M-VOLLEYBALL WEEKEND ROUNDUP: No. 1 Marauders notch 11th consecutive sweep with 3-0 win over Nipissing
Friday, January 23
Windsor 2 @ Waterloo 3
The Waterloo men's volleyball team seemed to have control throughout the match but somehow found themselves in a dog fight with a lower seed Windsor Lancer squad. The scrappy Lancers fought the Warriors until the bitter end but Waterloo regained their composure in the fifth and final set and downed Windsor 15-7 to take the match 3-2.
The win was Waterloo's third straight boosting their record to 11-5 on the season, good for third spot overall in the OUA standings. Windsor dropped to 5-10 and are on the outside looking in for a playoff spot.
The game was seemingly in control for the home side in the early going with setter Gibson Graham (Markham) using several of his weapons early and often. Outside hitters Zachary Doherty (Goderich) and Aaron Wiersma (St. Catharines) were at the top of their game early on with putting away unreachable kills as the black and gold cruised to the 25-15 set win.
The second set would however turn in favour of the visiting Lancers as their offensive attack picked up led by outside hitters Gabriel Burlacu and Jake MacNeil. Windsor's improved play paired with untimely errors by Waterloo allowed Windsor to claim the set 25-22 and even the match at one set a piece.
The seesaw affair continued in the third set as Waterloo reclaimed the momentum with strong net play led by Brandon Baker (Orleans) and Jordan McConkey (Stratford) who stuffed the Lancer attack on several occasions. Baker would finish the contest with eight blocks while McConkey had nine. The set would go in favour of Waterloo 25-17 giving them a 2-1 edge.
Waterloo appeared in control in the fourth set taking an early 10-6 lead but the next four points would go the way of the Lancers with Adam Thompson picking up three straight kills in the process. The two combatants would go toe-to-toe before Windsor provided some separation late in the set on consecutive kills by Burlacu to take the set 25-22, sending the match to a fifth and deciding set.
Warrior head coach Chris Lawson had seen enough and rallied his troops to a strong final set as Graham would go back to his favourite targets Doherty and Wiersma on several occasions with Aidan Simone (London) also getting in on the action. The triple threat gave Waterloo the boost needed to take the set 15-7, and match 3-2.
Wiersma led all players in kills with 14 on just 26 attempts while Doherty and Simone had 13 and 12 respectively. McConkey rounded out the attack with ten kills on his 19 attempts.
Defensively Erich Woolley (New Dundee) was all over the court making several highlight digs to keep plays alive. The fourth year libero finished with 11 digs while adding five assists.
The Warriors will be right back at it tonight when they host rival Western Mustangs (8-7) at 8pm.
Source: Waterloo Warriors
Western 3 @ Guelph 1 (25-20, 17-25, 18-25, 18-25)
Guelph, ON – The Gryphon men's volleyball team lost 3-sets-to-1 Friday night at home versus the Western Mustangs. Set scores were 25-20, 17-25, 18-25, 18-25. With the loss, the Gryphons have now dropped three straight. Both teams now boast 8-7 records on the season.
The Gryphons got off to a great start in the first set jumping out to a 10-5 lead. The Mustangs would wake up, rattling off five straight points to tie the game back up at ten. Gryphons fifth year middle Marc Wilson (Stratford, ON) would come up with a big kill, and would follow it up with a massive block to put Guelph up 16-13. The Gryphons continued to take it to the Mustangs, and would take the opening set 25-20.
The second set would be one to forget for the Gryphons, as the Mustangs team attack went to work on Guelph. The Mustangs middle Mike Choja (London, ON) would be unstoppable in the set, hitting five kills on six attacks. Western would win the set 17-25 to make the match a best of three.
The Western Mustangs would continue their dominance in the third set, Choja and Justin Scapinello (London, ON) would lead the way for the Mustangs with five kills each in the set. A bright spot for the Gryphons would be the play of Luke Woud (Uxbridge, ON), as he would come in to the game to add energy and height at the net. The Mustangs would continue to play well, winning the set 18-25.
The fourth set would start out much better for the home Gryphons, keeping the game close half way through the set. However, the Mustangs would keep up the pressure, mounting a 17-13 lead before going on to another 18-25 win to take the match in four sets, 25-20, 17-25, 18-25 and 18-25.
Marc Wilson would finish the match with 11 kills, while Joshua Green (Georgetown, ON) would have 10.
The Gryphons are right back in action on Saturday night when they host the Windsor Lancers (5-10).
Source: Guelph Gryphons
York 0 @ McMaster 3 (27-25, 25-15, 25-15)
The Marauders withstood a slow start on Friday before finding their top gear, and another straightforward victory, against the York Lions. McMaster stormed back from a late deficit in the first set to beat York in straight sets for their 14th straight win and 10th consecutive sweep in OUA play.
Set scores were 27-25, 25-15 and 25-15 in favour of the CIS no. 1-ranked Marauders, who remain atop the OUA standings with a 14-1 record. The Lions, meanwhile, fell to 8-7 on the season, and have now lost three of their last four matches.
Second-year outside hitter Brandon Koppers led all scorers with 15.5 points, converting on 11 of 21 hitting attempts versus four errors (.333) and adding two aces and two and a half blocks. Fellow outside Stephen Maar chipped in 10 points including six kills.
With both teams struggling to find consistency from the service line in the opening set, the Lions grabbed control with the help of rookie Josh Henderson, who put his power on display on the wing. York seemed well on its way to a first-set shock, but McMaster had other plans, and overturned a Lion lead in the late stages to claim the set against the run of play.
York may well have wondered where the opening set had gone, but there was no mistaking the better team from then on out. Having stolen the first set from under their visitors' noses, the Marauders discovered their game in the second, and were never truly in danger throughout. Their offence remained in flux, but McMaster was putting consistent pressure on York with their defence in both the front and back courts, and cleaned up their service game considerably.
The end result in the second set was a Marauder victory by a healthy, 10-point margin, and a stranglehold on the match at large.
McMaster's offence machine came to life in the third set, and Koppers was ever-present on the outside as the Marauders raced toward the finish line. Doubling up York at the technical timeout, McMaster maintained that pace into the late stages, and saw out another routine victory on home court.
Having stretched their winning streak to 14 games, the Marauders will look to add another to the tally when they host the Nipissing Lakers at the Burridge Gym on Sunday. That match will get underway at 3:00 p.m., following the preceding women's match, and will be broadcast live on Cogeco Cable 14 and OUA.tv.
Source: McMaster Marauders
Saturday, January 25
Ryerson 3 @ RMC 0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-10)
KINGSTON, Ont. – The No. 9 Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team improved to 12-3 with a straight sets (25-13, 25-15, 25-10) victory over the host Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins on Saturday afternoon.
Fourth-year outside hitter Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.) led the Rams offense with a match-high 15 kills. Second-year outside Brendan Kewin (Milton, Ont.) added 11 kills and tied for the match-high with 10 digs..
Liam Glenn and Blake McClelland each had a team-best three kills for RMC.
The Rams will go for their seventh straight win when they visit the Queen's Gaels (10-5) on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm. The match can be seen on OUA.tv.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Nipissing 1 @ York 3
The York University Lions men's volleyball team defeated the Nipissing Lakers 3-1 in a tight home game on Saturday (Jan. 24) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions won the first set 25-20, the second 25-16 and the fourth 25-21, while the Lakers won the third 25-23.
Rookie Josh Henderson (Scarborough, Ont.) played an outstanding game, completing a total of 17 kills, one service ace and three blocks for a game-high 21 points. He is third in the OUA in total kills (194), sixth in kills per set (3.34) and third in total points (230).
Nipissing's Cameron Branch also played a tremendous game with 18 kills, one service ace and one block for 20 points. He is fourth in the OUA in total kills (189), first in kills per set (4.30) and seventh in total points (211).
The first and second sets were both very close battles, but the spirit and strength of the Lions came out on top. The Lions had nine kills and four errors in the first, compared to the Lakers' 10 kills and nine errors. In the second, the Lions had 15 kills and two errors, compared to the Laker's eight kills and five errors.
The Lions were leading the third set by five points at17-12 when a kill and three service aces from Lyndon Sonego, two kills from Jack Peckham and a kill from Branch put the Lakers in the lead at 19-17. The Lions trailed closely behind the Lakers, but with three powerful kills from Branch, he ended the set at 25-23 and prolonged the game into the fourth.
The Lions consistently held the lead in the fourth, but the Lakers threatened it when the score was 23-17. With four errors from the Lions in a grueling match, the Lakers got closer to the Lions at 23-20. Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) completed a final kill, and the Lakers committed a service error for the Lions to win 25-21 and win the match.
In addition to Henderson's stellar numbers, Szeto finished with 12 points on nine kills, one service ace and two blocks, while Alexander Duncan-Thibault (Scarborough, Ont.) had 13 points on nine kills and four blocks.
Nikola Sandic (Etobicoke, Ont.) led with 43 assists in the match, and Jules Muhawe (Orleans, Ont.) had a team-high 12 digs.
For Nipissing, Sonego finished with 15 points on 11 kills and four service aces, and Warren Taylor recorded 14.5 points on nine kills, three service aces and 2.5 blocks.
The Lions move from sixth place in the OUA standings to fifth with a record of 9-7, while the Lakers remain in ninth place with a 4-11 record.
The Lions will look to continue the push for a playoff spot, and possibly a home playoff game, when they travel downtown on Friday night (Jan. 30) to face the Toronto Varsity Blues beginning at 8pm.
Source: York Lions
Toronto @ Queen's (25-19, 25-17, 25-12)
KINGSTON, Ont. (January 24, 2015) – The Gaels (10-5) outplayed the Toronto Varsity Blues (3-13) in an exciting three set sweep, with set scores 25-19, 25-17 and 25-12.
The Gaels came out on fire in the first set with an unstoppable kill by Tyler Scheerhoorn (Belleville, Ont.). Toronto managed to hold the Gaels even until the six-point mark where Queen's managed to create some breathing room as they edged ahead of the Varsity Blues. A kill by Scott Brunet (Calgary) brought it to set point and Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) finished it off with a cross-court kill that Toronto was unable to handle leaving the set at 25-19.
Despite opening the scoring in the second set, the Varsity Blues were quickly put on the defensive as the Gaels were attacking from all angles of the court. Queen's took turns on offence as we saw powerful kills coming from Markus Trence (Orangeville, Ont.) and Aaron Nusbaum (Aurora, Ont.). Toronto held on for as long as they could but Tomlinson's serves proved to be too difficult to handle and once again he finished the set for the Gaels 25-17.
In the final set the Gaels opened the scoring and took an early lead against the Varsity Blues. Toronto fought hard to rally against Queen's but were unable to get far as the Gaels created a 10-point lead at 21-11. Scheerhoorn and Tomlinson successfully combined to shutdown any Toronto attacks from entering the Gaels side of the court late in the set. Nusbaum finished the match for Queen's with a serving ace, ending the set 25-12.
The top players for the Gaels were Tomlinson with nine kills, four serving aces and three blocks along with Nusbaum and Scheerhoorn. Nusbaum finished with 10 kills, one serving ace and one block while Scheerhoorn finished with nine kills, one serving ace and three blocks.
The Gaels are back in action tomorrow afternoon as they host the No.9 Ryerson Rams at 3pm in the ARC main gym
Source: Queen's Gaels
Windsor 3 @ Guelph 2 (25-16, 16-25, 26-28, 25-21, 9-15)
Guelph, Ont. – Saturday night at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre, the Gryphons men's volleyball team lost 3-2 versus the Windsor Lancers. Set scores were 25-16, 16-25, 26-28, 25-21, 9-15. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 8-8 while the Lancers improve to 6-10.
After a less than stellar showing on Friday night versus the Western Mustangs, the University of Guelph Gryphons Men's Volleyball team looked to get back into the win column as they took on the University of Windsor Lancers on Saturday night at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre. The first set would get underway and quickly get to a 9-8 margin for the visiting Lancers. Gryphons head coach Cal Wigston could be heard shouting out to his team "First to ten boys!" The Gryphons would oblige, and then some, not only getting to ten first, but by taking the opening set convincingly 25-16.
The second set started out on a different note for the Gryphons as they would go down quickly 5-1 and force an early time-out from the bench. Windsor would keep their momentum however, and take the second set 16-25. Gabriel Burlacu (Tecumseh, ON) would lead the Lancers attack with five kills in the set.
After going down early again in the third set, the Gryphons found themselves calling another time-out. This time Guelph would mount a comeback, tying the game 8-8. The outcome of this set would be unlike either of the first two, as both teams would continually trade points. Neither the Gryphons nor the Lancers pulled out to a lead until the Lancers won the set 28-26 to go up two-sets-to-one.
The Gryphons started the fourth set taking it to the visiting Lancers. Half way through the set, Guelph was up 15-10. Strong middle play by 5th year Marc Wilson (Stratford, ON) and 1st year Kendrick Kerr (Georgetown, ON) would help the Gryphons to the lead in the set. The end of the set would be very intense. Austin MacIntyre (Chicago, IL) would end it in style with an amazing serve just hitting the back line as the Lancers called it out. A fifth set would be needed, as the Gryphons would win the set 25-21.
The fifth set would get underway with the visiting Lancers take three quick points before Coach Wigston called a time out. This seemed to settle the Gryphons down, but momentum stayed in favour of the Lancers for the next few points. Windsor would get out to a 9-3 lead in the final set. The Gryphons would be unable to mount the comeback and would fall short in the fifth set 9-15. Marc Wilson and Connor Cressman (Waterloo, ON) would lead the attack for the Gryphons while Libero Eric Wagner lead the team with 10 digs.
The Gryphons will head to Hamilton next Thursday, January 29th to face the top ranked team in the CIS the McMaster Marauders. Game time is set for 8pm.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
Western 0 @ Waterloo 3
The Waterloo men's volleyball team got a complete team effort to cruise past arch rivals Western Mustangs in straight sets (18, 13, 12) on Saturday night at the PAC.
The dominating performance was Waterloo's fourth straight win and ninth and their past 10 games as the black and gold now sit in a tie with Ryerson for second spot in the OUA with a 12-5 record. Ryerson does however have two games in hand.
Second year middle Jordan McConkey (Stratford) continued his efficient attack of late with nine kills on just 12 attempts for a kill percentage of .750. Zachary Doherty (Goderich) and Aaron Wiersma (St. Catharines) added eight kills each while Braden Cok (Waterloo) put away seven.
Gibson Graham (Markham) had another strong and accurate night with 32 assists while all-star libero Erich Woolley (New Dundee) collected 10 digs.
After seven errors in the opening set, Waterloo only committed five more the entire match for the tidy straight set win over Western.
Waterloo will be back on the road next Friday in Guelph before returning to the PAC on Saturday for their final home match of the season, a meeting with the top ranked McMaster Marauders who are have only one loss on the season.
Source: Waterloo Warriors
Sunday, January 25
Toronto 3 @ RMC 0 (25-10, 25-10, 25-20)
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team defeated the RMC Paladins 3-0 (25-10, 25-10, 25-20) on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 25) in Kingston, Ont.
Veteran Jake Dyselhof led all players with 16 kills, while sophomore standout Zia Karim had 13 kills on the day. Micahel Denton tallied 32 assists in the victory.
Adam Lupton led RMC with nine kills in the loss.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Ryerson 0 @ Queens 3 (23-25, 23-25, 18-25)
KINGSTON, Ont. – The No. 9 Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team was upset at the hands of the Queen's Gaels on Sunday, dropping a 3-0 (23-25, 23-25, 18-25) decision to the home team.
The loss snaps the Rams winning streak at six straight games and is Ryerson's first loss since November 19.
The Rams started slow and fell behind 16-10 at the first set technical timeout but after trailing by as many as seven made a run in the late stages of the game to make it a one-point game at 24-23. Ryerson couldn't force extra points, however, as Queen's closed the set at 25-23 to take a one set advantage.
The teams matched each other point for point in the second set and Queen's held the slim 16-15 lead at the technical timeout. Ryerson was able to earn a three point lead down the stretch but Queen's was able to mount and complete the comeback to steal a 25-23 win and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
The Rams seemed deflated after giving up the late lead and were never really in the third set, falling behind 16-11 at the technical timeout and went on to lose 25-18.
Rob Wojcik's (Whitby, Ont.) game-high 14 kills weren't enough to lead the Rams to victory. Queen's Philippe Goyer and Mike Tomlinson each had 11 kills to propel the Gaels to the win.
With the loss the Rams record moves to 12-4 and they remain in a tie for second place in the OUA standings with the Waterloo Warriors. Queen's improves to 11-5 on the year and is now just two points behind the Rams and Warriors in fourth position.
Ryerson returns to the Mattamy Athletic Centre this Friday, January 30 when the Rams host the Nipissing Lakers starting at 8:00 p.m.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Nipissing 0 @ McMaster 3
The McMaster men's volleyball team ran its conference win streak to 15, with a 3-0 decision over the visiting Nipissing Lakers Sunday afternoon in Hamilton.
McMaster got off to a fast start in the opening set grabbing a 10-4 advantage and leading 16-8 at the technical timeout. That's when the Lakers made a move, closing to within18-15 with the momentum. But from that point, McMaster stepped on the gas and closed out a 25-18 decision to grab the early lead in the match.
The second set saw the Marauders jump out 3-1, forcing Nipissing coach Eric Yung into a quick timeout as he wanted to avoid another early deficit. His team responded and the Lakers played even with the Marauders for the rest of the set. Mac led 16-13 at the technical break and despite the opposition efforts, was able to keep pushing forward against a game Nipissing squad for a 25-22 set win to go ahead by two sets.
Looking to sweep the Lakers, McMaster got off to another fast start and Coach Yung had to call another early timeout with his team trailing 6-3. Perhaps viewing the tough task of coming back on the top-ranked team in Canada, the Lakers were unable to muster much resistance for the rest of the set. Down 16-7 at the technical timeout, the Marauders maintained the pressure and won 25-12 to end the match.
McMaster had a very balanced attack on the day with Jori Mantha leading the way with 10 kills. Mac setter Austin Campion-Smith had 34 assists and kept the Laker defense guessing all afternoon.
The Marauders next match is on Thursday, January 29 when the Maroon & Grey will host the Guelph Gryphons as part of a doubleheader. The women's match starts at 6 p.m., followed by men's action at 8 o'clock.
Source: McMaster Marauders
