AROUND OUA: Lions upset No. 7 Mustangs in five-set thriller
The York University Lions men's volleyball squad upset the No.7 nationally-ranked Western Mustangs by a score of 3-2 on Saturday (Oct. 24) in their second match of home opening weekend at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
SCOREBOARD
Lions upset No. 7 Mustangs in five-set thriller
The York University Lions men's volleyball squad upset the No.7 nationally-ranked Western Mustangs by a score of 3-2 on Saturday (Oct. 24) in their second match of home opening weekend at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions started the match with a burst of energy which was produced by Tyler Covach (Kitchener, Ont.), who smashed multiple spikes on the Mustang defence. However, the Lions began to fall behind and couldn't harness that spark from the earlier stages of the set.
Andrew Shotbolt (Markham, Ont.) entered the game and made an immediate impact, beating the Mustangs on multiple spikes cutting into the Mustang lead in the first set, 23-17. But early mistakes by the Lions led to the first set being won by the Mustangs 25-18.
The second set was a completely different story for the Lions as they were virtually mistake free and dominated the set. The Lions stormed out of the gates to take a commanding 13-3 lead, which forced two Mustang timeouts. The blocking trio of Logan Mend (Naramata, B.C.), Nicolas Pirnat (Ottawa) and Alexander Duncan-Thibault (Scarborough, Ont.) shut the door on multiple smash attempts by the Mustangs.
Western attempted a late comeback cutting the Lion lead to 19-11, but that was denied by Covach, which was followed by the set point being planted into the hardwood by Arthur Szwarc (Toronto) for a 25-18 set win to level the match.
In the third set both the Lions and Mustangs exchanged well executed bumps leading to quality rallies. York fell behind early but marched back to take a 4-3 lead, but then Chris Newcombe emerged as he beat the Lions on back-to back-spikes. After York took a timeout, the Lions defence was closing any smash attempt resulting in a tight score at 17-16 for Western.
However, down the stretch the Lions made a few mistakes which led to York dropping the set 25-23.
The fourth set was controlled early by the Lions as they took a 13-7 lead. The Mustangs made their way back in the match coming within one, but that was as close as they would come as the Lions capitalized on every Western mistake. The Lions managed to extend the match with a 25-21 fourth-set win.
The final set was ignited by Pirnat and Covach, who found holes in the Mustangs defence. The Lions continued to serve well in the fifth with aces by Szwarc and Jules Muhawe (Orleans, Ont.), and Covach finished off the match with a big kill for a 15-12 win.
Covach finished the match with 17 points on 12 kills, two service aces and three blocks, while Szwarc led all players with 22.5 points on 16 kills, two service aces and 4.5 blocks.
Western's leading scorer was Gavin Taylor with 17 points on 14 kills, two service aces and two blocks.
The Lions are now 2-0 on the year and one of only two teams in the OUA with a pair of victories to start the season. They will be back on the court on Friday night (Oct. 30) when they travel to Waterloo, Ont., to take on the Warriors at 7pm.
Source: York Lions
Lakers bounce back to claim first win
After a tough loss, Saturday's game could have gone one of two ways for the Nipissing Lakers men's volleyball team.
They could have either been demoralized and struggle to regroup, or they could have come out flying and built off a strong effort.
They did the latter and it earned them their first victory of the year, a 3-0 sweep of the Windsor Lancers.
A loss in five sets had the Lakers feeling good about their effort, but wanting to turn around the results and they did just that thanks to a great hitting efficiency and strong games from offensive leader Cameron Branch and veteran Lyndon Sonego.
Both had 12 kills in the match and combined for 28 total points to lead the Lakers.
The scrappy Lancers gave Nipissing everything they could handle, but the Lakers took set one 25-20 to get off to a strong start.
In the second, despite trailing a few times, Nipissing came away with a 26-24 triumph to put the pressure on Windsor to answer.
The Lancers did just that, grabbing leads throughout and even late, they were up 18-14, but Nipissing stormed back and claimed the final set 25-23 to pick up the sweep and their first victory of the 2015-16 campaign.
Steven Wood had another solid outing, serving very tough and providing four blocks on the defensive side to help Nipissing claim the win.
Shawn Humphrey wasn't as busy Saturday, but was strong with 27 assists and chipped in with a few digs, as well.
The Lakers take their 1-1 record on the road next weekend when they get set to face McMaster Friday night and Waterloo on Saturday.
Source: Nipissing Lakers
Rams open season with win over Gryphons
TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team got the 2015-16 season off on the right foot, downing the visiting Guelph Gryphons 3-1 (25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 25-16) on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Lucas Coleman (Brooklin, Ont.) picked up where he left off last season, racking up a game-high 20 kills to lead the Rams. Fifth year hitter Rob Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.) added 14 kills and three service aces in the victory.
The Gryphons were coming off a 3-1 loss on Friday night against Toronto but looked a little more comfortable out of the gate on Saturday having a game already under their belt this season. Guelph led 16-14 at the first set technical timeout but the Rams were able to find a rhythm and rallied late to take the set 25-21.
Things got a little messy in the second set, as the Rams once again rebounded from being down at the technical timeout to claim the set 25-22. However, at the conclusion of the set, it was deemed the Rams had made an illegal substitution and the set win was taken back and the score reset to 23-22, advantage Gryphons. After the confusion was sorted out, the Rams went on to win the set anyway, this time by a score of 26-24.
In the third, the Gryphons once again jumped out to a lead at the technical timeout but this time was able to hold onto the lead and took the set 25-22 to extend the match to a fourth set.
Ryerson responded well, playing strong defence and aggressively at the net to open a five-point advantage at the technical timeout. Guelph never really challenged in the late stages of the set as the Rams went on to an easy 25-16 victory to secure the 3-1 victory.
The win was the first for coach Dustin Reid on the men's bench and he credits his players for buying into new systems and is happy with the opening result.
"We have really talented players who want to be good and who have the desire to have a great season. Our job as coaches is to try and put them in a good place and it's been difficult (for them) to play under a different coach for the first time but I'm really quite pleased and proud of how they've handled it so far."
Guelph's Zackary Newman had a team-high 10 kills in the losing effort. The Gryphons fall to 0-2 to start the year while Ryerson goes to 1-0.
The Rams are back in action next weekend when they hit the road for the first time this season when they take on the Queen's Gaels in Kingston on October 30.
Source: Ryerson Rams
The Marauder reserves got an extended look on Saturday, as McMaster swept the RMC Paladins 25-22, 25-20 and 25-16 at the Burridge Gym.
Andrew Richards -- who appeared a night earlier against the Waterloo Warriors -- was Mac's leading scorer on the night, racking up 13 points on 10 kills, two aces and a solo block. Rookie outside Matt Passalent was an efficient 10 of 16 on Saturday, earning 11 total points with a solo block.
The visiting Paladins started strongly, and led the opening set 16-15 at the technical timeout, but the Marauders soon turned the tide. Richards forced a timeout by giving the Marauders a three-point lead at 21-18, after a solo block on the right wing, and Mac took the set when RMC was unable to corral an awkward ball off the net.
Reliable serving paved the way for a large Marauder lead to begin the second, as Calvin Lee manned the service line for a 5-0 Mac run that brought up another RMC timeout. That lead grew as the set progressed, and after Richards polished off an overpass for 20-12, Connor Santoni hammered an open shot from the left to seal the set at 25-20.
Having battled admirably through two sets, the Paladins seemed to have very little left in the tank in the third, and trailed by a whopping 11 points at the technical timeout. Passalent put one of the match's most vicious shots to the floor for 22-9, and the Marauders reached the finish line when a Trevor Melcher serve found the tape.
Now 2-0 on the season, the Marauders continue their campaign on home court in the coming week, hosting the Nipissing Lakers at the Burridge Gym on Friday, October 30 and the York Lions on Halloween.
Source: McMaster Marauders
