Ottawa, Ont. - The Algonquin Wolves women's volleyball team suffered their first loss of 2026, falling to the Durham Lords in a five-set marathon at the ARC on Saturday night. It was the marquee matchup of the weekend in the OCAA, with the Lords entering at 9–1 and the Wolves close behind at 8–3.
Algonquin came out red-hot to start the match and had the crowd on its feet early. Chanel Ethier delivered a pair of massive kills from the left side to give the Wolves a 13–7 lead, forcing Durham to call an early timeout. The Wolves kept their foot on the gas coming out of the break, extending their lead to 18–12 behind some big blocks at the net from Isabella Tourangeau. Algonquin cruised from there to take the opening set 25–17.
The second set saw the Wolves pull away once again, this time sparked by a strong serving run from Riley Lancia that kept the Lords out of system and helped Algonquin jump out to a 12–8 lead. With their defense ranking among the best in the OCAA, the Wolves put it on full display, extending rallies and forcing Durham into several costly unforced errors. Carys Tenthorey would eventually seal the 25–20 set win, putting the Wolves up two sets to none.
Durham came out determined in the third set, and a stretch of service errors from Algonquin allowed the Lords to hang around. A Wolves serving error gave Durham a 21–20 lead late in the set, and Algonquin was unable to side out. The Lords capitalized and took the third set 25–23.
Despite dropping the set, the Wolves appeared to regroup and came out flying in the fourth. A big back-row pipe from Chanel Ethier got the crowd on its feet and helped Algonquin build a 15–10 lead. Durham quickly settled in after a timeout and ramped up the service pressure, keeping the Wolves out of system and clawing their way back to tie the set at 21–21. Carys Tenthorey answered with a clutch right-side kill and followed it up with one of her four aces to give Algonquin a 23–21 lead. The Lords responded with a kill and a block out of their timeout to even things up, and the two teams went back and forth exchanging points. An attacking error from the Wolves gave Durham set point, and the Lords took advantage, ending the set with a left-side kill that Algonquin couldn't keep alive.
The fifth set was just as tight, with the two teams deadlocked at 8–8 at the side change. Durham then rattled off four straight points to open up a 12–8 lead. Ethier came up big with a block and a kill to give the Wolves some life, but the Lords were able to close it out with a kill from the middle to take the set 15–12 and the match.
With the loss, the Wolves fall to 8–4 on the season.
Chanel Ethier had a career night for Algonquin, finishing with 24 kills and one block for 25 points. Carys Tenthorey also turned in a big performance, recording 19 kills, four aces, and one block for 24 points. Natasha Lauzon added 16 kills and two aces for 18 points, while Riley Lancia chipped in six kills, two blocks, and two aces for 10 points.
Next up, the Wolves will host the St. Lawrence Surge on Wednesday, January 28th.
