OUA Men's Volleyball Roundup (Nov. 13)
November 10, 2017
Guelph 0 Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 10, 2017) – The Gaels (2-1) swept the Guelph Gryphons (2-3) in three straight sets at the Queen's ARC on Friday night.
GAME FLOW
With 11 ties in the first set, it was Gaels veteran Markus Trence(Hockley Valley, Ont.) who smashed back-to-back kills to break away with a 10-8 score. Pushing to stay in the game, the Gryphons climbed to take a 16-15 heading into the technical timeout. A big block from fifth-year transfer Jack Peckham (Hamilton, Ont.) edged the Gaels 23-22, who went on to take the first set with a 25-23 decision.
While the first set was closely matched, the second set was all Queen's. Opening play with three consecutive points off the serve of Malcolm Prentice (Oakville, Ont.). Following an unanswered 4-0 run, the Gryphons took a timeout to regroup. The Gryphons struggled to get their attack going as the Gaels defence stood strong. Block after block saw the Tricolour push the score to 8-2 after an explosive Trence ace.
The Gryphons took their second timeout of the set as Queen's led 12-3. The Gryphons were hitting 11.5 percent in attack, while the Gaels dominated at 38 percent. Another ace from Mitchell Neuert (Toronto) boosted the attack to take the second consecutive set by 10 points with a 25-15 score.
Rolling offensively in the third set, the Gaels led for the third straight time heading into the technical time-out at 16-8. The Gryphons fought back, scoring five consecutive points. Recovering quickly, the Gaels notched a series of kills. The nail in the coffin came from Trence, who hit his 15th kill of the game to take the 25-16 win.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Ryerson 3 York 1
TORONTO - The streak is alive after a back and forth tussle sees the Ryerson Rams leave York University with a 3-1 victory over the Lions on Friday night. Currently ranked second in U SPORTS national rankings, the win sees the Rams improve to a 3-0 record to kick off the season as well as tying the Lions first first in the OUA East.
The Lions would stun the Rams early on, taking the first set 25-17 and seeing the Rams start a match down a set for the first time in the 2017-2018 season. Turning the tables on the Lions, the Rams would take advantage of long rallies to flip the score and tie the game at one set apiece with their own 25-17 output.
As the Rams kept their pace in the third, the Lions knew that they had potential to topple the mighty Rams and pushed them to their limits. However, the Rams would once again sneak away with the set 25-21. A final push would fall short for the Lions, falling 25-19 in the fourth and seeing the Rams continue to allow no more than one set win by their opponent.
The usual culprits put up major performances, with fifth year seniors leading the pack. Brendan Kewin (Milton, Ont.) put up a game-high 17 kills and 19 points while simultaneously coming up just short in digs with seven against Adam Anagnostopoulos’ (Waterloo, Ont’) eight.
However, the match also showcased some of the Rams’ newest talent. Simon Davis-Power (Conception Bay, Nfld.), former AUS champion with the UNB Varsity Reds, and freshman Navreet Suhan (Mississauga, Ont.) would start alongside the team’s established leaders. Suhan in particular would impress with five digs, ultimately putting up an impressive 8.5 points.
The win marks the Rams’ first of two matches this weekend, the second being Sunday at 3:00 p.m. as they host the Trent Excalibur at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Already having defeated the Excalibur 3-0 once this season, the match marks the OUA East-leading team’s home opener.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Other Scores:
Waterloo 3 RMC 0
November 11, 2017
McMaster 3 Windsor 0
A blistering hitting performance saw the Marauders come and go in little time Saturday, blowing past the Lancers en route to a win in straight sets.
McMaster hit 44 per cent as a group to deal Windsor their first loss of the season, winning 25-17, 25-20 and 25-21 on the road.
With the win, the Marauders improved to 3-1 on the season, and sit atop the OUA West division.
Veteran left side Andrew Richards was the most efficient of the Marauders in the win, with 11 kills from 19 attempts versus just a single error (.526), while tossing in an ace and two solo blocks for good measure.
Mac saw two other hitters, opposite Matt Passalent and left side Brandon Koppers, eclipse double digits in kills, as Passalent had 10 from 18 attempts while Koppers scored 10 from 22. The third-year right side was the Marauders leading scorer on the night, with 17.5 points including four aces, two solo blocks and three block assists.
Setter David Doty averaged just over 10 assists per set, ending Saturday with 31 helpers to his name.
Source: marauders.ca
Brock 1 Western 3
LONDON, Ont.– The Mustangs celebrated their home opener in style on Saturday night, topping the Brock Badgers in four sets (25-17, 19-25, 25-12, 25-13) at Alumni Hall.
With the win the Mustangs record moves to 2-1 in the season, while the loss puts Brock at 0-3.
"We really focused in on this match, because we knew it was important," said head coach Jim Sage, "[Brock is] an improving team, and it's a big win for us."
Western was led offensively by Evan Cranshaw and Chris Newcombe as the pair recorded 14.5 and 12 points respectively. Cranshaw earned 14 kills over four sets for the Mustangs, while Brock's Tim Spisar came in with 14.5 points of his own with 11 total kills, followed by Logan House with 13 points.
Western came out strong in the first set, getting the early lead as Newcombe was strong for the Mustangs, tallying four kills and five digs to help Western win the set. The Mustangs generated a .394 hitting percentage in the opening frame, while the Badgers recorded a 0.57 mark, allowing the Mustangs to take 25-17 set win.
"We played fairly well in the first, I was pleased with the first set," said Sage.
The Mustangs fell to the Badgers in the second set, 25-19 as they looked like they might take it near the end.
Logan House was a strong force for Brock, getting six points in the set for the Badgers, with Tim Spisar right behind him with 5.5 points in the second. Brock had a .217 hitting percentage throughout the set, while Western came in with -.050.
"We got a little bit relaxed after the first set, thinking we could come out and win it, and that came back to bite us," said Cranshaw, adding that, "we were a little slow in the second, not very characteristic of our game, and we just got back at it in the third and fourth."
The third and fourth sets were huge for the Mustangs as they came out on top with big 25-12, and 25-13 set wins.
Western finished the third set with a game high .429 hitting percentage, as Brock closed out the set with -.167.
Towards the end of the fourth set, Matt Stasiuk was moved into the lineup to support the team with strong serving, and earned three digs to help the Mustangs take the fourth and final set.
"I am so happy for him because he works so hard in practice and really doesn't get his dividends of his hard work," said Sage about Stasiuk's performance. "It gives us coaches the confidence that he can do that again. That's so important for guys that aren't on the starting squad to come in and contribute."
Source: westernmustangs.ca
Waterloo 2 Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 11, 2017) - The Queen's Gaels (3-1) came back from a 2-1 deficit to take down the Waterloo Warriors (3-3) in five sets on Saturday night. Set scores finished 25-19, 17-25, 34-32, 23-25 and 11-15.
GAME FLOW
A match between two rivals in the OUA, fans on Saturday night were not disappointed after the match. The Warriors were quick out of the gate taking two of the opening three sets to lead 2-1 in the match.
The Gaels did take the second set 25-17 finishing the frame with a 0.524 kill percentage and just two attack errors, but the Warriors outlasted the Gaels in the third with a 34-32 set win.
Despite trailing the Tricolour were able to rally. Down 22-20 in the fourth set, the Gaels rattled off five of the next six points to extend the match to a fifth and final frame. Jack Peckham (Hamilton) had a pair of kills during the run, and Mitchell Neuert (Toronto) finished off a set from Zane Grossinger (Richmond Hill, Ont.) to seal the frame.
In the fifth set, the Gaels used four early kills from Markus Trence (Hockley Valley, Ont.) to get out to a 13-6 lead on the Warriors. Waterloo battled back with five straight points of their own to get to within two.
Trence put down his 27th kill of the match, and the Warriors committed an attack error to hand Queen's the win.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Guelph 3 RMC 0
KINGSTON, Ont. - Saturday night in Kingston, the Gryphons men's volleyball team picked up a straight sets victory over the RMC (Royal Military College of Canada) Paladins. Set scores were 25-23, 25-19 & 25-19. With the result, the Gryphons improve to 3-3 on the season while RMC falls to 1-4.
All 13 players on the Gryphons' roster saw floor time, with fourth year right side Zach Newman finishing with a team-high 12 points (8 kills, 3 aces, 1 block). Fifth year left side Josh Green had an efficient night in attack, recording a .636 hitting percentage with 7 kills on 11 total attacks. Second year setter Daiken Edwards racked up 23 assists for the Gryphons who will next be in action on Friday, November 17 when they travel to York University to face the Lions. That match will be the first of back-to-back road games next weekend, with the team also heading to North Bay for a matchup with the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday, November 18.
Source: gryphons.ca
Toronto 0 Nipissing 3
It's never easy to earn a win in the OUA, but the Nipissing Lakers men's volleyball team made it look pretty simple Saturday night.
The Lakers swept the Toronto Varsity Blues, winning 3-0 to even their record up at 2-2 and did so in convincing fashion.
Nipissing used wins of 25-13, 25-20 and 25-18 to earn the sweep and grab their second win in a row.
While Toronto didn't go down without a fight, the Lakers seemed to have their number all night, especially at the net where Nipissing's effort was a key to the victory.
Blocking has been a strength of the team in the past and it showed Saturday night, as they finished with double digit blocks, led by Steve Wood and Jeremie Murray.
On top of their blocking was the balanced attack the team showed through the match.
Three players hit double digits in points and six had at least five points, as the team spread out the offence to earn the victory.
Wood led the way with 14 points, Curtis MacPherson had 13 points and Murray chipped in with 12.
Source: nulakers.ca
November 12, 2017
Trent 0 Ryerson 3
Gregory Vukets (Aukland, New Zealand) was among the Rams players who impressed in their first major appearance of the season, taking their home opener 3-0 over the Trent Excalibur at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Sunday afternoon.
The win saw the Rams improve to 4-0 in their second meeting with the Excalibur this season. A 3-0 final score doesn’t sufficiently express the closely fought game, as two sets were decided by the very last play.
Trent took an early lead, but could never fully pull away from the Rams. A shift in momentum would see the Rams leading 16-11 by the technical timeout before Trent fought back to tie the set late, 23-23. A kill by Taylor Jordan (London, Ont.) and service ace by Brett Whitley (Brighton, Ont.) would close out the first set in favour of the Rams.
The second would see the Rams fall into a groove and dominate, taking a 2-0 lead with a 25-7 showing. However, the third set would see the fresher Rams lineup face a strong Trent opposition. While Jordan nearly put the game away, the Excalibur continued to push back before a deciding kill by Simon Davis-Power (Conception Bay South, Nfld.) sealed the match 29-27.
Vukets, the sophomore setter from New Zealand, played his first full game in the OUA and impressed with 21 assists and a game high 10 digs. His performance is part of the Rams’ recent push to showcase the talent throughout their roster complimenting their strong senior core. While coach Adam Simac is largely seeing the experiment as a means of finding what areas to build the team, he remained impressed with Vukets’ arrival to the OUA.
Adjusting to the OUA coming out of his native New Zealand, Vukets revelled in the opportunity to play a complete match.
As the Rams return to the road to face the U of T Varsity Blues this upcoming Friday, Simac is looking to push the team’s newer faces in the right direction after getting an idea of what they can do against Trent.
“There are some other pieces where I have to go ‘why did they perform the way they did this evening and how can we change that for the better?’” he said.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Brock 1 Windsor 3
The Windsor Lancer men's volleyball team got back in the win column Sunday after Saturday night's loss to McMaster in straight sets. The Lancers hosted the Brock Badgers and took the match in four sets, winning 25-18, 22-25, 25-22 and 25-21.
Windsor (3-1) is tied for second in the OUA west division with the Guelph Gryphons (3-3).
The Lancers were led on offense by the high powered duo of Brad Gyemi and John Moate; Gyemi led all players with 19 kills while Moate killed 11 balls for the Blue & Gold.
The Badgers were paced by Alex Carter and Logan house who each had 12 kills each.
On the defensive end the Lancers were led by libero Matthew Pe Benito who had 10 digs through four sets of action which helped the Lancers win despite 17 service errors.
Source: golancers.ca
McMaster 3 Western 2
Denying the home side a momentous comeback Sunday, the Marauders responded in the nick of time to come away from London with a victory.
McMaster squandered a two-set lead to Western, before rebounding to edge the fifth set and extend their winning streak to four matches, defeating the Mustangs 25-19, 25-19, 21-25, 21-25, 15-13.
The Marauders improved to 4-1 with the win, keeping them firmly atop the OUA West standings.
Building upon a sterling performance Saturday, Andrew Richards posted a match high of 20 kills and 22 points, hitting 29 per cent while adding an ace and two block assists.
Two other Marauders, Brandon Koppers and Matt Passalent entered double digits in kills over the course of the extended match, with Koppers making good on 17 of 45 attempts and Passalent killing 11 of 37.
Setter David Doty notched 46 assists, while Passalent led the Marauders defensively with 12 digs.
Source: marauders.ca