NORTH BAY, Ont. (January 14, 2018) – The Queen's Gaels (4-5) were defeated by the Nipissing Lakers (5-4) this afternoon in a four-set game. The final scores of each set were 20-25, 25-18, 20-25 and 24-26 respectively.

GAME FLOW
The first set of the game started with the Lakers taking an early lead, leaving the Gaels trailing not too far behind. The Tricolour battled hard against the Nipissing offence to make numerous digs and make their way back to an even playing ground. The Gaels struggled to keep up with the kills made by the Lakers and ultimately lost the first set with a score of 25-20 for the Lakers.

The Gaels managed to pick up the intensity up in the second set, taking the lead early on. Kills from Markus Trence (Hockley Valley, Ont.) and Mitchell Neuert (Toronto) kept the lead for the Gaels in addition to a serving rally for Malcolm Prentice (Hamilton). The Tricolour held the lead away from the Lakers and continued to rack up points. Queen's took an eleven-point gap with fantastic defence and teamwork. The Gaels won the set with a score of 25-18 on a service error by Nipissing.

The third set of the game showed a tight score for much of the match. Great offensive efforts by Joel Rudd (Cambridge, Ont.), Jack Peckham (Oakville, Ont.) and Trence kept the Gaels in the game. The pressure and intensity put on by the Lakers was too much for the Gaels to manage and the Tricolour found themselves trailing behind. The Gaels fought extremely hard to keep a close game but were unsuccessful in catching the Lakers lead. The final score of the set was 25-20 for Nipissing.

The fourth and final set of the game started with a four-point lead for Queen's until the Lakers came from behind to surpass the Gaels efforts. Nipissing held the lead for much of the set, but Queen's fought back and matched the score at 17-17. The Gaels continued to play an even set and caused the game to be sent to extended points. The set and game ended with a kill from the Lakers, with a score of 26-24.

BY THE NUMBERS
2 – Serving aces for Thomas Ellison (Winnipeg, Man.)
16 – Kills for Markus Trence
17 – Digs for Mitchell Neuert

UP NEXT
The Gaels are back on home court at the ARC on January 21st, 2018 to take on the Trent Excalibur at 3 pm. For tickets head to www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets or watch the action live online at OUA.tv.