No one had to do things the hard way in the VNL
IN this week’s VNL match of the round, it was the Melbourne University Lightning who recorded a solid win over the Southern Saints, 66-49.
It was Melbourne Uni who skipped away to a nice early lead. Their smooth passing from the likes of Jordan Cransberg and Kelsie Rainbow saw shooters Mikaela Vaughan and Claudia Mawson have plenty of chances to shoot and they made the most of it.
However, once the Saints got on the board they really got going and even managed to level things up again not long after.
However, the closeness of the scoreline did not last long as Mawson and Vaughan got to work and extended the Lightning’s lead back out.
Neither side was afraid to use the really long pass into the goal third, with varying degrees of success.
The Lightning were the better side in the first term, and so rightfully held an eight goal lead at the first break.
Saints’ shooters Emily Andrew and Annabelle Gorman certainly tried their best to keep their side in the game early in the second term, but the evenness of the quarter meant that they couldn’t really make much of a dent in the margin.
As the quarter progressed though, the Lightning really put the foot down and asserted their dominance, blowing their lead out to over 10 goals.
At half time the margin sat at 13 goals.
Melbourne Uni made an interesting swap at half time, with Ramayer Gourley, usually a defender, moving down the other end into goal shooter.
The decision certainly did not backfire on the Lightning, as they continued to assert their dominance on the match.
The third quarter was scrappy at time, but the margin stayed above 10 goals all quarter, and ultimately sat at 11 as the teams turned for home.
The margin ultimately proved too much for the Saints to run down in the last quarter, as the Lightning went on to record a solid win.
In other results, the Casey Demons got a solid win over Peninsula, as did City West over the Ariels. Geelong also had a comfortable win over Boroondara.
VNL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 16 RESULTS
Wilson Storage Southern Saints vs Melbourne University Lightning
Casey Demons vs Peninsula Waves
Geelong Cougars vs Boroondara Express
Ariels vs City West Falcons
North East Blaze vs Hawks Netball
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