M-Volleyball Roundup: Waterloo opens season with two road wins
October 19
Guelph 3 at Nipissing 1
On a night when the Nipissing Lakers men’s volleyball team were celebrating last year’s success, with their 2012-13 championship banner raising, it was the Guelph Gryphons who left North Bay cheering.
The Gryphons ruined the Lakers celebration by defeating the Lakers in four sets, including the final three sets which were decided by only a total of 8 points.
The teams were evenly matched for almost the entire match, except for a few points in the first set, which the Lakers dropped 25-13.
Following that, the team’s went point-for-point, with the Lakers winning set two, but eventually coming up short.
Frankie Edgecombe showed why is one of the top players in Canada, going off a several impressive runs to help his team get back in the match, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.
The Lakers now sit 0-2 after their first weekend in OUA play and will look to get into the win column next weekend when they hit the road and travel to Toronto for matches with the University of Toronto and Ryerson.
They return home the following weekend.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info
Waterloo 3 at York 1
The York University Lions men's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to the visiting Waterloo Warriors on Saturday (Oct. 19) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
Tyler Motherwell (Toronto) and Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines, Ont.) proved too much for the Lions to handle. Motherwell had 16.5 points on 12 kills, 3.5 blocks and one service ace, while Dyck finished with 16 points on 12 kills and four blocks.
For the Lions, Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) was the standout, scoring 16 points on 16 kills and also adding seven digs. Paul Jakubiak (Toronto) would add 38 assists in the game.
Both teams seemed evenly matched from the beginning. The first set would open with the two teams trading single points back and forth, reaching an 8-8 tie. But Waterloo would dig deep and rip off four straight points to take a 12-8 lead. The Lions bounced back, relying on their power attack to outwork the Warriors, and strung together five straight points, eventually taking the first set 25-23.
The second set would start under the same parameters, with the two teams trading single points until an eventual 7-7 stalemate. Both teams were unwilling to budge, as each individual point had to be earned the hard way. The tie extended to 14-14, until Waterloo was able to string a couple of points together to take a small lead. They would outlast the Lions, stealing the second set 25-22.
Tied at one set a piece, the closely contested match would see Waterloo begin to take control of the action. The Warriors began to set up their plays and choose their opportunities. They would take a 16-11 lead by the technical timeout. Unable to keep up with Waterloo's pace, York would eventually drop the third set, 25-17.
The teams played to another early tie in the fourth set but again the Warriors began to pull away. Relying on well executed plays at the net, Waterloo was leading 16-13 at the technical timeout. They would eventually close out the set 25-21 to secure the win.
The loss was the team's first of the season after an opening night win over the Guelph Gryphons on Friday. The Warriors are a perfect 2-0 to start the year.
The Lions will look to rebound next Saturday (Oct. 26) when they travel to the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto to face the Ryerson Rams at 8pm. They will return to the Tait McKenzie Centre on Saturday (Nov. 2) when they host the Windsor Lancers at 2pm.
Source: York Sports Info
October 18
Toronto 2 at Ryerson 3
TORONTO – The No. 9 nationally ranked Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team had to go the distance, but they picked up their first win of the season on Friday night, defeating the Toronto Varsity Blues by a score of 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 15-12).
Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.) led the Rams with a game-high 14 kills while Alex Dawson (Scarborough, Ont.) had a good night overall with 10 kills, nine digs and three service aces to propel Ryerson to the victory.
The Rams outlasted the Blues in a lengthy contest that didn’t start until 9:30 p.m. or end until past 11:30 p.m. Despite a slow start with a first set loss, the Rams coaching staff wasn’t too concerned with the delayed start time.
“We practice at 8:00 p.m. so we were hoping the later the better, but I would say it was more the crowd.
It was a big crowd and there’s pressure if you lose, the home opener, and we were ranked ninth in the country so I think that was in the back of the guy’s minds. They settled down towards the end...and it was easier to play,” said assistant coach Lukas Porosa following the game.
Ryerson bounced back from the first set loss with a 25-20 victory to tie the match at ones. Neither team could grab hold of the momentum for very long and the squads traded the next two sets to set up a fifth and deciding frame.
The Rams got some timely blocking in the fifth set and jumped out to an 8-3 advantage at the switch, but Toronto rattled off four straight points to get back to within one. The teams traded the next few points before Ryerson secured the 15-12 victory.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been ranked but it’s good to see an Ontario team...in the top ten. It’s a confidence boost now that we won our first game,” commented Porosa.
A pair of Ryerson rookies in Jeff Ardron (Lakefield, Ont.) and Adam Anagnostopoulos (Waterloo, Ont.) looked good in their OUA debuts and Porosa gave them praise for their play down the stretch.
“I would say they were clutch towards the end...They are provincial team players so we expect them to step in and do their job and I was satisfied with how they played at the end and that’s what really matters, how you deal with adversity.”
The Rams next game is Saturday, October 26 when they host the York Lions at 8:00 p.m. at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Guelph 1 at York 3
The York University Lions men's volleyball team began the 2013-14 season with a 3-1 victory over the Guelph Gryphons at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night (Oct. 18).
The two squads battled back and forth down the stretch of the first set, with the Gryphons eventually winning the necessary second straight point to take it 27-25. But the Lions stepped up their game in the second to win 25-22 and were even more impressive in the third, winning 25-17 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set was a much tighter affair. The Gryphons took an early lead but the Lions battled back and held a slim 16-14 advantage at the technical timeout. The home squad carried that momentum to the end of the set, winning 25-20 for the season-opening victory.
The Lions spread the scoring around, with four different players recording 13 or more points. Outside hitter Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) led the way with 17 points on 13 kills, three blocks and one service ace, while middle blocker Gregory Ivan (Toronto) had 15 points on 12 kills and three blocks.
Outside hitter Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) and middle blocker Alexander Duncan-Thibault (Scarborough, Ont.) each finished with 13 points. Dakic had 12 kills and one service ace, while Duncan-Thibault had 10 kills, two blocks and one service ace.
Guelph's leading scorer was Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont.), who posted 14 points on 12 kills, one block and one service ace. The only other player to reach double digits was Patrick Strzalkowski (St. Catharine, Ont.) with 10 points on six kills, two blocks and two service aces.
The win was the first of his career for new head coach Rob Dyba.
The Lions will be back on home court again Saturday night (Oct. 19) when they welcome the Waterloo Warriors to the Tait McKenzie Centre. Game time is set for 8pm.
Source: York Sports Info
Waterloo 3 at Nipissing 0
Despite a strong start and a good battle throughout the first two sets, the Nipissing Lakers men’s volleyball team were swept 3-0 by the Waterloo Warriors Friday night.
The Lakers were right in the mix during sets one and two, but after falling short in both of them, the Warriors cruised to victory in the third set.
Coming off a CCAA national championship, the Lakers began their quest for another title, this time in the OUA, but it didn’t start the way they planned.
The scores, at times, were misleading, as both teams went on good runs, as well as played good defence, but in the end, the Warriors came out on top.
Saturday night, the Lakers will receive their championship rings, as well as raise their banner for the success they had in 2012-13.
They’re also hoping it will spark the team to more success this year, starting with Saturday night, as they host the Guelph Gryphons.
Game time is set for 6 p.m. with the ring presentations and banner raising set to begin just before 6 p.m.
Source: Nipissing Sports Info