February 23, 2012
OUA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
HAMILTON, Ont. – For the second consecutive year the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Men’s Volleyball Final Four championship, presented by Mikasa Sports, and the battle for the Forsyth Memorial Trophy is set to get underway in London, Ont. at Western University from February 24-25.
After finishing first in league standings with a 16-2 record and receiving a bye straight through to the Final Four, the Mustangs host their second straight championship but are looking for a different outcome this time around. Western will be looking to get back to the title match for their chance to snap a 33 year championship drought.
The Mustangs, led by coach of the year Jim Sage, will begin the climb back to the championship on Friday, February 24 with a semifinal matchup at 7:30 p.m. with the Waterloo Warriors, one of only two teams to defeat Western in the regular season. The Stangs hope for an extra boost from the hometown crowd and will look to all-stars Garrett May (Scarborough, Ont.) and Phil James (Ottawa) to power the offence after combining for 325 kills this season.
Waterloo finished the regular season in fifth place but enter the championship as the fourth seed after defeating Windsor in the quarter-finals last weekend. The Warriors have a high-powered duo of their own with Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo, Ont.) and Cameron Wheelan (Barrie, Ont.) pounding down 362 kills on the year. Waterloo will need a strong defensive effort to match the Mustangs and will rely on rookie libero Erich Woolley (New Dundee, Ont.) who was recently named to the OUA All-Rookie team.
The first action of the Final Four gets underway on Friday at 5:00 p.m. with the McMaster Marauders squaring off against the Queen’s Gaels. These two teams have combined for the last six championships and this is the second straight year the two clubs have met in the semifinals. The Marauders won both regular season matchups this year but five sets were required to decide the winner on each occasion, so all signs point to this being a closely contested battle.
Defending champion McMaster enters the Final Four winning 13 of their last 14 matches and are led by second-team all-stars Jori Mantha (Vanier, Ont.) and Kevin Stevens (Winnipeg, Man.) who have taken the reigns of the club, despite being in just their second and third years, respectively. The combination of youth and experience, including former three-time first-team all-star Jeremy Groenveld (Welland, Ont.), appears to be a perfect fit this year and the Marauders are exuding confidence and looking to defend their banner.
The Queen’s Gaels had big expectations at the beginning of the year already knowing they would be competing for a national title as hosts of this year’s CIS championship but came out of the gate slowly to start the year. They were able to turn things around in January and come into the championship winners of their past seven. Leading the Gaels all season has been player of the year Joren Zeeman (Cambridge, Ont.). The fifth-year attacker would love to add a second OUA championship to his resume after winning in 2009-10 and with nine players in their fourth or fifth year of eligibility, the Gaels have the experience to do so. With Zeeman leading the offence, Niko Rukavina (Mississauga, Ont.) will lead the charge on defence after being named the libero of the year.
Winners of Friday’s semifinals will advance to the OUA championship game which begins at 7:00 p.m. Saturday evening.
All games from the OUA Men’s Volleyball Final Four will be available on webcast at www.ssncanada.ca
2011-12 OUA MEN’S VOLLEYBALL FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE
February 24, 2012
5:00 pm – Queen’s Gaels vs. McMaster Marauders
7:30 pm – Waterloo Warriors vs. Western Mustangs
February 25, 2012
7:00 pm – OUA Gold Medal Game
