MEN'S VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Marauders remain undefeated
Toronto 2 @ Waterloo 3
The men's volleyball team continued their winning ways on Friday night getting past a scrappy Toronto squad in five sets in front of a boisterous think pink crowd at the PAC.
In the early going it looked as if Waterloo was going to have an easy night taking the opening set 25-11 but the Varsity Blues had other ideas bouncing back in the second set and giving the Warriors all they could handle thereafter. Toronto ended up taking the second set 25-22 before Waterloo took a 2-1 lead claiming the third set 25-19. The Blues once again continued the seesaw theme with a 25-21 fourth set victory before Waterloo took control in the fifth with a 15-6 set win to capture the contest.
With the win Waterloo improved to 5-1 on the season good for first overall in the OUA while Toronto dropped to 1-4.
In the early going it was the Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) show with the fourth year middle providing the black and gold with quality serving and blocks. Dyck would give the Warriors a 6-0 run on his serve while finishing with five blocks in the opening set. Overall the recreation and leisure student finished with 12 blocks (9 assisted, 3 solo) while also putting away eight kills.
In the attack column it was a complete team effort with three different Warriors earning nine kills in the win. Middle Tyler Motherwell (Toronto) and outside hitters James Evans (Rockwood) and Zachary Doherty (Goderich) were all critical components to Waterloo's 5-set thrilling win. It was Evans who would cap off the game with a kill and a strong serve to seal the home victory.
Setter Scott Thomson (St. Marys) also got in on the action in the final set with an opportunistic kill off an erroneous Varsity Blue pass to ignite the crowd. Thomson finished with 31 assists in the win. Defensively it was Doherty leading the way with 11 digs while Erich Woolley (New Dundee) was also solid with 10.
For the Blues Jake Dysselhof led the way with a game high 15 kills while also adding eight digs and three blocks. Also chipping in was middle Kyle Fick with 13 kills. Setter Michael Denton finished with 36 assists in a losing effort.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
York 3 @ Queen’s 2
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 8, 2013) - The Queen's Gaels lost a five set heartbreaker to the visiting York Lions 3-2 with set scores 25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 15-9 in OUA volleyball action.
After falling down early 2-0 to York, the Gaels batthled back to force a fifth and final set but the Lions hung on winning in the fifth set 15-9.
Philippe Goyer and Stephen Holmes led the way for Queen's finishing with 24 and 19 points respectively.
York finished with four separate players with 10 or more kills with Ray Szeto leading the Lions at 23 kills.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
Nipissing 3 @ RMC 1
?It took a little longer than they would have liked, but the Nipissing Lakers men’s volleyball team registered their first win of the season, and their first ever OUA victory Friday night over RMC.
After dropping the first set, the Lakers stormed back winning three straight to break into the win column.
RMC took the first set 25-23, the Lakers then dominated sets two and three winning 25-15 and 25-17 before sneaking out the win in the fourth set to clinch the match.
Frankie Edgecombe led the attack with an absolutely huge day hammering home 19 kills and adding a service ace as well.
Taylor Bielby had 42 assists; Mike Ballagh had eight kills, while both Cameron Branch and Warren Taylor each chipped in with seven kills.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
Ryerson 0 @ McMaster 3
The McMaster men's volleyball team knew it faced a tough challenge with the Ryerson Rams coming to town, but were able to capture a three-set victory to remain undefeated in the OUA.
McMaster came out fired up to face a Ryerson squad that had been ranked in the top-ten earlier this season. A quick 3-0 Marauder lead forced the Rams to burn an early time-out to stem the tide, and they were able to stay with the Marauders after the early deficit, only trailing 16-15 at the technical timeout. At that point Alex Elliot got on a serving roll and the Marauders went up 20-16. Then it was Mac's Stephen Maar doing damage at the service line and the Maroon captured the opening set 25-18.
The second set was a dogfight and needed extra points to decide it. Leading 16-11 at the technical timeout, McMaster looked to be in great position. But Ryerson fought back to avoid falling behind by two sets and took the lead at 20-19. With both sides using their timeouts to stop momentum, it was Ryerson that had the first set point at 24-23 but a service error by the Rams tied the score. The two teams fought back and forth and it was McMaster finally taking the set 29-27 to go up by two sets.
The third set saw McMaster's Jori Mantha get in a serving groove early and the Maroon led 9-3 to start the set. Ryerson trailed 16-8 at the technical timeout as it seemed the marathon second set took some steam out of the Rams. The Marauders were able to build the advantage to 23-16 before closing out the match with a 25-18 win.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Saturday, November 9
Ryerson 3 @ Waterloo 2
The Waterloo men's volleyball team dropped their second game of the season in a back and forth affair with the Ryerson Rams on Saturday night at the PAC.
The Warriors opened up the match with a 25-19 set win but the Rams bounced back taking the second set by the identical score. Waterloo again found their game and took the third 25-19 but Ryerson continued to show their fight taking the fourth set 25-21. The fifth and deciding set would be a nail-bitter but the visiting Rams would edge Waterloo 15-13 to take the match 3-2.
Zachary Doherty (Goderich) was a force for the black and gold with a game high 22 kills while Tyler Motherwell (Toronto) put away 12 while adding eight blocks in the loss. Setter Scott Thomson (St. Marys) had 55 assists, seven digs and two blocks in the match.
For the Rams it was George Sakvarelidze leading the way with 13 kills and four digs. Marc Reardon and Alex Dawson also had strong games with 11 and 10 kills respectively to lift the Rams to their fourth win of the season.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Toronto 3 @ Guelph 2
GUELPH, Ont. – (November 9, 2013) – The Guelph Gryphon men's volleyball team fell to the Toronto Varsity Blues in five sets on Saturday night at the W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre. Set scores were 25-19, 21-25, 22-25, 25-15 and 15-11.
In the first set the Toronto Varsity Blues made quick work of the Gryphons with a 25-19 victory. The Gryphons responded to the first set loss with a close 25-21 set win to even things at 1-1. In the second set the Varsity Blues made it interesting battling back after being down by seven points but the Gryphons held strong and earned the 25-21 win.
In the third set the two teams traded points early on until the Gryphons took a 10-6 lead. The Varsity Blues defence tightened up, Guelph led midway 15-14. The Gryphons utilized well-placed attacks and timely blocks to take the edge in the third. After a Luke Woud ace, the Gryphons took a 21-19 lead. Woud would earn his fifth ace of the set to close out the third giving the Gryphons the 25-22 set victory.
The Gryphons fell behind early in the fourth set, 10-4. Despite a strong effort, the Gryphons could not find the answer for the Varsity Blues offensive attack in the fourth, as Toronto took a 16-6 lead. The Gryphons couldn't recover and committed 14 errors, handing Toronto the 25-15 victory.
In the fifth and deciding set the Gryphons responded with two quick points from convincing kills by Luke Woud and Marc Wilson. However the Varsity Blues would reply and take a 5-3 lead. Strong play by both teams saw the final set go back and forth however Toronto would take an 11-8 lead and not look back winning the set 15-11.
Second year Luke Woud led the Gryphons with 12 points with 10 kills and 2 blocks. The Varsity Blues were led by Jay Tremonti with 18 on 10 kills, 2 aces and six blocks.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
York 3 @ RMC 0
The York University Lions men's volleyball team claimed another victory Saturday (Nov. 9), defeating the RMC Paladins in straight sets in Kingston, Ont., for their sixth win of the season.
Looking in top form from the first touch, York would win 25-15, 25-17 and 25-18 to prevail untarnished. The Lions now have a record of 6-2 on the year following the win, placing them atop of the OUA standings with 12 points.
Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) continued his phenomenal season, finishing with 13 points on nine kills, six digs and an amazing four service aces. Defensively, the Lions were also stellar with Nikola Sandic (Etobicoke, Ont.) making six blocks for six points, while teammates Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.), Gagan Majhel (Mississauga, Ont.) and Paul Jakubiak (Toronto) all earned eight digs apiece.
Majhel and Jakubiak would also each add 15 and 16 assists, respectively.
For the Paladins, Thomas McMullen (Ottawa) carried the offence, recording 11 points on nine kills, four digs and two blocks. Teammate Jordan Larocque (Brandon, Man.) would also contribute with 23 assists and seven digs, while adding three points and a service ace.
RMC had no answer for York's punishing offensive attack, as Szeto and company immediately began taking advantage at the net. The result was a quick 25-15 routing to give the Lions a 1-0 advantage.
The Paladins were unable to keep pace, as the Lions rode the early momentum throughout the second into the third set with ease.
With a 2-0 edge entering the third, York would close out the game with authority, converting almost 42 per cent of their kill attempts to take the 25-18 decision in the final set.
Source: York Sports Info
Nipissing 0 @ Queen’s 3
KINGSTON (November 9, 2013)- The Queen's men's volleyball team improves to 3-1 on the season with a straight-set victory, 25-16, 25-23, and 25-15 over the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday night at the main gym in the ARC.
Philippe Goyer (Ottawa) led the Gaels offense with 15 points, including 11 kills. Ivo Dramov was the Gaels defensive leader, digging 10 of the Lakers attacks.
Nipissing's Dan Pearson highlighted the Lakers losing effort with 11 digs.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
Sunday, November 10
Western 3 @ Windsor 1
WINDSOR, Ont.- The Windsor Lancers men's volleyball team dropped a Sunday afternoon matinee 3-1 (25-22,25-20,22-25,25-23) to the Western Mustangs at the St. Denis Centre.
Garrett May led all players with 25 kills in leading the Mustangs to their fourth win of the season, while Adam Thompson put together an impressive display of hitting efficiency in a losing cause. The Portage La Prarie, Alb. native picked up 12 kills on 16 attempts, committing just one error and garnered a game-high .688 hitting percentage. Gabriel Burlacu also tallied 12 kills while Shawn Reaume, Scott Hickman and Greg Simone each added eight.
The Mustangs grabbed an 11-8 advantage early in the first set, prompting a timeout call from Lancers coach James Gravelle. Thompson tallied a kill and followed that with an ace to cut the deficit, and the men took the lead 16-15 going into the technical timeout. The teams traded points before the visitors managed to go on a mini-streak to give themselves a set point. A Hickman block was answered by a Mustangs' kill, as they drew first blood in the match.
Western built a 7-2 spread in the second set before Phil James and Garrett May combined on a big block that extended their advantage. May picked up another kill, and the Mustangs took a 16-8 lead into the technical. The Lancers gained back some of the momentum later in the stanza, as a big kill and block from Burlacu brought the men back within four. However, Western maintained a healthy spread to take a two-set lead.
Hickman and Burlacu exchanged kills and Ryan Leknois tallied a block in an effort to spur a Lancer comeback as the hosts went up 7-3 in the third set. Leknois and Hickman then tallied back-to-back blocks, and the Lancers went into the technical up 16-10.
The Lancers looked ready to claim their first set of the day, but an ace that just caught the sideline was followed by another Mustangs point, and the visitors pulled within two. Coming out of a Lancer timeout, Western grabbed another kill before Burlacu restored Windsor's two-point cushion. The Mustangs continued to rally and evened the set at 20-20. But two straight errors from May and some stingy Lancer defence again put Windsor up a couple. Burlacu notched a point off the Mustangs block, and Leknois clinched the set with a block from the left side.
Thompson tallied consecutive blocks, capping off an 8-4 start to the fourth and the Lancers jumped out to a sizeable lead for the second straight set. However, the visitors went on an 8-4 run of their own, evening the stanza at 12-12. Western took its first lead of the set soon after, but two straight points from Windsor gave them a slight 16-15 advantage at the technical.
Doug Austrom tallied a kill and block, and the Mustangs went up by two after the break. A rejection from Reaume pulled the men within one. But May found the deep left corner from the middle of the net to give Western a set point. After the Lancers saved the first of two match points, May was able to connect on the second opportunity, putting the contest on ice.
Source: Windsor Sports Info