OUA Men's Volleyball Roundup (Jan. 22)
January 19, 2018
Windsor 3 Brock 0
The Lancer men's volleyball team got back in the win column Friday night with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-12) road victory over the Brock Badgers.
Pierce Johnson was dominate on the floor for the Blue & Gold, leading all scorers with 16.5 points, and 12 kills. John Moate also hit double digits with 10.5 points on 5 kills and 7 assisted blocks.
The host Badgers were led by Logan House with 11 points.
Source: golancers.ca
Guelph 0 McMaster 3
McMaster's mission to find top gear in 2018 reached a promising new height Friday, as the Marauders tore through the Guelph Gryphons at Burridge Gym.
Notching their ninth win and seventh sweep of the season, Mac built a 25-20, 25-18, 25-15 victory with their system purring and producing a team-wide hitting average of .434.
Having risen three spots in the latest U SPORTS national poll to a high of seventh days earlier, McMaster improved to 9-1 in OUA play and continued to sit atop the OUA West division standings with the win.
The hitting trio of Andrew Richards (London, ON), Matt Passalent (Hamilton, ON) and Brandon Koppers(Georgetown, ON) carried the offensive load to brutal effect Friday.
Richards led all scorers with a total of 15.5 points, thumping down 11 of 16 attempts from the left side with just one error (.626) while adding three aces, one solo block and one block assist. His effort saw the fourth-year senior rise to third in the OUA with a season-long hitting average of .326.
Not to be outdone, Passalent matched Richards with 11 kills, his coming on 21 attempts and versus two errors (.429), and added an ace and a solo block for 13 points before largely sitting out the third set.
Enjoying a rare night of comparatively-low usage, Koppers converted eight of just 13 hitting attempts versus a single error (.538).
McMaster signalled their intent early on Friday, jumping out to a commanding 11-5 lead in the first set after a pair of kills from Richards and rookie middle Bennett Swan (Oakville, ON).
Slowly working their way back within striking distance, the Gryphons found themselves stuck just five points after service and attacking errors from the Marauders helped them to 17-12. They threatened further as McMaster approached the finish line, drawing within three and inducing a timeout at 22-19, but that was as close as Guelph would come in the first.
After a Passalent kill brought up four set points, Richards and the Marauders proved to require only one, as the outside blocked Gryphons outside Zach Newman for 25-20.
Much as their quick start in set one had pushed Guelph onto the back foot, the Marauders similarly grabbed hold of momentum in the second with a seven-point run for 11-4 capped by a thunderous kill from Passalent.
Momentarily turning the tide following the technical timeout, the Gryphons forced a Marauders timeout by closing within six points at 21-15 following a pair of kills from Jared Harris. But the hill was simply too steep for the visitors to climb, and despite dodging a trio of set points, Guelph succumbed to the fourth when Josh Green was called on an error.
A third positive start saw the Marauders build a 10-5 lead in the third set, as kills from Passalant and fellow third-year Craig Ireland (Beamsville, ON) helped the home side pull away.
Never particularly close to springing the upset and prolonging the night, the Gryphons closed within six points at 18-12 before watching the Marauders piece together a back-breaking 6-1 run to bring up match points.
The third of those proved fatal, as Oliver Hissink's attack sailed and the Marauders closed out the convincing sweep.
Source: marauders.ca
January 20, 2018
Nipissing 3 Toronto 1
The Varsity Blues men's volleyball team fell to the Nipissing Lakers 3-1 (25-12, 21-25, 19-25, 19-25) on Saturday afternoon (Jan 20.) at Goldring Centre.
Jordan Figueira started the match with back-to-back aces and continued the serving clinic when he got the ball back in his hands. The second-year student slammed six straight aces to put Toronto up 16-6 at the technical timeout. Figueira registered a career-high eight aces in the match, which was one shy from his season total (9).
The Blues maintained the momentum out of the break to take the first set 25-12.
Toronto jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the next set, but Nipissing's Cameron Branch brought his team back. He registered four kills to cut the deficit to 16-13 at the break. The Lakers capped off the comeback going on a 10-3 run to grab the second set 25-21 and tie the match at 1-1.
Unlike their first meeting when Nipissing won in straight sets in early November, the battle remained close at the beginning of the third set. The lead never hit more than three before the technical time out, but similar to the second set, the Lakers were up 16-13.
Toronto's five errors out of the break helped fuel Nipissing to snag the set 25-19 and take a 2-1 match lead.
The Lakers gain the upper hand early in the fourth set and went into the technical timeout up by five (16-11). Toronto wasn't able to recover as they dropped the set 25-19.
The Varsity Blues record dips to 4-5 on the season, while the Lakers improves to 6-4.
Including his eight aces, Figueira led the team with a season-high 15 digs, while registering 10.5 points. Teammate Nicholas Trewern recorded a team-high 11 kills for a total of 11 points.
Nipissing's Cameron Branch hit a game-high 19 kills on 42 attacks for 20 points.
Source: varsityblues.ca
McMaster 3 Waterloo 0
Applying constant pressure from the service line, the Marauders were able to keep the Waterloo Warriors firmly on the back foot Saturday in a one-sided edition of a long-held rivalry.
McMaster enjoyed productive nights from their usual suspects, and managed to mix and match the lineup in the later stages, en route to a 25-15, 27-25, 25-16 win.
The victory improved the U SPORTS no. 7-ranked Marauders to 10-1 in OUA play, comfortably atop the OUA West divisional standings.
Reprising their roles as Mac's leading hitters, the combo of Brandon Koppers, Matt Passalent and Andrew Richards had a total of 35 kills between them.
Koppers took his turn as the leading light, with 13 kills from 28 attempts versus four errors (.321), adding a block assist for 13.5 points.
A constant thorn in Waterloo's side from the right side, Passalent hit 50 per cent in the win, converting on 12 of 20 attempts versus just two errors while adding an ace for 13 points.
Operating at the heart of a rotating cast of characters, which saw a total of 11 Marauders enjoy court time, setter David Doty was effective in creating 35 assists in less than three full sets of work.
Waterloo was playing their first match of the New Year, and the rust was visible from the opening whistle, as McMaster pounded their way to an early 13-7 lead with the help of a slew of errors from the hosts.
Wrapping a seven-point run around the technical timeout, which included five kills from four different scorers, the Marauders looked in total control in taking a 20-10 lead.
A Richards kill and Bennett Swan ace brought up set points at 24-12, giving Nathan Delguidice the breathing room to rebound from two denials and kill to seal the set four points later.
Putting together a another six-point run early in the second set, McMaster looked well in control as Koppers killed for 8-3.
But as the Marauders tinkered with the lineup, errors began to creep into their game, and the Warriors were opportunistic in working back into the set, pulling within two points at 16-14 after a rare miss from Richards.
McMaster kept a slender lead in place until a four-point run from Waterloo saw the hosts draw level at 22-all and put the fate of the set in the balance.
Remaining composed as the leverage ratcheted up, the Marauders never trailed, and ultimately found their opening when Koppers killed for 26-25 and Passalent followed with one of his own to snatch the set away.
Discouraged by the near miss of the second set, the Warriors seemingly faded in the third, and posed little threat as the Marauders raced toward the sweep.
The visitors boasted a nine-point lead at the technical timeout, and the home side got no closer than eight, as Mac made quick work of the set and saw it out when Delguidice killed for 25-16.
Source: marauders.ca
Brock 3 Guelph 2
The Brock University men's volleyball team registered their first victory of the regular season as they defeated the Guelph Gryphons by the score of 3-2 Saturday on the road.
Leading the Badgers offense was rookie standout Logan House who recorded a career high 20 kills and 12 digs for the double-double. He also added three aces and three block solos for 26 points. Tim Spiser collected 10 kills and four digs while Alex Carter and Peter Schnabel chipped in with seven and six kills respectively. Brock setter Marcelo Correa added 36 assists and 12 digs for the double-double while libero Felipe Costa added a game high 17 digs in the victory.
Leaving the Guelph offense was Kendrick Kerr who added 17 kills in the loss.
For the match, Brock registered 46 kills with 26 errors on 136 attempts for a .147 hitting percentage. Guelph finished with 56 kills with 27 errors on 150 attempts for a .187 hitting percentage
Source: gobadgers.ca
York 2 Ryerson 3
TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams are back and they mean business - taking the victory against the OUA East leading York Lions Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
In the final matchup of a weekend that has been dubbed the "Subway Series", the Rams defeated the Lions 3-2 in a comeback match that included surviving a 24-21 deficit in a nail biting fourth set.
The win snapped two skids: a five-game winning streak for the Lions and a three-game losing streak for the Rams. Now at an 8-2 record, the Lions have only lost to the Rams in the 2017-18 season. However, as the first match between the two was a much more decisive 3-1 victory for the Rams, tonight’s matchup highlighted the dynamic shift of the OUA season. For head coach Adam Simac, much of that dynamic is to do with the attitude of the Rams entering their contests.
“We’re in control of our own destiny, for the most part, this year,” he said. “If we don’t want to play, we’re going to make things difficult. But if we decide that we want to proudly represent Ryerson the right way, teams are going to have a tough time keeping up with us this year. It took until kind of the end of the first set for us to do that, but once we did that, then it’s pretty tough to stop us at that point.”
Lucas Coleman (Brooklin, Ont.) and Brendan Kewin (Milton, Ont.) returned to their rightful places as leaders of the team, both in terms of points and leadership. As they took control of the situation leading into tight spots, they were backed up by a newer face to the team: Simon Davis-Power (Conception Bay South, Nfld.). Despite being in his first season of OUA competition with the Rams, Davis-Power has become a staple of the Rams’ starting lineup, and his leadership qualities have not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.
“I find myself forgetting very often that he still is a young man at heart,” Simac said. “He’s very much growing into what is a fantastic personality and big heart. He’s realizing that if he properly channels his energy, he plays the game at a level that very few people in Ontario can match in terms of physicality. It’s been a real joy working with him because he’s a real special kid, a fantastic young man.”
When it came down to the trailing Rams being down 24-21 in that fourth set, Simac believes that is just the kind of pressure to kick this team into action. However, he wants to see this level of output become a natural state of the team.
“We have to start from point number one,” he said. “We can’t wait until we have our backs up against the wall ... maybe we can be the ones pushing the tempo, instead of being dictated [as to] what’s happening.”
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Other Scores:
Trent 1 RMC 3
January 21, 2018
York 0 Toronto 3
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team defeated the York Lions 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-21) in their fourth annual OVA Day on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 21) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
With the win, the Blues improve to 5-5 and move into fourth place in the OUA East division, while the Lions drop to 8-3 and remain in first place.
Second-year outside hitters Nick Trewern and Alex Barnes led the Blues with 12 points apiece, each coming off of 11 kills and one block. Barnes added six digs on the day, while Trewern had five in the victory.
Rookie outside hitter Ryan Smith chipped in with six points, all from kills, and seven digs, while sophomore middle Martin Kosic also had six points off of five kills and one block.
Second-year setter Jordan Figueira tallied 31 assists, nine digs and four points, while rookie libero Daniel Tudor had eight digs in the win.
The Blues got out to another good start in the first set and a Barnes kill gave the home team a 16-12 advantage at the technical timeout. The Lions attempted to rally but U of T held strong and a Barnes block ended the first, 25-17, in favour of Toronto.
The second set proved to be a back-and-forth affair with U of T building a narrow 16-14 lead at the break. York battled back to even the score at 22-22, but three straight kills from Smith, Trewern and Kosic gave the Blues a 2-0 match lead, 25-22.
The see-saw affair continued in the third set, with neither team holding more than a three-point lead. After the Lions took a 16-15 advantage into the technical timeout, the Blues regained the momentum and, thanks to a couple key kills from Barnes, earned the sweep, 25-21.
York was led by Andrew Tauhid, who recorded a team-high 10 points and nine digs in the loss.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Trent 1 Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (January 21, 2018) – The Queen's Gaels (5-5) were able to snap a five-game losing streak as they returned home to the ARC for the first time since November to defeat the Trent Excalibur (0-9) 3-1. The scores of each set were 25-21, 25-13, 24-26 and 25-14 respectively.
GAME FLOW
The game started out with two back to back serving aces for Markus Trence (Hockley Valley, Ont.) contributing to the Gaels lead. Trent picked up the intensity and tied the game the pushed ahead of the Tricolour as they began to put together a run of points. The Gaels struggled to get through the Trent blocks but broke the wall to find holes in the Excalibur defence. Kills by Joel Rudd (Cambridge, Ont.), Zac Hutchinson (Kingston, Ont.) and Trence kept the score close and the intensity high. The Gaels took the lead late in the set and continued to play as a team winning the first set on a Trent error.
The second set stared in the Gaels favour, with two points for Trence. The Gaels continue their momentum, racking up an early lead on the Excalibur. Jack Peckham (Hamilton) and Hutchinson contributed several kills to the Gaels score and lengthened the Queen's lead. The Excalibur came back strong after the timeout, but it was no match for the Gaels. The Tricolour continued to send kills to the Trent defence and took the second set off a Trent block sent out of bounds. The score of the second set was 25-13 for the Gaels.
The Gaels lost some of their intensity early on in the third set but matched Trent soon after. The Gaels took several errors in this set and fell behind Trent. Queen's was able to pick up the pace after a time out and tied the game at 19. Two consecutive errors put Trent in the lead again, and the Gaels battled hard to tie it up at 24-24. The Tricolour lost the set off of an error with a score of 26-24.
In the fourth set, the Gaels took an early lead and played a fantastic offensive set. An all-around great team effort was made by the Tricolour to maintain their lead. Malcolm Prentice (Oakville, Ont.) stepped up with an amazing kill and was followed by a kill from Jonathan Reid (Oakville, Ont.). The Gaels took a 12-point lead on the Excalibur and ended the game on a Trent hit out of bounds. The final score of the set was 25-14.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Nipissing 2 Ryerson 3
TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams close out a weekend sweep in some of the closest action the OUA has seen, as they defeated the Nipissing Lakers 3-2 in another five-set nail-biter Sunday evening at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
No set win came easy for the team, with the final two sets being decided by two points. As the Rams continue to fight their way out of tight situations, head coach Adam Simac believes that, while the games are exciting, they mount unnecessary pressure on the team.
“I feel like they just want me to have heart problems down the road,” he said, postgame. “We turn it on when we need to, but it’s kind of like we’re just playing well enough when I think everyone would agree they can play a bit better.”
That is not to say that the teams the Rams faced off against this weekend were not worthy competition. This weekend marked a battle of the top three teams in the OUA East, with the two wins allowing the Rams to catch up to and match the York Lions on top of the leaderboard. As the team sees more and more success, they are also going to see more and more pressure.
“[The Lakers] are a very well coached team, and they fight,” Simac said. “The thing that we have to expect, which I don’t think should be a surprise to us anymore, is that teams are going to come in here and they’re going to fight. We’re on top right now. Everybody wants to knock off the guy on top. I think today was another lesson that we have to be ready for a fight, every single time.”
While fifth-year veteran Lucas Coleman (Brooklin, Ont.) lead scoring with 25 points and 22 kills, it was freshman outside hitter Sean Shultis (Springfield, Va.) that was stealing the show for much of the tight matchup. Coming up with big plays in dire situations, the rookie was visibly invested in the game, and it was reflecting on his teammates.
“Volleyball is all about momentum,” Shultis said. “If you’re down, and your heads are down, you’re going to stay down. If it’s an important point and you crush the ball or your teammate crushes the ball, you’ve got to get fired up.”
When looking for a way to ignite the team into performance, the spirit showed by Shultis today is exactly what Simac is looking for from his team.
“That kind of energy is contagious, in a good way,” Simac said. “They feed off of it. Sean, who is normally very quiet and reserved, you realize he has this alter ego where he can be an absolute maniac when he wants to. It’s a great dimension that we can add to our team, and it just makes it that much more for the opponents to have to handle.”
Source: ryersonrams.ca
