OUA Men's Volleyball Roundup (Feb. 19)
February 16, 2018
Ryerson 3 RMC 0
KINGSTON, Ont. - First year hitter Sean Shultis put up a new career high with a team-leading 10 kills to guide the Rams to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-19) sweep of the RMC Paladins on Friday evening.
Shultis also led the team with seven digs and four service aces for an overall impressive performance.
An efficient attacking night gave the Rams the opportunity to pick up their third straight victory and 11th of the season. Ryerson committed just 10 errors in the contest and hit 0.295%.
The Rams won a tight first set and used that momentum to really press the Paladins. That pressure resulted in more errors than kills on behalf of the home team in the second and Ryerson capitalized to win easily, 25-16.
Both teams hit well in the final set but it was the Rams who came away with the 25-19 victory to sweep the match.
Ryerson now sits alone atop the OUA east standings with their 11-4 record and will return to action on Saturday night when they face the Queen's Gaels (7-8) to close the road trip.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Nipissing 3 York 0
The York University Lions men's volleyball team lost in straight sets to the visiting Nipissing Lakers at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night.
Playing without their leading scorer and, arguably, the best setter in the OUA, the Lions were not able to generate enough offence to take down the Lakers, who are in a battle for one of the last two playoff spots in the OUA East Division. The Lions fell to 10-6 with the loss but remain in second place in the standings and can clinch a top-two seed with one win in their last two matches. The Lakers improved to 8-8 and are tied with Queen's for third place.
The Lakers won all three sets in convincing fashion, taking the first 25-20, the second 25-18 and the third 25-15.
Rookie outside hitter Andrew Tauhid led the Lions in scoring with eight points, on seven kills and one service ace, and Robert Thompson had 6.5 points on six kills and an assisted block. Patrick Jensen earned the starting job at setter for the night and recorded 18 assists.
Nipissing had two players reach double digits in scoring. Cameron Branch led the way with 12 points on nine kills and three service aces, while Warren Taylor contributed 10.5 points on six kills, four solo blocks and one assisted block.
Source: yorkulions.ca
Toronto 0 Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 16, 2018) - In their final home weekend of the season the Gaels (8-8) were able to clinch a playoff spot Friday night as they swept the Toronto Varsity Blues (6-10) 3-0.
GAME FLOW
The Gaels took an early lead in the opening set as Mitchell Neuert(Toronto) was able to land an ace to put the Gaels up 3-1. The two teams went back-and-forth for a period before Queen's was finally able to pull away off of kills from Markus Trence (Hockley Valley, Ont.) and Jack Peckham (Hamilton). A pair of attack errors by Toronto gave the Gaels the set 25-20.
In the second frame, Queen's got out to another quick start and soon opened up a 16-10 lead on Nipissing. Errors continued to be the downfall in the match for the Varsity Blues as the Gaels began to pull away. A final ace from Zane Grossinger (Richmond Hill, Ont.) put Queen's ahead 2-0 in the match taking the second set 25-18.
Toronto held their own in the third set, keeping pace with the Queen's offence through much of the frame. Errors began to haunt the Gaels in the match as Toronto looked to break away from Queen's and extend the match. Down 18-17, Queen's was able to take seven of the next nine points thanks to Toronto errors and another Grossinger ace. Grossinger then set Malcolm Prentice (Oakville, Ont.) who made no mistake with a kill from the middle to give the Gaels the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
February 17, 2018
Western 3 McMaster 1
HAMILTON, Ont. – The Mustangs upended the perennial OUA titans in the McMaster Marauders on Saturday afternoon, bringing Mac's 14-game win streak to an end with a 3-1 Western victory (25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 25-23) at the Burridge Gym.
With the win Western's record moves to 12-3, to remain in second place in the OUA West. McMaster still sits at the top of the league and are now 14-2 on the season.
Chris Newcombe led the purple and white offensive effort throughout the afternoon, generating 18 points. Twelve came from his attack, while another three were produced from the service line, and he added another three from solo blocks.
Evan Hammond and Evan Cranshaw added in 12 and 11.5 points respectively, as the only other two Mustangs to record points in the double digits.
Veteran Brandon Koppers led the Marauders on senior night, recording 21 points. Along with his 18 kills, the fifth-year added an ace and two solo blocks for McMaster.
A slow start put the Mustangs down early on, but a quick time-out call from head coach Jim Sage put the team back on track to tie the set at 12-12.
Blocking was one of the greatest challenges the Mustangs faced, with McMaster's roster being taller than usual for the OUA. Matt Passalent and Koppers in particular were causing problems for Western, and as a result Hooker turned to his middles.
Newcombe and Hammond became the most effective weapons for the Mustangs, able to get around the barrier and escaping the set with few errors between the two of them.
The two teams went point-for-point as the 20-point marker approached, with the Marauders seemly losing focus as the end of the game approached. Despite having one of the most efficient offences in the league, McMaster struggled to keep the ball within the confines of the court.
Of the three highest scoring athletes on the Mac roster, two held negative hitting percentages by the end of the set.
A service error would bring an end to the first set, giving the Mustangs a 25-23 win.
The second set saw longer rallies than the first, prominently featuring the defensive efforts of both teams that typically fly under the radar.
For the Mustangs, Hooker took control in the backcourt which allowed rookie libero Evan Hochman to step in and set up his fellow Mustangs. Hochman first hit the court midway through the first and seamlessly integrated into the lineup, while also performing impressively when being made the target of some of the OUA's best servers.
The backcourt athletes did get some relief from the front line, as they managed to effectively shut down usual McMaster standout Koppers and Passalent. Hammond and Bryn Ramsay were both effective at the net, while several blocks from Hooker didn't end up on the scoresheet after being continued by McMaster.
Richards was a standout on the floor for the Marauders, and one of the only hitters who was able to consistently beat the Mustangs. His performance, however, was not enough to carry the team.
Western would be handed the final point of the set with a serving error for a 25-17 victory.
The third set was similar to the first, with the Marauders building up a small lead early – but this time was able to keep Western at an arm's length.
Craig Ireland and Bennett Swan made the difference for McMaster, both having far more luck in beating the purple and white blockers than their teammates.
The Western block that had terrorized the Marauders in the previous set was nowhere to be seen, as McMaster showcased their top hitters to have the most offensively dominant set of the match. After struggling for the first two frames, Koppers was finally in peak form and able to swing at full capacity.
Western struggled to handle the increased energy on the other end of the floor, and would ultimately drop the set 20-25.
Koppers continued his fiery play well into the fourth set, keeping the Marauders just barely ahead of the Mustangs. Two points would separate the teams for much of the set, with an ace from Newcombe tying the game at 18-18.
The Marauders switched up the lineup several times throughout the set, with the substitution of Passalent in favour of Ireland perhaps making the biggest different. Passalent is typically a standout on the McMaster roster, but had struggled against the Mustangs all match in all aspects of the game.
Western too had a variation of the usual suspects out on the floor, with Gianfranco Sartor and Brady Fidler both making an impact on the floor.Cranshaw would end up generating the bulk of Western's points in the final set, supported by team-wide strong serving.
Newcombe ended the set at 25-23 with a final kill, to give the Mustangs a 3-1 victory.
Source: westernmustangs.ca
Toronto 3 RMC 0
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team defeated the RMC Paladins 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-21) on Saturday, February 17 in Kingston, Ont.
With the win the Blues improve to 7-10 and remain in fifth place in the OUA East division.
Second-year outside hitter Alex Barnes led all players with 14.5 points off of 14 kills and an assisted block, while rookie Ryan Smith had 10.5 points (nine kills, one ace, 0.5 block) on the day.
Sophomore setter Jordan Figueira tallied 30 assists and a team-high nine digs in the win.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Ryerson 0 Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 17, 2018) - The Queen's Gaels (9-8) finished with a dominant performance in a 3-0 sweep of the Ryerson Rams (11-5) in the final home game for head coach Brenda Willis.
Prior to the match, the Gaels honoured their graduating seniors as Jack Peckham (Hamilton), Thomas Ellison (Winnipeg) and Markus Trence (Hockley Valley, Ont.) were recognized.
The Gaels then honoured long-time head coach Brenda Willis as the crowd filled with fans and alumni erupted for a standing ovation. Willis is set to retire at the conclusion of the season.
GAMEFLOW
The Gaels used the emotion from the start of the game to ride the momentum to an opening 7-3 lead aided by a pair of kills from Zac Hutcheson (Kingston, Ont.). Ryerson could not shake off the rust in the opening set after a long opening ceremony, and it showed as they committed multiple errors in the set. Hutcheson and Joel Rudd (Cambridge, Ont.) both picked up late kills but errors sealed the set for the Gaels 25-16.
In the second set, the Rams and Gaels kept the match close in the early stages. With the Gaels ahead 9-8 in the set Queen's was able to take eight of the next nine points to take a stranglehold on the set. Attacking errors continued to plague the Rams, and a final kill from Rudd gave Queen's the set 25-17.
The final frame was once again all Gaels as they jumped out to another lead, this time 13-8 in the early stages of the set. With the Gaels ahead 15-13 the momentum was too much for the Ryerson Rams to handle. The Gaels finished off the set and the match with the next 10 of 11 points with the game ending on a Hutcheson ace for the 25-14 set and 3-0 match win.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
February 18, 2018
Waterloo 3 Brock 0
The Warriors men's volleyball team must know what month it is because the black and gold are peaking at the right time. Waterloo earned their fourth straight win and third straight sweep with a 3-0 win over Brock on Sunday in St. Catharines.
With the win, Waterloo moved to 8-7 on the season and currently occupy the fourth and final playoff spot in the OUA west with their 16 points.
Aidan Simone (London/) led Waterloo's attack with 15.5 points on 10 kills, five blocks, and two service aces. Braden Cok (Waterloo/) was next best with 13.5 points while Deman Dulat(Mississauga/) and Jordan McConkey (Stratford/) had 8 and 9.5 points respectively.
Colm Guyn (Lethbridge/) racked up 31assists giving up 471 on the season, the eighth most in the OUA.
Source: athletics.uwaterloo.ca
York 3 Trent 1
The York University Lions men's volleyball team paid a visit to the Trent Excalibur on Sunday afternoon in the Lions' second last game of the regular season and broke their two-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory.
The first set was a closely fought battle that had to go past match point to determine the winner. It was ultimately the Excalibur who came out on top with a 28-26 victory to take an early lead in the match with a score of 1-0.
The Lions stepped up their game in the second set and came back to crush the Excalibur 25-11. The third set saw a similar final score, ending 25-14 for the Lions. The Lions led 2-1 after three sets. In the fourth set, the Excalibur played harder, but they were no match for the Lions who once again won, this time 25-22 to claim the match 3-1.
With the absence of leading scorer Andrew Shotbolt, the Lions shared the scoring evenly between themselves. Andriy Sozanskyy earned the most points for the Lions, totalling 9.5 (four kills, four service aces, one solo block, one assisted block).
Leading the Excalibur was Jacob Bothen with 12 points (12 kills, one solo block, two assisted blocks). Nicholas Taylor led in digs with six.
This win boosts the Lions to an 11-6 regular-season record. Their 22 points tie them for first in the OUA East Division with the Ryerson Rams, who do have a game in hand heading into the final weekend.
Source: yorkulions.ca
Other Scores:
Nipissing 3 Trent 0