won 3-2 despite tense play that included two timeouts. They kept the advantage throughout the fifth and final set.
Manners received the player of the game.
Teammate middle blocker Amy Connelly had high praise for her Manners’ performance.
“I think that she played extremely well. She was killing the balls. She didn't really make any errors,” Connelly said. "She totally deserved it."
