With the regular season officially coming to an end this past weekend, many Warriors teams celebrated graduating seniors while others got geared up for the postseason.
Friday, Feb. 14
Kicking things off, the women’s volleyball team played the first of back-to-back matchups against the McMaster Marauders. The Warriors got off to a slow start, dropping the first set 25-22. The Warriors responded in sets two and three, winning both, then dropping set four, but dominating in set five to earn the 3-2 win. Rachael Meilikhan and Avery Kelly took care of business, combining for 39 total kills. The Warriors will look to keep this momentum rolling as they get set for their Saturday matchup against the Marauders.
Staying at PAC, the men’s volleyball team also hosted the Marauders for back-to-back matchups across Friday and Saturday. The Warriors came out flat dropping the first set, but responded in a big way, winning sets two to four in impressive fashion. Owen Paddock Thiessen, Nolan Reed and Lucas Redmann combined for 37 kills, while Cohen Peters was the team’s best friend accounting for 37 assists. The Warriors knocked off the Marauders 3-1 and will look to go back-to-back on Saturday.
On the road, the men’s basketball team travelled to London to take on the Western Mustangs. The Warriors came out slow in this one, only scoring six points in the first quarter. This slow start seemed to haunt them for the entirety of the game as they were never really able to build momentum. The Warriors fought hard but fell to a strong Mustang squad 90-45. Rafael Llorin led the way, scoring with 10 adding 1 steal, 1 assist, and 1 rebound. The Warriors will look to right their wrongs as they travel to Windsor on Saturday.
The women’s basketball team also travelled to London to take on the Mustangs. The women put up a great battle against a strong Western squad, but ultimately came up short 68-58. Number 21 Nehita Oko-Oboh continued her domination of the OUA as it was just another day in the office for her, squeezing 16 boards and dropping 18 points. The Warriors will look to finish off the regular season in the win column as they travel to Windsor for the regular season finale.
On the ice, the men’s hockey team played host to the Windsor Lancers for a Friday night matchup. To most fans, this was quite a boring game. The first 60 minutes of play left us scoreless as it wasn’t until just over a minute into sudden-death overtime, Simon Rose found the back of the net on a sweet setup from Liam Fedak. Warriors win 1-0. Matt Onuska stood on his head between the pipes stopping all 31 of the shots he faced. Warriors stay on home ice for the season finale against the Carleton Ravens on Saturday.
To wrap up Friday’s competition, the women’s hockey team played this first installment of their Ottawa road trip, first up: the Gee-Gee’s. Identical to the men’s team, the first three periods of play left us scoreless. It wasn’t until overtime that Carly Orth, shorthanded, was able to find the back of the net and give the Warriors the win 1-0. Kara Mark stopped all 22 of the shots she faced to post the shutout. The Warriors will wrap up their time in Ottawa with a Saturday matchup against the Carleton Ravens.
Saturday, Feb. 15
To wrap up the 2024-2025 regular season, the men’s basketball team travelled to Windsor to take on the Lancers. To say the least, this game was an absolute nail-biter. It was all knotted up at halftime 32-32. The Warriors came out of the break slow only scoring 13 points in the third quarter but turned it on in the fourth scoring 20 earning them the win 65-64. Isaiah McRae had an offensive explosion dropping 35 points, he added 13 boards 3 steals and an assist. With this win, the Warriors found themselves in a 3-way tie for the 11th and final playoff spot. Due to tiebreakers, the Warriors earned the 11th spot in the OUA playoff race and will travel to Ottawa to take on the Carleton Ravens.
Staying on the court, the women’s basketball team was also in Windsor to wrap up the regular season. The Warriors fought hard but ultimately fell to a strong Lancers squad 86-54. Kymora Stafford led the way in scoring dropping 11 points adding 6 boards and 2 assists. Although the Warriors ended the regular season with back-to-back losses, they have their eyes set on their round 1 playoff matchup against the University of Queens Golden Gales on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Moving onto the ice, the men’s hockey team played their final regular season home game against the Carleton Ravens. With this being the last regular season home game, it was senior night, congratulations to Tate Popple, Jack Phibbs and Matthew Benson on outstanding careers as Warriors. Popple made his presence felt early on senior night as he found the back of the net shorthanded less than 10 minutes into the first frame. Jesse Fishman and Aaron Davidson added another each in the second period, giving the Warriors a 3-0 lead going into the third. The Ravens would add two but it wasn’t enough – the Warriors won 3-2. With this win, the Warriors secured a playoff spot and will take on the Windsor Lancers in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
Staying on the ice, the women’s hockey team finished their road trip in the nation’s capital as they took on the Carleton Ravens. The Ravens came out swimming as they scored two in the first period. The Warriors then went on to score five unanswered. Gracey Smith, Nikki McDonald, and Leah Herrfort accounted for one each while Brodi Levitt accounted for two. The Warriors wrap up their regular season with back-to-back wins and now have their eyes set on the postseason, as they will take on cross-town rivals Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA quarterfinals set to begin on Feb. 26.
Back on the court, the women’s volleyball team played their final regular season home game against the McMaster Marauders. With this being the last home game, it was senior night. Rachel Meilikhan, Leah Van Zeumeren, Avery Kelly, Sarah Hewer, Sydney Degraauw, Abbey Neufeld and Alex Sinik were celebrated for their outstanding careers with the Warriors. The Warriors struggled in this matchup as they dropped all three sets to the Marauders. Avery Kelly and Rachel Meilikhan led the way with kills and Madison Seo posted 21 assists. The Warriors will get their shot at redemption in the first round of the OUA playoffs as they travel to Hamilton. to take on the Marauders in the quarter-finals on Feb. 21.
To wrap up the week, the men’s volleyball team hosted the Marauders to wrap up their regular season. With this being the last home game, it was senior night. Siraj Khanna was celebrated for an amazing career with the Warriors. The Warriors came out slow in this one as they dropped the first two sets. But the Warriors were not going out without a fight, flipped the script and ended up winning sets three through five to give them the win, 3 sets to 2. Nolan Reed had a strong day at the net, accounting for 18 kills while adding 4 blocks. With this win, the Warriors bumped the Marauders out of eighth place and earned the final playoff seed. The Warriors will travel to Windsor on Feb. 21 to take on the Lancers in the first round of the playoffs.
