AROUND OUA: Blues edge Paladins to improve to 4-5

SCOREBOARD

RMC 1 @ Toronto 3

Queen's 2 @ Ryerson 3

York 3 @ Waterloo 1

Blues edge Paladins to improve to 4-5

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team defeated the RMC Paladins 3-1 Friday night (Jan. 27). Set scores were 25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 28-26.
 
The win improves the Blues to 4-5 at the midway point of their season and saw four Varsity Blue players hit double-digit points.
 
Veteran right side William Colucci, who is second in the OUA for both kills per set and points per set, led the Blues with 21 points from 16 kills, two aces, and two blocks.
 
Fellow veteran Zia Karim posted 13 points in the win off of nine kills, one ace, and three blocks, while rookie Nicholas Trewern had 12 points, all on kills, and 11 digs. Zach Albert added 10 points, also all on kills, with Alex Ferris leading the team defensively with 17 digs.
 
Jordan Figueira tallied 47 assists and added 11 digs in the victory.
 
RMC's Dale Towe led his team with 21 points from 19 kills, one ace, and one block.
 
The Varsity Blues are back in action tomorrow (Jan. 28) to take on the Queen's Gaels at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m and will be streamed live on OUA.tv.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Gaels fall 3-2 on the road to rival Rams

TORONTO Ont. (January 27, 2017) – The Gaels were defeated 3-2 by the Ryerson Rams on Friday night in Toronto. The scores of the sets finished 21-25, 23-25, 25-20 and 25-22 and 15-12 with the Gaels winning the first two sets.

GAME FLOW
In the first set the tricolour started the game off strong, holding their own with the Rams. With tough serves from Joel Rudd (Cambridge, Ont.) the Gaels took the lead 9-8.  Zac Hutcheson (Kingston, Ont.) kept the momentum up throughout the match, contributing strong kills and serves. It was Markus Trence (Orangeville, Ont.) who had the set winning kill, putting the Gaels up 1-0.

The second set began with a small lead for the Rams who lead for most of the set. Holding Ryerson to 22 points, Will Hoey (Brampton, Ont.) served seven points for the Gaels who took the lead, making the score 23-22. Queen's finished off the set with two kills for Austin Payne (Kingston, Ont.) and held a 2-0 lead.

With the Gaels up with two sets, the men played the third set neck-and-neck with the Rams. Ryerson managed to pull ahead and took the set 25-20.

The fourth set of the game was another even match, keeping the score nearly tied until the final three plays. Markus Trence (Orangeville, Ont.) struck six kills in the set, proving to be an influential player on the court. The Gaels lost the set 25-22, sending them into the fifth and deciding set.

In the final set, the Gaels struggled to finish on attacking opportunities resulting in the Rams taking the lead. The tricolour fought their way through the set, taking the score to a close 12-11 for Ryerson. The Rams held on and took the set and the match.

BY THE NUMBERS
57 – fifty-seven kills for the Gaels this game
0.123 –  total kill percentage against the Rams

UP NEXT
The Gaels are staying in Toronto to play against the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday January 28^th at the Goldring Centre. Watch the game live on OUA.tv.

Source: Queen's Gaels