AROUND OUA: Rams prevail in five sets over rival Blues

SCOREBOARD

Toronto 2 @ Ryerson 3

Waterloo 0 @ McMaster 3

Guelph 3 @ Brock 1

Rams prevail in five sets over rival Blues

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team fell 3-2 (25-19, 12-25, 25-21, 25-27, 9-15) to the Ryerson Rams on Friday, November 25 at Mattamy Athletic Centre.
 
Fourth-year right side hitter Will Colucci led the Blues with 26 points on 21 kills, four blocks and one ace, while also adding seven digs on the night.
 
Sophomore middle Austin Valjas had 11. 5 points on eight kills and 3.5 blocks, while rookie Nicholas Trewern added 10 points and seven digs.
 
Rookie setter Jordan Figueira tallied 38 assists, with Alex Ferris notching a game-high 12 digs in the loss.
 
Ryerson's Lucas Coleman led all players with 34 points on 30 kills, three blocks and one ace in the victory.
 
The Varsity Blues return to action this Sunday, November 27 as they wrap up the fall semester versus the Trent Excalibur at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport. Opening serve is set for 3 p.m.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Veterans lead Mac to sweep of Waterloo

Make it five matches and not a set lost for the McMaster men, who navigated their way past a challenging opponent at the Burridge Gym Friday. Rematching the Waterloo Warriors for the first time since the teams met at the CIS quarter-final stage in March, the Marauders dealt their rivals a straight sets defeat to remain unbeaten on the season.
 
The no. 2-ranked Marauders have now won five consecutive matches to open the 2016-17 season and have yet to drop a set in that span. The face one more match before the OUA breaks for the holidays, travelling to London Saturday for a showdown with the Western Mustangs.
 
Set scores were 25-20, 25-13 and 25-20 for the Marauders, who sent the Warriors to their fourth defeat in five matches thus far this season.
 
Veteran opposite Jayson McCarthy led Mac with 10 kills and 13.5 points in the win, making good on 10 of 20 hitting attempts versus three errors (.350) while adding three aces and a block assist. Teammates Danny Demaynenko (11.5) and Brandon Koppers (10.5) also broke the 10-point mark, while Andrew Richards led the match with 27 assists.
 
McMaster held Waterloo to just a .100 hitting average as a team, with only two players, Braden Cok and Jordan McConkey, enjoying positive percentages on the night.
 
The visitors made things interesting in the opening set, leading the Marauders for much of the first before seeing their advantage evaporate after the technical timeout. After trailing 16-15 at the break, Mac reeled off four straight points, capped by a double contact by Waterloo setter Aman Rakkar, to jump ahead 19-16. They would not look back from there, and sealed the set when Peter Khodkevych knocked down a kill for 25-20.

Source: McMaster Marauders

Gryphons spoil volleyball homecoming for Badgers

ST. CATHARINES, ON - Volleyball fans in St. Catharines had been waiting 16 years for this moment. But on Friday night, the Gryphons spoiled the long-awaited party at Bob Davis Gymnasium.

With varsity men's volleyball returning to Brock University for the first time since the 2000-2001 season, the Badgers opened up the home portion of their schedule on Friday night with a much-anticipated home opener versus the red hot Guelph Gryphons. Despite a soldout crowd and hostile atmosphere, the Gryphons were able to pick up a 3-sets-to-1 win to extend their overall win streak to six in a row. Set scores were 25-27, 25-21, 25-16  & 25-18. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 6-1 on the season while Brock falls to 1-2.

The Gryphons got off to a slow start in front of the raucous crowd, falling behind early and ultimately dropping the opening set 25-27. The Gryphons were able to re-group from that point on thanks in large part due to some clutch serving from second year left side Jared Harris (Whitby, ON). The Badgers not only had a hard time handling the Gryphons serving, they also had a hard time dealing with the Gryphons talented middle blockers. Kendrick Kerr had 10 kills and 15 points on the night while Greg Olejnik racked up 13 points on an impressive hitting percentage of .615. Third year right side Zach Newman also had a big night, finishing with a team-high 16 kills en route to team-high 16 points. Josh Green was part of a strong defensive effort for the Gryphons, recording 11 digs on the night while also distributing the ball to his teammates with solid passing throughout the match.

The No. 10-ranked Gryphons now own the longest current win streak in the conference with six straight victories. They are now off for the exam/Christmas break and will resume their OUA regular season schedule on Saturday, January 7th when they play host to the Brock Badgers in the back end of a home-and-home.

Source: Guelph Gryphons