January 28, 2013
M-VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Ryerson drops two in brief return to Kerr Hall Gym
January 25 - Queen's @ RMC
KINGSTON, Ont. (January 25, 2013) - The Queen's Gaels (9-5) won in straight sets 3-0 over the RMC Paladins (0-14) on Friday night. Set scores were 25-19, 25-18, 25-13 for the Gaels.
Markus Trence (Orangeville, Ont.) had eight kills on 15 attacks to go along with 11 digs while Matthew Bonshor (White Rock, B.C.) set up the Gaels offence with 27 assists while adding six digs for the Gaels. RMC was led by Thomas McMullen (Ottawa) who had 10 kills and seven digs in a losing effort.
The Gaels took the first set in a close affair, 25-19 over the Paladins and followed it up with a 25-18 win in set number two. That would be as close as RMC would get with Queen's shutting the door in set number three 25-13.
The Gaels are now off until next weeked when they return home to take on York on Saturday Feb. 2 and McMaster on Sunday Feb. 3. Both games are set for 2 p.m. start times.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Western @ McMaster
The Marauders continue to be the puzzle that no OUA team can solve.
McMaster produced a steady, three-set effort to dispatch the Western Mustangs in straight-sets at the Burridge Gym on Friday.
Set scores were 27-25, 25-23 and 25-20 for the Marauders, who remained unbeaten in the OUA this season with their fourteenth-consecutive win in conference play. The Mustangs fall to 10-3 on the season, and continue to occupy third position in the conference standings.
Danny Demyanenko led all scorers with 15 points in the win, hitting 13 kills on 18 attempts with only two errors (61.1%), winning the Marauders' Big Mac Player of the Game honours for his efforts. Stephen Maar had 14 points and nine kills, and Jori Mantha added 13 points and 11 kills on the night.
Outside hitter Garrett May paced the Mustangs with 16 points and 13 kills, but attempted 35 attacks altogether.
The two teams struggled to find their rhythm from the service line early in the opening set, but it was the Marauders who found the edge as they approached the technical timeout. Kevin Stevens continued his solid start by killing cross-court from the left side, as McMaster carried a 16-13 lead into the technical timeout in set one.
Danny Demyanenko kept that momentum firmly in McMaster's corner as he polished off the quick in the middle for 18-14, forcing the Mustangs to call time. The visitors made things interesting in the dying stages of the first, when an ace from Garrett May helped Western climb to within a point of their hosts at 22-21. The Mustangs would tie the set a few points later, forcing the first into bonus points.
But the home side was not to be denied after leading for much of the first, as Jori Mantha tooled the block on the right side to bring up a set point before a Mustang attack sailed long for 27-25.
The Mustangs, evidently stung by their narrow denial in the first, came out strongly to begin the second set, taking an 8-4 lead before the Marauders called time. Western continued to hold a slim lead at the technical, but McMaster was inching forward, and would tie the set at 19 when Demyanenko's attack from the middle went unreturned.
The Marauders continued to chip away, and took a late lead at 23-22 when the Mustangs went fishing for contact and came up empty. Alex Elliot notched a solo block on the left to bring up set point, and would polish off the second with a quick kill in the middle for 25-23.
McMaster kept hold of the momentum as the third set began, and when Mantha unloaded for a clean kill up the middle, it was 14-9 in the hosts' favour. Western stayed within striking distance, but could never fully erase the deficit, and the match came to an embarrassing end when the Mustangs allowed an overpass to find the floor for 25-20.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Windsor @ York
The York University Lions men's volleyball team cruised to a straight-sets victory over the Windsor Lancers on Friday night (Jan. 25) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions never trailed in any of the three sets as they cruised to the sweep, and were led by a balanced attack that saw four players reach double digits in points.
Third-year outside hitter Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) led the Lions's attack with 12.5 points on nine kills, 2.5 blocks and one service ace. Fifth-year middle Felipe Humana-Paredes (Toronto), Gregory Ivan (Toronto) and Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) all added 11 points of their own. Humana-Paredes recorded nine kills, one block and one service ace, Ivan had eight kills and three blocks and Dakic tallied 10 kills and one service ace.
Third-year setter Paul Jakubiak (Mississauga, Ont.) continued his solid play running the offence with a match-high 32 assists.
The Lions came out of the gate with some intensity and went up quickly by a score of 4-0. A Lancers timeout did nothing to stop York's relentless attack and the Lions extended their lead to 14-5 off of some nice kills by Szeto.
The Lions continued to play fundamentally sound both offensively and defensively and they took the first set with relative ease by a score of 25-15.
In the second set the Lions continued to play well, setting the ball effectively and finishing plays with hard kills. They found themselves up 7-3 after 10 points and the score didn't get much closer from then on. The Lions went up by as many as eight points and never let the Lancers get closer than three, as they took the second set easily by a score of 25-17.
The third set continued the theme of the Lions jumping out to early leads, as they were up 4-1 after five points. However, this time the Lancers would respond and tie the game up at six. That was as close as the Lancers would come to a lead, however, as the Lions countered with an 11-4 run to go up 17-10 in the set. It didn't get much better for the Lancers the rest of the way, and the Lions won the set 25-14 to close out the sweep.
The Lancers were led by Greg Simone (London, Ont.), who had a team-high 9.5 points on nine kills and an assisted block.
The Lions will be back in action on Saturday night (Jan. 26) as they play host to the Western Mustangs at the Tait McKenzie Centre. The game is scheduled for 8pm.
Source: York Sports Info
January 26 - Waterloo @ Toronto
The Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-22) to the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, January 26 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.
Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, P.E.I), Jonathan Adomait (Dundas, Ont.) and Jake Dysselhof (Mississauga, Ont.) each led the Blues with eight kills, with Adomait adding a team-high nine digs. Team captain Michael Denton notched 33 assists in the loss.
Warriors right side hitter Zachary Doherty (Goderich, Ont.) led all players with 11 kills with Aleks Podma (Toronto) adding 10 in the victory.
The Blues battled hard with the No. 10 Warriors through all three sets. Trailing 13-16 at the first technical time out, Toronto went on a 7-0 run to take a 20-16 lead. The Warriors then showed their dominance, ending the set on a 9-2 run to take it 25-22.
U of T came out strong in the second set and held a 16-10 advantage at the technical time out. The Warriors battled back to even the score at 24-24 before taking it 26-24 for the 2-0 lead.
Waterloo carried that momentum over into the third, building a 19-14 lead. The Blues came back to bring it within two (22-24) but were unable to complete the comeback in the 22-25 loss.
The Varsity Blues (4-9) take on the Guelph Gryphons (3-10) tomorrow afternoon at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Guelph @ Ryerson
TORONTO - The visiting Guelph Gryphons spoiled the Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team's return to Kerr Hall Gymnasium, sweeping the Rams 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon.
Guelph's key to victory was their service game, racking up 14 aces on the day. The Gryphons tallied six aces in the first set alone, establishing themselves and allowing them to stay aggressive from the service stripe.
Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont.) reeled off four consecutive aces to give the Gryphons an 8-3 edge early in the first set and though the point differential wasn't too large to overcome, the service game seemed to get to the Rams mentally.
"We were there physically with the training and tactics we've prepared but mentally it seems like we've been collapsing the last few games. When we get on a bad run of points during sets we need the guys in leadership positions to step up...because it's a snow-ball effect and things can just get worse if that doesn't happen", said assistant coach Roger Marszalek following the game.
The Gryphons began to cool from the service line and committed six errors to help the Rams climb back into the first set. Aleksa Miladinovic (Belgrade, Serbia) used a reverse setter dump to knot the score at 19-19 but Guelph's attacking game used four kills to give the Gryphons a 25-23 set victory.
Ryerson looked to be on their way to a bounce back set, jumping out to a 9-4 advantage in the second but a 6-0 run by the Gryphons turned their deficit into a four point lead at 14-10.
Again the Rams were able to battle back in the set and were down just one at 24-23 but an ill-timed service error gave Guelph a 25-23 win to lead the match 2-0.
The Rams appeared deflated in the third set and the Gryphons came out hungry looking for the sweep.
"We knew they would be out to beat us because we embarrassed them in Guelph a couple months ago with a 3-0 win and that didn't leave a good impression on them. They went aggressive with their serve and took chances and it paid off", commented Marszalek.
Guelph led 16-13 at the third set technical timeout and increased the lead to as many as seven at 23-16 and the Rams were unable to mount a third set comeback as the Gryphons emerged with a 25-19 win to complete the sweep.
Ryerson's Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.) had a game-high 13 kills while Marc Reardon (London, Ont.) hit 100 percent, tallying five kills on five attacks.
Rosser led the Gryphons with 11 kills and five service aces while Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont.) added seven kills and four service aces.
The loss drops the Rams to 5-8 on the year while Guelph improves to 4-10.
The Rams will need to push the loss aside quickly as they return to Kerr Hall on Sunday afternoon for a match against the No. 10 nationally ranked Waterloo Warriors which begins at 2:00 p.m.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Windsor @ McMaster
Jori Mantha turned in a master class in honour of his veteran teammates on Saturday.
The third-year outside hitter notched 24.5 points – and converted 22 of 35 hitting attempts – to lead the Marauders to a 3-1 victory over the Windsor Lancers and continue McMaster's perfect conference run of 15 consecutive victories in the OUA.
Set scores were 23-25, 25-14, 25-22 and 25-17 for the Marauders, who overcame an early setback to beat the Lancers at the Burridge Gym.
Marauder middle Tyson Alexander chipped in 14 points and eight kills on 10 attempts, and added four solo blocks while Kyle Williamson led all scorers with 19 points and 13 kills for the Lancers.
McMaster fielded an unusual lineup on Saturday, giving substantial playing time to the team's graduating veterans on the night dedicated to them. Ian Cooper assumed the role of setter, while middles Alexander and Michael Sjonneson each featured in all four sets.
That unfamiliarity likely contributed to the Marauders' flat start to the match, as the hosts fell behind the Lancers early in the opening set. McMaster struggled to string its passes together in the first, but hung with Windsor to enter the technical timeout only two points off the pace at 16-14.
It was a set full of errors and miscues for the Marauders, and the Lancers deservingly took it when Kevin Stevens' serve found the tape on set point for 25-23.
McMaster Coach Dave Preston kept the faith with his personnel heading into the second, and the players rewarded him with an invigorated effort.
Mantha had begun to show off his attacking skills as he operated on the right side, and when fellow outside Stevens smartly tipped past the block and found the floor, the Marauders took a seven-point lead into the second set technical at 16-9.
The hosts' game steadied in all facets, and with the Marauders finding their range at both the net and the service line, it came as no surprise when they ran away with the set. The rampant Mantha provided the kill on set point, drilling a high ball off Windsor's double block and wide for 25-14.
The Lancers bounced back strongly from their second set thrashing, and led 14-12 after meeting Stevens with a double block. That narrow lead held into the technical timeout, after Windsor dug out well for a kill from the right.
The teams remained inseparable as the third set drew to a close, but it was McMaster that would find the decisive shot. Mantha polished off an extended rally from the right for 25-22 and a 2-1 lead overall.
Windsor kept things close to begin the fourth, but the home side found separation with Stephen Maar at the service line. The rookie outside notched consecutive aces to give the Marauders a 10-9 lead, and the hosts would not look back from there.
Maar featured yet again on the final point of the match, making the most of a tough position in the pipe and rolling an attack that found the back line for 25-17.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Western @ York
The York University Lions men's volleyball team earned a hard-fought victory over the Western Mustangs on Saturday night (Jan. 26), defeating them by a final score of 3-1 at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The victory was a huge won over the perennially strong Mustangs, who were 10-3 coming into the match and had defeated the Lions in straight sets in their previous match-up earlier this season.
Third-year outside hitter Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) continued his phenomenal play to lead the Lions to victory, scoring a game-high 25.5 points on 22 kills and 3.5 blocks and adding 11 digs. The Lions are now one game above .500 at 8-7 and comfortably hold down fifth place, six points ahead of sixth-place Ryerson.
The Mustangs came out strong in the first set, taking a 7-3 lead on the strength of some perfectly placed kills. However, the Lions would stand tough and answer back with four straight points to even the game at seven. Szeto then started to heat up as he made some impressive plays to give York a 14-11 lead and forcing the Mustangs to use a timeout.
The break did nothing to slow Szeto down, however, as he continued his stellar play and guided the Lions to a 25-19 opening set win.
The second set started with Western taking the opening point en route to an early 6-3 lead. However, the Lions would answer once again with a run of their own to tie the game up at 10 apiece. The set remained tight from then on as neither team was able to take a commanding lead. With the Mustangs leading 22-20, the Lions went on an impressive 5-1 run to take the set by a score of 25-23 and hold a commanding 2-0 lead heading into the third.
The third was a tightly contested battle to start as it was all tied up at five in the early going. However, the Mustangs' desperation to force a fourth set paid off as they jumped ahead 13-8. The Lions responded to ultimately tie it at 17-17, but from there the Mustangs went on an 8-3 run to take the third 25-20.
Like the third set, the fourth was a title battle throughout, with neither team going up by more than two points and a total of 17 lead changes from start to finish. The Mustangs appeared ready to force a fifth set with a 20-18 advantage late, but the Lions went on a 7-3 run from there to win the set 25-23 and take the match.
In addition to Szeto's tremendous play, the Lions received key contributions from Daniel Dearing (Toronto), who had 15.5 points on 13 kills and 2.5 blocks and added 11 digs, and Felipe Humana-Paredes (Toronto) who added 10 points on four kills, five blocks and one service ace.
Setter Paul Jakubiak (Mississauga, Ont.) was tremendous running the office, recording 43 assists and also adding three digs.
The Mustangs were led by standout outside hitter Garrett May (Toronto) who led his team with 22 points on 21 kills and one block.
The Lions will be on the road for their next two games starting with a match against the Queen's Gaels on Saturday, Feb. 2. Their next home game will be their last of the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 10 against the McMaster Marauders. The game is scheduled for 2pm.
Source: York Sports Info
Guelph @ Toronto
The Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team picked up their fifth win on the season with a 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-10) victory over the Guelph Gryphons on Sunday, January 27 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.
Fifth-year right Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, Ont.) delivered for Toronto with a game-high 22 kills. The Gryphons received 16 kills from Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont.) as well as 14 from Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont.).
After alternating the first ten points to start the deciding set, the Blues built a three-point lead to go up 8-5. Toronto maintained that margin the rest of the way, building a five-point gap off a quick kill by Trevor Grant (Port Perry, Ont.). The second-year middle followed that up with a block on the next point and the Blues eventually took the set 15-10.
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm early in the match, with Toronto jumping out to a 6-2 lead. After each side started connecting with their kills, the Blues built their advantage up to 18-10. Guelph responded with an 8-3 run to close the score to 21-18, however Toronto ripped of four of the next seven points to take the first set 25-21.
The second set saw the score tied three times in the early going before five striaght points by the Gryphons put them up 16-12. Guelph would add to that puling ahead 21-16, before closing out the set 25-18.
In the third, the close play continued with the team evenly exchanging the first ten points. The Blues would go on a five-point rally before the Gryphons responded with 7-2 run of their own to pull even at 12-12. Neither team would build a sustainble gap until the Blues went up 23-20 late in the set, and held on for a 25-23 win.
Guelph got off to a quick start in the fourth set, building leads of 6-1 and 10-4 with five straight points off Warnholtz's serve. The Blues battled back cutting the lead to three before Guelph would rally again widening the gap to 23-18. Toronto once again made it close, pulling to within one, before the Gryphons finished the set off 25-22.
The Varsity Blues (5-9) travel to Windsor to take on the Lancers (3-11) on Friday, February 1 in an 8 p.m. tilt.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Waterloo @ Ryerson
TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team lost their fifth straight game on Sunday afternoon, dropping 3-0 (19-25, 23-25, 16-25) to the No. 10 nationally ranked Waterloo Warriors.
Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo, Ont.) had a game-high 13 kills and hit 55 percent to lead the Warriors to victory.
The two teams were locked in a tight first set, exchanging points until the score read 13-13. Three straight points from the Warriors, including a kill and service ace from Tyler Motherwell (Toronto), gave the visitors a 16-13 edge at the technical timeout.
The Rams were able to close the gap when Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.) went over top of a triple block to find the floor and cut the deficit to just one, trailing 18-17, but Waterloo responded with another three point run to lead by four at 21-17 and Ryerson could not recover. The Warriors took the first set 25-19 to lead 1-0.
Early in the second Waterloo opened up a four point cushion at 8-4 and the spread widened to five at 15-10 which forced the Rams into a timeout. Ryerson came out to take the next three points but still trailed 16-13 at the technical timeout.
The three point gap remained as Waterloo held a 22-19 lead but back to back kills from Alex Dawson (Scarborough, Ont.) brought Ryerson within one at 22-21. The Warriors remained composed and Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines, Ont.) finished the set with a kill to give Waterloo a 25-23 win and a 2-0 overall lead.
Ryerson looked ready to bounce back in the third and extend the match, opening the set with a 4-1 lead but a pair of service errors and a pair of attacking errors let the Warriors climb back into the set and ultimately give the visitors an 8-7 lead. Waterloo extended their lead with a 4-0 run to open up an 18-11 advantage and the Warriors cruised the rest of the way, securing a 25-16 victory to complete the three set sweep.
Zachary Doherty (Goderich, Ont.) added eight kills in the victory while Motherwell finished with four kills and a game-high five solo blocks for Waterloo.
Robert Wojcik finished with a team-high 12 kills for the Rams while Alex Dawson added ten. Luka Milosevic (Toronto) had a strong game, notching seven kills and a team-high four solo blocks.
Setter Aleksa Miladinovic (Belgrade, Serbia) played well, distributing the ball evenly and assisting on 35 of Ryerson's 37 kills.
"Aleksa was consistent today. The guys were passing much better today than they were yesterday and that made it easier for the setter to distribute and play his game. Aleksa is one of the top setters in the league and he's really improved his location of the ball and finding the right guys at the right time and he did that really well today", commented assistant coach Roger Marszalek after the game.
The loss drops Ryerson's record to 5-9 and they now sit tied with Toronto for sixth place in the OUA standings. Waterloo improves to 13-2 on the year and are comfortably in second place.
Today's contest was the last for coach Marszalek with the Ryerson Rams and he talked about the parody of today's contest being held at Kerr Hall Gymnasium, a place where he played five seasons in Ryerson blue.
"It's interesting how it worked out that we played here in Kerr Hall this weekend which is where it all started for me and now it's ending in the same place. This has been a huge part of my life, being a Ryerson Ram as a player and a coach. I'm going to continue to follow and support the program but it was unfortunate we couldn't get a win today to end on a good note but I'm confident the guys will work together and make it to the playoffs where anything can happen."
The Rams return to action next weekend when they travel to London to take on the Western Mustangs on Friday, February 1 at 8:00 p.m.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
KINGSTON, Ont. (January 25, 2013) - The Queen's Gaels (9-5) won in straight sets 3-0 over the RMC Paladins (0-14) on Friday night. Set scores were 25-19, 25-18, 25-13 for the Gaels.
Markus Trence (Orangeville, Ont.) had eight kills on 15 attacks to go along with 11 digs while Matthew Bonshor (White Rock, B.C.) set up the Gaels offence with 27 assists while adding six digs for the Gaels. RMC was led by Thomas McMullen (Ottawa) who had 10 kills and seven digs in a losing effort.
The Gaels took the first set in a close affair, 25-19 over the Paladins and followed it up with a 25-18 win in set number two. That would be as close as RMC would get with Queen's shutting the door in set number three 25-13.
The Gaels are now off until next weeked when they return home to take on York on Saturday Feb. 2 and McMaster on Sunday Feb. 3. Both games are set for 2 p.m. start times.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Western @ McMaster
The Marauders continue to be the puzzle that no OUA team can solve.
McMaster produced a steady, three-set effort to dispatch the Western Mustangs in straight-sets at the Burridge Gym on Friday.
Set scores were 27-25, 25-23 and 25-20 for the Marauders, who remained unbeaten in the OUA this season with their fourteenth-consecutive win in conference play. The Mustangs fall to 10-3 on the season, and continue to occupy third position in the conference standings.
Danny Demyanenko led all scorers with 15 points in the win, hitting 13 kills on 18 attempts with only two errors (61.1%), winning the Marauders' Big Mac Player of the Game honours for his efforts. Stephen Maar had 14 points and nine kills, and Jori Mantha added 13 points and 11 kills on the night.
Outside hitter Garrett May paced the Mustangs with 16 points and 13 kills, but attempted 35 attacks altogether.
The two teams struggled to find their rhythm from the service line early in the opening set, but it was the Marauders who found the edge as they approached the technical timeout. Kevin Stevens continued his solid start by killing cross-court from the left side, as McMaster carried a 16-13 lead into the technical timeout in set one.
Danny Demyanenko kept that momentum firmly in McMaster's corner as he polished off the quick in the middle for 18-14, forcing the Mustangs to call time. The visitors made things interesting in the dying stages of the first, when an ace from Garrett May helped Western climb to within a point of their hosts at 22-21. The Mustangs would tie the set a few points later, forcing the first into bonus points.
But the home side was not to be denied after leading for much of the first, as Jori Mantha tooled the block on the right side to bring up a set point before a Mustang attack sailed long for 27-25.
The Mustangs, evidently stung by their narrow denial in the first, came out strongly to begin the second set, taking an 8-4 lead before the Marauders called time. Western continued to hold a slim lead at the technical, but McMaster was inching forward, and would tie the set at 19 when Demyanenko's attack from the middle went unreturned.
The Marauders continued to chip away, and took a late lead at 23-22 when the Mustangs went fishing for contact and came up empty. Alex Elliot notched a solo block on the left to bring up set point, and would polish off the second with a quick kill in the middle for 25-23.
McMaster kept hold of the momentum as the third set began, and when Mantha unloaded for a clean kill up the middle, it was 14-9 in the hosts' favour. Western stayed within striking distance, but could never fully erase the deficit, and the match came to an embarrassing end when the Mustangs allowed an overpass to find the floor for 25-20.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Windsor @ York
The York University Lions men's volleyball team cruised to a straight-sets victory over the Windsor Lancers on Friday night (Jan. 25) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions never trailed in any of the three sets as they cruised to the sweep, and were led by a balanced attack that saw four players reach double digits in points.
Third-year outside hitter Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) led the Lions's attack with 12.5 points on nine kills, 2.5 blocks and one service ace. Fifth-year middle Felipe Humana-Paredes (Toronto), Gregory Ivan (Toronto) and Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) all added 11 points of their own. Humana-Paredes recorded nine kills, one block and one service ace, Ivan had eight kills and three blocks and Dakic tallied 10 kills and one service ace.
Third-year setter Paul Jakubiak (Mississauga, Ont.) continued his solid play running the offence with a match-high 32 assists.
The Lions came out of the gate with some intensity and went up quickly by a score of 4-0. A Lancers timeout did nothing to stop York's relentless attack and the Lions extended their lead to 14-5 off of some nice kills by Szeto.
The Lions continued to play fundamentally sound both offensively and defensively and they took the first set with relative ease by a score of 25-15.
In the second set the Lions continued to play well, setting the ball effectively and finishing plays with hard kills. They found themselves up 7-3 after 10 points and the score didn't get much closer from then on. The Lions went up by as many as eight points and never let the Lancers get closer than three, as they took the second set easily by a score of 25-17.
The third set continued the theme of the Lions jumping out to early leads, as they were up 4-1 after five points. However, this time the Lancers would respond and tie the game up at six. That was as close as the Lancers would come to a lead, however, as the Lions countered with an 11-4 run to go up 17-10 in the set. It didn't get much better for the Lancers the rest of the way, and the Lions won the set 25-14 to close out the sweep.
The Lancers were led by Greg Simone (London, Ont.), who had a team-high 9.5 points on nine kills and an assisted block.
The Lions will be back in action on Saturday night (Jan. 26) as they play host to the Western Mustangs at the Tait McKenzie Centre. The game is scheduled for 8pm.
Source: York Sports Info
January 26 - Waterloo @ Toronto
The Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-22) to the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, January 26 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.
Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, P.E.I), Jonathan Adomait (Dundas, Ont.) and Jake Dysselhof (Mississauga, Ont.) each led the Blues with eight kills, with Adomait adding a team-high nine digs. Team captain Michael Denton notched 33 assists in the loss.
Warriors right side hitter Zachary Doherty (Goderich, Ont.) led all players with 11 kills with Aleks Podma (Toronto) adding 10 in the victory.
The Blues battled hard with the No. 10 Warriors through all three sets. Trailing 13-16 at the first technical time out, Toronto went on a 7-0 run to take a 20-16 lead. The Warriors then showed their dominance, ending the set on a 9-2 run to take it 25-22.
U of T came out strong in the second set and held a 16-10 advantage at the technical time out. The Warriors battled back to even the score at 24-24 before taking it 26-24 for the 2-0 lead.
Waterloo carried that momentum over into the third, building a 19-14 lead. The Blues came back to bring it within two (22-24) but were unable to complete the comeback in the 22-25 loss.
The Varsity Blues (4-9) take on the Guelph Gryphons (3-10) tomorrow afternoon at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Guelph @ Ryerson
TORONTO - The visiting Guelph Gryphons spoiled the Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team's return to Kerr Hall Gymnasium, sweeping the Rams 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon.
Guelph's key to victory was their service game, racking up 14 aces on the day. The Gryphons tallied six aces in the first set alone, establishing themselves and allowing them to stay aggressive from the service stripe.
Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont.) reeled off four consecutive aces to give the Gryphons an 8-3 edge early in the first set and though the point differential wasn't too large to overcome, the service game seemed to get to the Rams mentally.
"We were there physically with the training and tactics we've prepared but mentally it seems like we've been collapsing the last few games. When we get on a bad run of points during sets we need the guys in leadership positions to step up...because it's a snow-ball effect and things can just get worse if that doesn't happen", said assistant coach Roger Marszalek following the game.
The Gryphons began to cool from the service line and committed six errors to help the Rams climb back into the first set. Aleksa Miladinovic (Belgrade, Serbia) used a reverse setter dump to knot the score at 19-19 but Guelph's attacking game used four kills to give the Gryphons a 25-23 set victory.
Ryerson looked to be on their way to a bounce back set, jumping out to a 9-4 advantage in the second but a 6-0 run by the Gryphons turned their deficit into a four point lead at 14-10.
Again the Rams were able to battle back in the set and were down just one at 24-23 but an ill-timed service error gave Guelph a 25-23 win to lead the match 2-0.
The Rams appeared deflated in the third set and the Gryphons came out hungry looking for the sweep.
"We knew they would be out to beat us because we embarrassed them in Guelph a couple months ago with a 3-0 win and that didn't leave a good impression on them. They went aggressive with their serve and took chances and it paid off", commented Marszalek.
Guelph led 16-13 at the third set technical timeout and increased the lead to as many as seven at 23-16 and the Rams were unable to mount a third set comeback as the Gryphons emerged with a 25-19 win to complete the sweep.
Ryerson's Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.) had a game-high 13 kills while Marc Reardon (London, Ont.) hit 100 percent, tallying five kills on five attacks.
Rosser led the Gryphons with 11 kills and five service aces while Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont.) added seven kills and four service aces.
The loss drops the Rams to 5-8 on the year while Guelph improves to 4-10.
The Rams will need to push the loss aside quickly as they return to Kerr Hall on Sunday afternoon for a match against the No. 10 nationally ranked Waterloo Warriors which begins at 2:00 p.m.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Windsor @ McMaster
Jori Mantha turned in a master class in honour of his veteran teammates on Saturday.
The third-year outside hitter notched 24.5 points – and converted 22 of 35 hitting attempts – to lead the Marauders to a 3-1 victory over the Windsor Lancers and continue McMaster's perfect conference run of 15 consecutive victories in the OUA.
Set scores were 23-25, 25-14, 25-22 and 25-17 for the Marauders, who overcame an early setback to beat the Lancers at the Burridge Gym.
Marauder middle Tyson Alexander chipped in 14 points and eight kills on 10 attempts, and added four solo blocks while Kyle Williamson led all scorers with 19 points and 13 kills for the Lancers.
McMaster fielded an unusual lineup on Saturday, giving substantial playing time to the team's graduating veterans on the night dedicated to them. Ian Cooper assumed the role of setter, while middles Alexander and Michael Sjonneson each featured in all four sets.
That unfamiliarity likely contributed to the Marauders' flat start to the match, as the hosts fell behind the Lancers early in the opening set. McMaster struggled to string its passes together in the first, but hung with Windsor to enter the technical timeout only two points off the pace at 16-14.
It was a set full of errors and miscues for the Marauders, and the Lancers deservingly took it when Kevin Stevens' serve found the tape on set point for 25-23.
McMaster Coach Dave Preston kept the faith with his personnel heading into the second, and the players rewarded him with an invigorated effort.
Mantha had begun to show off his attacking skills as he operated on the right side, and when fellow outside Stevens smartly tipped past the block and found the floor, the Marauders took a seven-point lead into the second set technical at 16-9.
The hosts' game steadied in all facets, and with the Marauders finding their range at both the net and the service line, it came as no surprise when they ran away with the set. The rampant Mantha provided the kill on set point, drilling a high ball off Windsor's double block and wide for 25-14.
The Lancers bounced back strongly from their second set thrashing, and led 14-12 after meeting Stevens with a double block. That narrow lead held into the technical timeout, after Windsor dug out well for a kill from the right.
The teams remained inseparable as the third set drew to a close, but it was McMaster that would find the decisive shot. Mantha polished off an extended rally from the right for 25-22 and a 2-1 lead overall.
Windsor kept things close to begin the fourth, but the home side found separation with Stephen Maar at the service line. The rookie outside notched consecutive aces to give the Marauders a 10-9 lead, and the hosts would not look back from there.
Maar featured yet again on the final point of the match, making the most of a tough position in the pipe and rolling an attack that found the back line for 25-17.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Western @ York
The York University Lions men's volleyball team earned a hard-fought victory over the Western Mustangs on Saturday night (Jan. 26), defeating them by a final score of 3-1 at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The victory was a huge won over the perennially strong Mustangs, who were 10-3 coming into the match and had defeated the Lions in straight sets in their previous match-up earlier this season.
Third-year outside hitter Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) continued his phenomenal play to lead the Lions to victory, scoring a game-high 25.5 points on 22 kills and 3.5 blocks and adding 11 digs. The Lions are now one game above .500 at 8-7 and comfortably hold down fifth place, six points ahead of sixth-place Ryerson.
The Mustangs came out strong in the first set, taking a 7-3 lead on the strength of some perfectly placed kills. However, the Lions would stand tough and answer back with four straight points to even the game at seven. Szeto then started to heat up as he made some impressive plays to give York a 14-11 lead and forcing the Mustangs to use a timeout.
The break did nothing to slow Szeto down, however, as he continued his stellar play and guided the Lions to a 25-19 opening set win.
The second set started with Western taking the opening point en route to an early 6-3 lead. However, the Lions would answer once again with a run of their own to tie the game up at 10 apiece. The set remained tight from then on as neither team was able to take a commanding lead. With the Mustangs leading 22-20, the Lions went on an impressive 5-1 run to take the set by a score of 25-23 and hold a commanding 2-0 lead heading into the third.
The third was a tightly contested battle to start as it was all tied up at five in the early going. However, the Mustangs' desperation to force a fourth set paid off as they jumped ahead 13-8. The Lions responded to ultimately tie it at 17-17, but from there the Mustangs went on an 8-3 run to take the third 25-20.
Like the third set, the fourth was a title battle throughout, with neither team going up by more than two points and a total of 17 lead changes from start to finish. The Mustangs appeared ready to force a fifth set with a 20-18 advantage late, but the Lions went on a 7-3 run from there to win the set 25-23 and take the match.
In addition to Szeto's tremendous play, the Lions received key contributions from Daniel Dearing (Toronto), who had 15.5 points on 13 kills and 2.5 blocks and added 11 digs, and Felipe Humana-Paredes (Toronto) who added 10 points on four kills, five blocks and one service ace.
Setter Paul Jakubiak (Mississauga, Ont.) was tremendous running the office, recording 43 assists and also adding three digs.
The Mustangs were led by standout outside hitter Garrett May (Toronto) who led his team with 22 points on 21 kills and one block.
The Lions will be on the road for their next two games starting with a match against the Queen's Gaels on Saturday, Feb. 2. Their next home game will be their last of the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 10 against the McMaster Marauders. The game is scheduled for 2pm.
Source: York Sports Info
Guelph @ Toronto
The Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team picked up their fifth win on the season with a 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-10) victory over the Guelph Gryphons on Sunday, January 27 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.
Fifth-year right Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, Ont.) delivered for Toronto with a game-high 22 kills. The Gryphons received 16 kills from Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont.) as well as 14 from Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont.).
After alternating the first ten points to start the deciding set, the Blues built a three-point lead to go up 8-5. Toronto maintained that margin the rest of the way, building a five-point gap off a quick kill by Trevor Grant (Port Perry, Ont.). The second-year middle followed that up with a block on the next point and the Blues eventually took the set 15-10.
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm early in the match, with Toronto jumping out to a 6-2 lead. After each side started connecting with their kills, the Blues built their advantage up to 18-10. Guelph responded with an 8-3 run to close the score to 21-18, however Toronto ripped of four of the next seven points to take the first set 25-21.
The second set saw the score tied three times in the early going before five striaght points by the Gryphons put them up 16-12. Guelph would add to that puling ahead 21-16, before closing out the set 25-18.
In the third, the close play continued with the team evenly exchanging the first ten points. The Blues would go on a five-point rally before the Gryphons responded with 7-2 run of their own to pull even at 12-12. Neither team would build a sustainble gap until the Blues went up 23-20 late in the set, and held on for a 25-23 win.
Guelph got off to a quick start in the fourth set, building leads of 6-1 and 10-4 with five straight points off Warnholtz's serve. The Blues battled back cutting the lead to three before Guelph would rally again widening the gap to 23-18. Toronto once again made it close, pulling to within one, before the Gryphons finished the set off 25-22.
The Varsity Blues (5-9) travel to Windsor to take on the Lancers (3-11) on Friday, February 1 in an 8 p.m. tilt.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Waterloo @ Ryerson
TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team lost their fifth straight game on Sunday afternoon, dropping 3-0 (19-25, 23-25, 16-25) to the No. 10 nationally ranked Waterloo Warriors.
Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo, Ont.) had a game-high 13 kills and hit 55 percent to lead the Warriors to victory.
The two teams were locked in a tight first set, exchanging points until the score read 13-13. Three straight points from the Warriors, including a kill and service ace from Tyler Motherwell (Toronto), gave the visitors a 16-13 edge at the technical timeout.
The Rams were able to close the gap when Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.) went over top of a triple block to find the floor and cut the deficit to just one, trailing 18-17, but Waterloo responded with another three point run to lead by four at 21-17 and Ryerson could not recover. The Warriors took the first set 25-19 to lead 1-0.
Early in the second Waterloo opened up a four point cushion at 8-4 and the spread widened to five at 15-10 which forced the Rams into a timeout. Ryerson came out to take the next three points but still trailed 16-13 at the technical timeout.
The three point gap remained as Waterloo held a 22-19 lead but back to back kills from Alex Dawson (Scarborough, Ont.) brought Ryerson within one at 22-21. The Warriors remained composed and Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines, Ont.) finished the set with a kill to give Waterloo a 25-23 win and a 2-0 overall lead.
Ryerson looked ready to bounce back in the third and extend the match, opening the set with a 4-1 lead but a pair of service errors and a pair of attacking errors let the Warriors climb back into the set and ultimately give the visitors an 8-7 lead. Waterloo extended their lead with a 4-0 run to open up an 18-11 advantage and the Warriors cruised the rest of the way, securing a 25-16 victory to complete the three set sweep.
Zachary Doherty (Goderich, Ont.) added eight kills in the victory while Motherwell finished with four kills and a game-high five solo blocks for Waterloo.
Robert Wojcik finished with a team-high 12 kills for the Rams while Alex Dawson added ten. Luka Milosevic (Toronto) had a strong game, notching seven kills and a team-high four solo blocks.
Setter Aleksa Miladinovic (Belgrade, Serbia) played well, distributing the ball evenly and assisting on 35 of Ryerson's 37 kills.
"Aleksa was consistent today. The guys were passing much better today than they were yesterday and that made it easier for the setter to distribute and play his game. Aleksa is one of the top setters in the league and he's really improved his location of the ball and finding the right guys at the right time and he did that really well today", commented assistant coach Roger Marszalek after the game.
The loss drops Ryerson's record to 5-9 and they now sit tied with Toronto for sixth place in the OUA standings. Waterloo improves to 13-2 on the year and are comfortably in second place.
Today's contest was the last for coach Marszalek with the Ryerson Rams and he talked about the parody of today's contest being held at Kerr Hall Gymnasium, a place where he played five seasons in Ryerson blue.
"It's interesting how it worked out that we played here in Kerr Hall this weekend which is where it all started for me and now it's ending in the same place. This has been a huge part of my life, being a Ryerson Ram as a player and a coach. I'm going to continue to follow and support the program but it was unfortunate we couldn't get a win today to end on a good note but I'm confident the guys will work together and make it to the playoffs where anything can happen."
The Rams return to action next weekend when they travel to London to take on the Western Mustangs on Friday, February 1 at 8:00 p.m.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
