November 26, 2012
M-VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: McMaster sits in top spot at the mid-season break
November 23 - Ryerson @ Waterloo
The Waterloo men's volleyball team found their seventh win of the season thanks to a straight set victory (25-19, 28-26, 26-24) over the visiting Ryerson Rams on Friday night at the PAC.
The Warriors bounced back after their first loss of the season last weekend with a hard fought win over the Rams to improve to 7-1 on the season. The Rams dropped down to .500 with a 4-4 record.
Leading the charge was outside hitter Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo) who tallied a game high 15 points on his 11 kills and seven blocks (1 solo, 6 assisted). He also added six digs in the match.
Middle blocker Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) had a strong game for the black and gold with 10 kills and three blocks while Zachary Doherty (Goderich) continued his stellar sophomore season with nine kills and three blocks. Setter Scott Thomson (St. Marys) had 30 assists in the match to round out the Warrior attack.
For the Rams fifth year Luka Milosevic (Belgrade) led his team in kills with 11 while Robert Wojcik (Whitby) posted nine.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
RMC @ Queen's
The Queen's Gaels eased to a 3-0 (25-9, 26-24, 25-20) sweep of the RMC Paladins in OUA men's volleyball action at the ARC Main Gym, Friday.
The Gaels' most dominant set was the first, as they eased to a 25-9 win, riding strong play from Brett Walter (Sudbury, Ont.) who recorded three of his match-high five service aces in the first set. Middle Blocker Scott Brunet (Calgary, Alta.) had back-to-back kills to give the Gaels a commanding 12-5 lead. A powerful kill into open floor by Stephen Holmes (Ancaster, Ont.) followed by a timely block gave the Gaels an 18-5 lead. The Paladins committed four straight errors to close the set out for the Gaels.
In the second set it was RMC opening the scoring 4-2, capitalizing on Queen's attacking errors. The Gaels were led by their front line, with Holmes notching two aces, and Darren Edwards (Waterdown, Ont.) one. Miscommunication and a series of service errors, followed by a big block upfront by the Paladins gave them the lead late, 24-23. Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) had an impressive block to draw things even, followed by an ace to give the Gaels the lead. A Markus Trence (Orangeville, Ont.) kill closed out the set, 26-24 for the Tricolour.
Queen's got things started in the third with an Edwards block, followed by an ace. Trence had a field day in the third; first knocking a kill off RMC middle blocker Jeffery Filmore's head; then recording two additional kills to give the Gaels a commanding six-point lead at 12-6. Two well-placed balls by Walter into open court followed by a service ace put Queen's up 21-15. The Gaels closed out the match with kills from Brunet, Edwards and Trence.
Stephen Holmes was the Gaels' leader offensively, recording seven kills. Matthew Bonshor (White Rock, B.C.) lead the game in assists with 29, as he was pivotal in setting up much of the Gaels offense.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Toronto @ Guelph
The Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team defeated the visiting Toronto Varsity Blues in nail-biting OUA action as they topped the Blues 3-2. Set scores were 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 15-12. The win puts the Gryphons at a 2-6 record while also dropping the Blues to 2-6.
Leading the Gryphon attack were Andrew Whitaker (Sharon, Ont) and Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont) who tallied 14 kills apiece. Kevin Carey (Grande Prairie, Alta) was also instrumental to the cumulative Gryphon attack by rallying 41 assists on the night to top the Gryphon support.
The Varsity Blues’ charge was headed by Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, P.E.I) who raked in the game-high 20 kills on the night. In an effort to keep the Gryphons at bay, Michael Denton (Scarborough, Ont) established his presence in the backcourt to rally 48 assists on the night.
The first set got off to a promising start for the Gryphons following a Varsity Blues serving fault. Yet despite the early Toronto mishap, the first set became a close, drawn out affair with neither team able to establish a controlling lead. Yet a crucial kill from Whitaker reignited the Gryphons’ momentum to rally a comeback to tie the game up at 17 after falling behind 16-11. With three consecutive kills from Ryan Killeen (Oakville, Ont) the Gryphons were able to pull ahead 23-22 where Carey was able to nail the service ace to take the first set at 25-23.
Drew Whitaker opened the second set with an explosive spike to set the Gryphon tempo. Followed by several early Toronto mishaps, the Gryphons found themselves in a commanding 7-4 lead. With the help of Phil Wessel (Cambridge, Ont) and Marc Wilson’s (Stratford, Ont) dominance at the net, the Gryphons were able to maintain a consistent lead on the Blues to round out the second at 25-23.
For the first time of the night, the Varsity Blues were able to establish an early presence as they mounted the board with a quick 2-0 lead in the third. This lead became destined to switch hands throughout the remainder of the set, but Mitchell Woodside was able to reign in the lead in the later stages of the set to run away with a 25-22 win to keep Toronto’s game alive.
Once again, the Varsity Blues took control with an early 5-0 lead to quell the Gryphon momentum in the fourth. Despite strong offensive efforts by Phillip Wessel and rookie Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont) the Blues were able to extend their lead to eight going into the technical timeout. Following the timeout, the Gryphons were able to gather in their defensive front to piece together a six-point streak to close the gap to five. And, with a service ace from Warnholtz, the game was set at 20-16 but Toronto was able to hold off the Gryphon comeback to send the game to five with a 25-18 win in the fourth.
Drawing from their previous success in the first and second sets, the Gryphons came out strong in the fifth by establishing their presence with an early 2-0 lead. With this lead, the Gryphons were able to stay just out of Toronto’s reach as the teams battled for sporadic control of the tempo to end the night. But with Wilson’s domineering prowess at the net, he was able to rake in three consecutive kills to close an evenly-matched night with a 15-12 win in the fifth set.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
November 24 - York @ Western
The Western Mustangs men’s volleyball team showed they could overcome adversity today after losing their libero to injury and still coming out on top. Western topped York this afternoon at Alumni Hall in three straight sets, putting the Lions back in their cage and bringing the Mustangs’ OUA season record to 6-1.
Set scores were 30-28, 25-13, 25-11.
“The first set was a little bit stressful with the injury and stuff (libero Andre Begin was out for the match)," said head coach Jim Sage. “Craig Dixon came in and did a great job, small in stature but big in heart. I was really pleased with his performance. It happened so fast and he’s got to be ready to play; he came on and did well. That first set could have gone either way, and we’ve done a lot of these sets that go into extra ‘innings’ to come out on top. We have to be careful that doesn’t happen tomorrow (against McMaster) because it is a much bigger match.”
Leading the Mustangs was OUA All-Star Garrett May with 11 kills on 25 attempts with a game high of 15.5 points, followed closely by teammate Justin Scapinello with ten kills on 21 attempts and 12 points in only three sets.
As soon as the Mustangs stepped on the court they showed the Lions that they were no longer in their home den, scoring the first four points, putting York on edge and into an early game time out. More than doubling York’s score, Western brought on the power when the Lions crawled up trailing by only one point, eventually to tie the set. White and purple made a comeback with Scapinello blocking red and white attempts, and Derek Kuiack bringing some big kills. The set turned point for point, with the Mustangs reaching set point numerous times, before Luke Sim took charge earning Western the win 30-28.
With the first set under their belt, the Mustangs entered the second set with confidence while Sim took no prisoners blocking anything in his way edging the Lions with persistence. Leading by seven at technical time out, Western reassured York that they knew whose court they were on. The Lions were struggling to keep up while the Mustangs surged past the York squad 25-13 leaving only a trail of purple dust behind them.
Up 2-0, the Mustangs lost the first two points to the Lions, but only before Kuiack caught York with his tips to bring Western to lead the set by four points. Keeping their edge, the Mustangs more than doubled the Lions count. White and purple led 16-8 at technical time out, and kept a steady eight point lead over red and white. Quickly reaching set point the Mustangs overpowered the Lions by a strong 25-11.
Leading the York Lions was Karim Khalil with 12 kills on 28 attempts, earning 15.5 points in three sets, tying with Mustang May for game high points.
Western captain Sean McKay said, “It was good compared to last weekend where we started a little slow, it’s good to come out for the first game of the weekend and play hard, but tomorrow is what we’re focusing on.”
Source: Western Sports Info
McMaster @ Windsor
The Windsor Lancers men's volleyball team were defeated 3-1 by the CIS No. 3 ranked McMaster Marauders at the St. Denis Centre on Saturday afternoon.
Less than 24 hours after spending the night in Toronto watching the Vanier Cup, the Marauders had to play against the Lancers on the road. Set scores were 19-25, 25-9, 25-20, and 25-21 in favour of McMaster as they remain undefeated.
Stephen Maar led all players with 15 kills and 19 points for the undefeated Marauders (8-0), while Lancer Kyle Williamson picked up 12 kills and a team-high 15 points in response for the Lancers (2-5).
Adam Thompson also contributed nine kills and two blocks, while Andrew Chelladurai had 35 set assists for the Lancers, who managed a .128 hit percentage.
The Marauders worked at a .320 efficiency, and totalled 43 digs compared to 29 from Windsor. Other McMaster players to hit double digits included Jayson McCarthy with 10 kills and 3 blocks, Kevin Stevens with 11 kills and a block and middle Dany Demyanenko with 6 kills, 4 blocks and an ace.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Toronto @ Waterloo
The No. 9 nationally ranked men's volleyball team closed out a tremendous first half to their season with a straight set victory (25-17, 25-9, 25-22) over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night at the PAC. The Warriors head into the Christmas break with an 8-1 record, good for second spot in the OUA. Meanwhile, the Blues fell to 2-7 on the season and sit in seventh place.
The Warriors controlled the opening set from start to finish, jumping out to an 11-7 lead and extending that to a seven point advantage late in the set. Hussein Abdo (Ottawa) was distributing the ball well throughout the set as Waterloo cruised to the 25-17 win.
The second was much of the same as the black and gold continued to dominate on both sides of the net with even distribution on the attack. Waterloo jumped out to a 10 point lead and captured the second set 25-9.
A new Blues team emerged in the third set and seemed determined to extend this match to a fourth set after taking a 19-15 lead. A timeout by coach Chris Lawson calmed the home side down and the Warriors stepped back out and took 10 of the next 13 points to complete the sweep.
Three different Warriors led the way with seven kills apiece. Outside hitters Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo) and Aleks Poldma (Toronto) and middle Tyler Motherwell (Toronto) were the catalysts for the Warrior attack. Abdo collected 16 assists while Erich Woolley (New Dundee) and Poldma were digging everything with 10 and seven digs respectively. Woolley continues to lead the OUA in digs with 108, 32 more than any other player in the province.
For the Blues, Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River) had a team high six kills while setter Michael Denton (Scarborough) had 22 assists in the loss.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Ryerson @ Guelph
The Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team lost in three sets to the visiting Ryerson Rams tonight (Nov 24) at the W.F. Mitchell Centre. Set scores were 25-16, 25-23 and 25-22. The loss drops the Gryphons to 2-7 and boosts the Rams to 5-4.
Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont) of the Gryphons led all scorers on the night to round out their weekend doubleheader at home with 18 kills to contribute to his 20.5 points on the night. He was followed by Marc Wilson (Stratford, Ont) who had four kills and three blocks for 5.5 points.
Stefan Ristic (Belgrade, Serbia) and Marc Reardon (London, Ont) each contributed 13.5 points to the Ryerson sweep with ten and eight kills, respectively.
The Gryphons got off to a shaky start with consecutive mishaps that unfortunately set the tempo for the remainder of the set as the Rams pulled ahead with an early lead they would maintain throughout. Despite falling 16-10, the Gryphon attack remained strong as Tim Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont) shut down the Ryerson lead to set Rosser up to bring the set to within three. But combined with a strong defensive effort by Phillip Wessel (Cambridge, Ont) at the net, Ristic and Reardon kept the
Gryphons defensive core scrambling as they pulled ahead to secure a 25-16 win in the first.
Building off their earlier mistakes from the first, the Gryphons wasted no time in pulling ahead 6-3 to establish their presence in the second. But the Gryphon control was short lived as Reardon was able to string together a strong set of serves including a service ace to regain the Rams’ momentum. Yet Phillip Wessel remained unfazed in his defensive attempts to pull in his first of two successful blocks to tie the game at 12 and send the Gryphons ahead 16-14 into the technical time out. However, Ryerson was able to use the timeout to their advantage to surge forward in the final moments to narrowly take the second 25-23.
To open the third, Ryan Killeen (Oakville, Ont) capped off his third consecutive serve with an ace to establish a 4-3 lead in an effort to keep the Gryphons’ night alive. Ryerson was quick to respond to jump ahead 11-10 to spark another nail-biting matchup in the third. But, following the technical timeout, Ryerson established yet another dominating streak to pull ahead 22-16 to hold onto the third despite a strong Gryphon comeback to sweep the Gryphons with a 25-22 win in the third.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
November 25 - York @ Windsor
York University Lions outside hitter Ray Szeto recorded a game-high 21 points on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 25) to lead the men's volleyball team to a straight sets win over the Windsor Lancers at the St. Denis Centre.
Although the Lions won all three sets, the victory didn't come easy as they won by a combined eight points. Windsor held a lead in all three sets, but couldn't manage to get the job done as they faltered in the latter stages.
The first set saw the Lions squeak by after a kill by outside-hitter Nikola Sandic (Etobicoke, Ont.) gave them the narrow 25-23 win. After the Lions took the second set 25-21, the Lancers were determined to battle it out as they held a 15-12 lead in the third set. Unfortunately for Windsor, the Lions proved to be too strong as they would claw back and record a slim 25-23 win.
The victory moved the Lions one game back of .500 with an overall record of 4-5. The Lancers dropped to 6-5 as a result of the loss.
Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) earned is 21 points off of 18 kills, two blocks, and one service ace. Sandic had a good game as well with 14 points to go along with six digs.
Windsor had two players share the lead in scoring, with both Kyle Williamson (Essex, Ont.) and Timothee Jaumel (Montpellier, France) posting 11 points. Setter Blaise Wasser (Burlington, Ont.) led all players in the game with 14 digs.
Source: York Sports Info
McMaster @ Western
The Western Mustangs men’s volleyball team stepped onto the court after a straight set win yesterday to face the nationally ranked, first-ranked OUA team McMaster Marauders in front of a full house. The match disappointed no one looking for excitement as the two top teams fought for a win. After four sets of action, the Mustangs fell 1-3 and keep the McMaster Marauders undefeated.
Set scores were 23-25, 26-24, 20-25, 19-25.
Western head coach Jim Sage said he feels “good and bad” about today’s game. “The good thing is, that there is not that far a difference between the two teams, which is exciting because that means we have a legitimate shot at an Ontario title. But we need to play better, we need to work harder, and we need to understand how consistent they (McMaster) are; hopefully the guys got the message out.”
Leading the Mustangs was Garrett May with 16 kills on 44 attempts, and a team high of 18 points, while setter Sean McKay had 31 assists and ten digs.
With the blow of a whistle, the Mustangs took off to score the first two points of the opening set. McMaster managed to edge Western by a few points, only for the Mustangs to trail on the Marauders and tie the set. The game went point for point, and Western eventually pushed past maroon jerseys with a three-point lead. McKay ran across borders in every effort to keep Western’s advantage. Ahead by two at a technical time out, white and purple kept the edge on the Marauders, but McMaster leveled Western and forced the Mustangs into a subsequent time out. Going point for point for the remaining score, McMaster topped Western 25-23.
Both teams fought hard to gain a lead in the second. Luke Sim sent a service that McMaster could not respond to, while Phil James smashed the ball into the Marauders’ lane. Western started to fall behind the nationally-ranked McMaster squad; the visiting team's middle Danny Demyanenko Jimenez sent attacks the Mustangs fell to, making it difficult for the men to get back on their horse.
The game's momentum was not lost, however, as white and purple continued to fight and broke maroon’s seven-point lead. World beach volleyball champion May channeled kills that Western’s guests could not handle. The score evened out, awakening Western's opponents into a time out. James stole two points for the Mustangs and won the race to set point, where Western capitalized to finish the set 26-24.
Tied 1-1 with undefeated McMaster after two competitive sets, the third round started no different in rallies point for point. Jack Creaghan and Dominic Kucharski showed power blocking, helping the Mustangs double the Marauders’ score, surging to a seven point lead over McMaster. Keeping a strong lead, Mustang left side Derek Kuiack blocked anything the Marauders sent over. McMaster would not settle and brought the game to its favour at technical time out. The Mustangs fell just behind and could not catch the Marauders, who took the third set 25-20.
Following suit, the fourth set started point for point as the Marauders gained a sight edge on the Mustangs. McMaster maintaining its lead, and Western fought hard to stay close behind. Maroon had a six-point advance on the Mustangs at technical time out, but that gap didn’t last for long with James and Sim planting the ball in McMaster’s court.
The Mustangs lost several key points, but not team momentum as Western fell short to the Marauders 19-25 for the third time, losing the match.
Leading the Marauders was Danny Demyanenko Jimenez with 17 kills on 26 attempts, and a game high of 20 points.
Source: Western Sports Info
The Waterloo men's volleyball team found their seventh win of the season thanks to a straight set victory (25-19, 28-26, 26-24) over the visiting Ryerson Rams on Friday night at the PAC.
The Warriors bounced back after their first loss of the season last weekend with a hard fought win over the Rams to improve to 7-1 on the season. The Rams dropped down to .500 with a 4-4 record.
Leading the charge was outside hitter Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo) who tallied a game high 15 points on his 11 kills and seven blocks (1 solo, 6 assisted). He also added six digs in the match.
Middle blocker Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) had a strong game for the black and gold with 10 kills and three blocks while Zachary Doherty (Goderich) continued his stellar sophomore season with nine kills and three blocks. Setter Scott Thomson (St. Marys) had 30 assists in the match to round out the Warrior attack.
For the Rams fifth year Luka Milosevic (Belgrade) led his team in kills with 11 while Robert Wojcik (Whitby) posted nine.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
RMC @ Queen's
The Queen's Gaels eased to a 3-0 (25-9, 26-24, 25-20) sweep of the RMC Paladins in OUA men's volleyball action at the ARC Main Gym, Friday.
The Gaels' most dominant set was the first, as they eased to a 25-9 win, riding strong play from Brett Walter (Sudbury, Ont.) who recorded three of his match-high five service aces in the first set. Middle Blocker Scott Brunet (Calgary, Alta.) had back-to-back kills to give the Gaels a commanding 12-5 lead. A powerful kill into open floor by Stephen Holmes (Ancaster, Ont.) followed by a timely block gave the Gaels an 18-5 lead. The Paladins committed four straight errors to close the set out for the Gaels.
In the second set it was RMC opening the scoring 4-2, capitalizing on Queen's attacking errors. The Gaels were led by their front line, with Holmes notching two aces, and Darren Edwards (Waterdown, Ont.) one. Miscommunication and a series of service errors, followed by a big block upfront by the Paladins gave them the lead late, 24-23. Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) had an impressive block to draw things even, followed by an ace to give the Gaels the lead. A Markus Trence (Orangeville, Ont.) kill closed out the set, 26-24 for the Tricolour.
Queen's got things started in the third with an Edwards block, followed by an ace. Trence had a field day in the third; first knocking a kill off RMC middle blocker Jeffery Filmore's head; then recording two additional kills to give the Gaels a commanding six-point lead at 12-6. Two well-placed balls by Walter into open court followed by a service ace put Queen's up 21-15. The Gaels closed out the match with kills from Brunet, Edwards and Trence.
Stephen Holmes was the Gaels' leader offensively, recording seven kills. Matthew Bonshor (White Rock, B.C.) lead the game in assists with 29, as he was pivotal in setting up much of the Gaels offense.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Toronto @ Guelph
The Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team defeated the visiting Toronto Varsity Blues in nail-biting OUA action as they topped the Blues 3-2. Set scores were 25-23, 25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 15-12. The win puts the Gryphons at a 2-6 record while also dropping the Blues to 2-6.
Leading the Gryphon attack were Andrew Whitaker (Sharon, Ont) and Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont) who tallied 14 kills apiece. Kevin Carey (Grande Prairie, Alta) was also instrumental to the cumulative Gryphon attack by rallying 41 assists on the night to top the Gryphon support.
The Varsity Blues’ charge was headed by Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, P.E.I) who raked in the game-high 20 kills on the night. In an effort to keep the Gryphons at bay, Michael Denton (Scarborough, Ont) established his presence in the backcourt to rally 48 assists on the night.
The first set got off to a promising start for the Gryphons following a Varsity Blues serving fault. Yet despite the early Toronto mishap, the first set became a close, drawn out affair with neither team able to establish a controlling lead. Yet a crucial kill from Whitaker reignited the Gryphons’ momentum to rally a comeback to tie the game up at 17 after falling behind 16-11. With three consecutive kills from Ryan Killeen (Oakville, Ont) the Gryphons were able to pull ahead 23-22 where Carey was able to nail the service ace to take the first set at 25-23.
Drew Whitaker opened the second set with an explosive spike to set the Gryphon tempo. Followed by several early Toronto mishaps, the Gryphons found themselves in a commanding 7-4 lead. With the help of Phil Wessel (Cambridge, Ont) and Marc Wilson’s (Stratford, Ont) dominance at the net, the Gryphons were able to maintain a consistent lead on the Blues to round out the second at 25-23.
For the first time of the night, the Varsity Blues were able to establish an early presence as they mounted the board with a quick 2-0 lead in the third. This lead became destined to switch hands throughout the remainder of the set, but Mitchell Woodside was able to reign in the lead in the later stages of the set to run away with a 25-22 win to keep Toronto’s game alive.
Once again, the Varsity Blues took control with an early 5-0 lead to quell the Gryphon momentum in the fourth. Despite strong offensive efforts by Phillip Wessel and rookie Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont) the Blues were able to extend their lead to eight going into the technical timeout. Following the timeout, the Gryphons were able to gather in their defensive front to piece together a six-point streak to close the gap to five. And, with a service ace from Warnholtz, the game was set at 20-16 but Toronto was able to hold off the Gryphon comeback to send the game to five with a 25-18 win in the fourth.
Drawing from their previous success in the first and second sets, the Gryphons came out strong in the fifth by establishing their presence with an early 2-0 lead. With this lead, the Gryphons were able to stay just out of Toronto’s reach as the teams battled for sporadic control of the tempo to end the night. But with Wilson’s domineering prowess at the net, he was able to rake in three consecutive kills to close an evenly-matched night with a 15-12 win in the fifth set.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
November 24 - York @ Western
The Western Mustangs men’s volleyball team showed they could overcome adversity today after losing their libero to injury and still coming out on top. Western topped York this afternoon at Alumni Hall in three straight sets, putting the Lions back in their cage and bringing the Mustangs’ OUA season record to 6-1.
Set scores were 30-28, 25-13, 25-11.
“The first set was a little bit stressful with the injury and stuff (libero Andre Begin was out for the match)," said head coach Jim Sage. “Craig Dixon came in and did a great job, small in stature but big in heart. I was really pleased with his performance. It happened so fast and he’s got to be ready to play; he came on and did well. That first set could have gone either way, and we’ve done a lot of these sets that go into extra ‘innings’ to come out on top. We have to be careful that doesn’t happen tomorrow (against McMaster) because it is a much bigger match.”
Leading the Mustangs was OUA All-Star Garrett May with 11 kills on 25 attempts with a game high of 15.5 points, followed closely by teammate Justin Scapinello with ten kills on 21 attempts and 12 points in only three sets.
As soon as the Mustangs stepped on the court they showed the Lions that they were no longer in their home den, scoring the first four points, putting York on edge and into an early game time out. More than doubling York’s score, Western brought on the power when the Lions crawled up trailing by only one point, eventually to tie the set. White and purple made a comeback with Scapinello blocking red and white attempts, and Derek Kuiack bringing some big kills. The set turned point for point, with the Mustangs reaching set point numerous times, before Luke Sim took charge earning Western the win 30-28.
With the first set under their belt, the Mustangs entered the second set with confidence while Sim took no prisoners blocking anything in his way edging the Lions with persistence. Leading by seven at technical time out, Western reassured York that they knew whose court they were on. The Lions were struggling to keep up while the Mustangs surged past the York squad 25-13 leaving only a trail of purple dust behind them.
Up 2-0, the Mustangs lost the first two points to the Lions, but only before Kuiack caught York with his tips to bring Western to lead the set by four points. Keeping their edge, the Mustangs more than doubled the Lions count. White and purple led 16-8 at technical time out, and kept a steady eight point lead over red and white. Quickly reaching set point the Mustangs overpowered the Lions by a strong 25-11.
Leading the York Lions was Karim Khalil with 12 kills on 28 attempts, earning 15.5 points in three sets, tying with Mustang May for game high points.
Western captain Sean McKay said, “It was good compared to last weekend where we started a little slow, it’s good to come out for the first game of the weekend and play hard, but tomorrow is what we’re focusing on.”
Source: Western Sports Info
McMaster @ Windsor
The Windsor Lancers men's volleyball team were defeated 3-1 by the CIS No. 3 ranked McMaster Marauders at the St. Denis Centre on Saturday afternoon.
Less than 24 hours after spending the night in Toronto watching the Vanier Cup, the Marauders had to play against the Lancers on the road. Set scores were 19-25, 25-9, 25-20, and 25-21 in favour of McMaster as they remain undefeated.
Stephen Maar led all players with 15 kills and 19 points for the undefeated Marauders (8-0), while Lancer Kyle Williamson picked up 12 kills and a team-high 15 points in response for the Lancers (2-5).
Adam Thompson also contributed nine kills and two blocks, while Andrew Chelladurai had 35 set assists for the Lancers, who managed a .128 hit percentage.
The Marauders worked at a .320 efficiency, and totalled 43 digs compared to 29 from Windsor. Other McMaster players to hit double digits included Jayson McCarthy with 10 kills and 3 blocks, Kevin Stevens with 11 kills and a block and middle Dany Demyanenko with 6 kills, 4 blocks and an ace.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Toronto @ Waterloo
The No. 9 nationally ranked men's volleyball team closed out a tremendous first half to their season with a straight set victory (25-17, 25-9, 25-22) over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night at the PAC. The Warriors head into the Christmas break with an 8-1 record, good for second spot in the OUA. Meanwhile, the Blues fell to 2-7 on the season and sit in seventh place.
The Warriors controlled the opening set from start to finish, jumping out to an 11-7 lead and extending that to a seven point advantage late in the set. Hussein Abdo (Ottawa) was distributing the ball well throughout the set as Waterloo cruised to the 25-17 win.
The second was much of the same as the black and gold continued to dominate on both sides of the net with even distribution on the attack. Waterloo jumped out to a 10 point lead and captured the second set 25-9.
A new Blues team emerged in the third set and seemed determined to extend this match to a fourth set after taking a 19-15 lead. A timeout by coach Chris Lawson calmed the home side down and the Warriors stepped back out and took 10 of the next 13 points to complete the sweep.
Three different Warriors led the way with seven kills apiece. Outside hitters Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo) and Aleks Poldma (Toronto) and middle Tyler Motherwell (Toronto) were the catalysts for the Warrior attack. Abdo collected 16 assists while Erich Woolley (New Dundee) and Poldma were digging everything with 10 and seven digs respectively. Woolley continues to lead the OUA in digs with 108, 32 more than any other player in the province.
For the Blues, Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River) had a team high six kills while setter Michael Denton (Scarborough) had 22 assists in the loss.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Ryerson @ Guelph
The Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team lost in three sets to the visiting Ryerson Rams tonight (Nov 24) at the W.F. Mitchell Centre. Set scores were 25-16, 25-23 and 25-22. The loss drops the Gryphons to 2-7 and boosts the Rams to 5-4.
Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont) of the Gryphons led all scorers on the night to round out their weekend doubleheader at home with 18 kills to contribute to his 20.5 points on the night. He was followed by Marc Wilson (Stratford, Ont) who had four kills and three blocks for 5.5 points.
Stefan Ristic (Belgrade, Serbia) and Marc Reardon (London, Ont) each contributed 13.5 points to the Ryerson sweep with ten and eight kills, respectively.
The Gryphons got off to a shaky start with consecutive mishaps that unfortunately set the tempo for the remainder of the set as the Rams pulled ahead with an early lead they would maintain throughout. Despite falling 16-10, the Gryphon attack remained strong as Tim Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont) shut down the Ryerson lead to set Rosser up to bring the set to within three. But combined with a strong defensive effort by Phillip Wessel (Cambridge, Ont) at the net, Ristic and Reardon kept the
Gryphons defensive core scrambling as they pulled ahead to secure a 25-16 win in the first.
Building off their earlier mistakes from the first, the Gryphons wasted no time in pulling ahead 6-3 to establish their presence in the second. But the Gryphon control was short lived as Reardon was able to string together a strong set of serves including a service ace to regain the Rams’ momentum. Yet Phillip Wessel remained unfazed in his defensive attempts to pull in his first of two successful blocks to tie the game at 12 and send the Gryphons ahead 16-14 into the technical time out. However, Ryerson was able to use the timeout to their advantage to surge forward in the final moments to narrowly take the second 25-23.
To open the third, Ryan Killeen (Oakville, Ont) capped off his third consecutive serve with an ace to establish a 4-3 lead in an effort to keep the Gryphons’ night alive. Ryerson was quick to respond to jump ahead 11-10 to spark another nail-biting matchup in the third. But, following the technical timeout, Ryerson established yet another dominating streak to pull ahead 22-16 to hold onto the third despite a strong Gryphon comeback to sweep the Gryphons with a 25-22 win in the third.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
November 25 - York @ Windsor
York University Lions outside hitter Ray Szeto recorded a game-high 21 points on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 25) to lead the men's volleyball team to a straight sets win over the Windsor Lancers at the St. Denis Centre.
Although the Lions won all three sets, the victory didn't come easy as they won by a combined eight points. Windsor held a lead in all three sets, but couldn't manage to get the job done as they faltered in the latter stages.
The first set saw the Lions squeak by after a kill by outside-hitter Nikola Sandic (Etobicoke, Ont.) gave them the narrow 25-23 win. After the Lions took the second set 25-21, the Lancers were determined to battle it out as they held a 15-12 lead in the third set. Unfortunately for Windsor, the Lions proved to be too strong as they would claw back and record a slim 25-23 win.
The victory moved the Lions one game back of .500 with an overall record of 4-5. The Lancers dropped to 6-5 as a result of the loss.
Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) earned is 21 points off of 18 kills, two blocks, and one service ace. Sandic had a good game as well with 14 points to go along with six digs.
Windsor had two players share the lead in scoring, with both Kyle Williamson (Essex, Ont.) and Timothee Jaumel (Montpellier, France) posting 11 points. Setter Blaise Wasser (Burlington, Ont.) led all players in the game with 14 digs.
Source: York Sports Info
McMaster @ Western
The Western Mustangs men’s volleyball team stepped onto the court after a straight set win yesterday to face the nationally ranked, first-ranked OUA team McMaster Marauders in front of a full house. The match disappointed no one looking for excitement as the two top teams fought for a win. After four sets of action, the Mustangs fell 1-3 and keep the McMaster Marauders undefeated.
Set scores were 23-25, 26-24, 20-25, 19-25.
Western head coach Jim Sage said he feels “good and bad” about today’s game. “The good thing is, that there is not that far a difference between the two teams, which is exciting because that means we have a legitimate shot at an Ontario title. But we need to play better, we need to work harder, and we need to understand how consistent they (McMaster) are; hopefully the guys got the message out.”
Leading the Mustangs was Garrett May with 16 kills on 44 attempts, and a team high of 18 points, while setter Sean McKay had 31 assists and ten digs.
With the blow of a whistle, the Mustangs took off to score the first two points of the opening set. McMaster managed to edge Western by a few points, only for the Mustangs to trail on the Marauders and tie the set. The game went point for point, and Western eventually pushed past maroon jerseys with a three-point lead. McKay ran across borders in every effort to keep Western’s advantage. Ahead by two at a technical time out, white and purple kept the edge on the Marauders, but McMaster leveled Western and forced the Mustangs into a subsequent time out. Going point for point for the remaining score, McMaster topped Western 25-23.
Both teams fought hard to gain a lead in the second. Luke Sim sent a service that McMaster could not respond to, while Phil James smashed the ball into the Marauders’ lane. Western started to fall behind the nationally-ranked McMaster squad; the visiting team's middle Danny Demyanenko Jimenez sent attacks the Mustangs fell to, making it difficult for the men to get back on their horse.
The game's momentum was not lost, however, as white and purple continued to fight and broke maroon’s seven-point lead. World beach volleyball champion May channeled kills that Western’s guests could not handle. The score evened out, awakening Western's opponents into a time out. James stole two points for the Mustangs and won the race to set point, where Western capitalized to finish the set 26-24.
Tied 1-1 with undefeated McMaster after two competitive sets, the third round started no different in rallies point for point. Jack Creaghan and Dominic Kucharski showed power blocking, helping the Mustangs double the Marauders’ score, surging to a seven point lead over McMaster. Keeping a strong lead, Mustang left side Derek Kuiack blocked anything the Marauders sent over. McMaster would not settle and brought the game to its favour at technical time out. The Mustangs fell just behind and could not catch the Marauders, who took the third set 25-20.
Following suit, the fourth set started point for point as the Marauders gained a sight edge on the Mustangs. McMaster maintaining its lead, and Western fought hard to stay close behind. Maroon had a six-point advance on the Mustangs at technical time out, but that gap didn’t last for long with James and Sim planting the ball in McMaster’s court.
The Mustangs lost several key points, but not team momentum as Western fell short to the Marauders 19-25 for the third time, losing the match.
Leading the Marauders was Danny Demyanenko Jimenez with 17 kills on 26 attempts, and a game high of 20 points.
Source: Western Sports Info
