Durham Lords women’s volleyball team fell to the undefeated Lakeland Rustlers in straight sets at the quarterfinal match of the 2025 CCAA Women’s Volleyball National Championship on Wednesday night.
Despite showing resilience and determination, the Lords were unable to disrupt Lakeland’s dominance, as they secured a 3-0 victory. The set scores were 25-13, 25-11 and 25-14.
The Lords’ offence was led by Elizabeth McFarland, who recorded six kills on 16 attempts and also contributed two digs.
Chelsea Oke, Veronika Cavojska and Jessie Buck each registered three kills. Oke also stood out defensively with eight digs and two assists.
Brooke Young managed nine assists and Erin Black added seven. Despite the tough loss, Black’s effort earned her the Player of the Match for Lords.
Head coach Tony Clark spoke about his team’s mindset heading into the match. “We just wanted to go out there and to play hard,” he said. Clark acknowledged the strength of Lakeland but focused on his team’s efforts to compete. “We tried to get everybody that shot, but at the same time, we just couldn’t get in the rhythm consistently,” Clark noted.
Despite the Lords efforts, Lakeland’s experience and well-organized gameplay proved too much for Durham, with Clark praising the Rustlers’ depth. “They’re a very good team, a lot of good players that have been there for a lot of years,” he added. He also reflected on the need for improvement in his own squad. “We have more room for growth for sure,” he said.
Settler Erin Black emphasized that the team never felt truly defeated. “We went in with a strong mindset of we’re just going to go out, we’re going to do our best,” she said.
Black pinpointed Elizabeth McFarland’s performance for the Rustlers as a turning point in the third set, where McFarland scored multiple points in a row, creating a significant gap for Durham. Despite the setbacks, Black highlighted some positive moments in Durham’s play, particularly with passing in the second set.
The Lords’ mentality remained strong throughout the match, particularly with their next-point focus, which Black credited as key to keeping spirits up.
“I think that next point mentality was really the key to keeping our heads-up in the game,” she said, adding that much of their energy came from within the team and their fans.
As Durham faced challenges with passing and serving, Black noted that Lakeland’s tough serves and powerful swings were tough to handle. “They also had some pretty hard swings that we just weren’t quite in the right spot,” she said.
Looking ahead, Lords will move on to the bronze medal match, where they will face the Mount Allison Mounties on March 6 at 2 p.m.
For Black, the next step is to control what they can and maintain momentum.
“Keep the momentum on our side, focus on the things we can control ourselves and just go from there,” she said. She added that the team is confident that the lessons learned from this match will help drive them to strong finish to the tournament.