February 10, 2014
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Western leaps Waterloo to finish in second place
Friday, February 7
York 0 @ McMaster 3
It was a dominant, statement performance from the Marauders that saw them cruise past the typically-dangerous York Lions on Friday night.
McMaster took an early lead and never looked back, sweeping York 25-21, 25-19 and 25-10 to move to 18-1 on the season and clinch the top spot in the OUA. Meanwhile, the Lions fall to 12-7 and come under threat by the Ryerson Rams (11-7) for fourth place.
Second-year outside Stephen Maar had one of the best efforts of his young career on Friday, pacing the Marauders with 16 points while converting on 12 of 19 hitting attempts with just a single error (57.9 per cent) and adding four aces. Fellow outside Jayson McCarthy was similarly efficient, converting eight of 14 attempts versus two errors (42.9 per cent) while adding two aces and two total blocks.
McMaster held the OUA's most prolific scorer to a quiet offensive night, as Ray Szeto was 5-12 from the floor with four errors (8.3 per cent) on Friday. Marko Dakic led all Lions with 7.5 points, converting seven of 18 hitting attempts with six errors.
The teams began the night evenly matched, with the Marauders guarding Szeto effectively, but being exploited by the likes of Dakic and Nicholas Pirnat on the outside. Both teams struggled to serve effectively in the early stages, but McMaster's efforts from the service line began to improve as the first set progressed.
Separation came late, as the Marauders punished a few badly timed errors from the Lions, and raced toward the finish line.
The second set began much like the first, but McMaster began to assert its dominance with a well-organized block, and an increasingly dangerous cast at the service line. Maar, Mantha and McCarthy were all finding the range with their spin serves, and causing defensive havoc among the Lions. The Marauders led 16-13 at the technical timeout, but immediately built upon that lead in the ensuing rallies. York had no answers as McMaster comfortably closed out the set for a commanding 2-0 lead.
Having taken firm control of momentum, the Marauders showed no signs of relinquishing it in the third, and raced out to a healthy early lead. That advantage grew to 16-6 at the technical timeout, with York effectively resigned to defeat. McMaster continued the assault from the service line, and York won just four of the match's final 13 points.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Windsor 3 @ Guelph 1
The Guelph Gryphon's men's volleyball team were defeated by the visiting Windsor Lancers 3-1 on Friday night at the W.F. Mitchell Centre. Set scores were 23-25, 25-18, 25- 4, and 25-19. The loss drops the Gryphon's record to 5-14 on the season.
First year Joshua Green led the Gryphons with 13 points (11 kills, 1 ace, 1 block) while Luke Woud contributed nine kills and Eric Wagner had nine digs.
The Lancers were led by Gabriel Burlacu with a game-high 14 points (11 kills, 2 aces, 1 block).
Guelph jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the first set thanks to two aces from Kyle Richards. A few points later Guelph's Luke Woud hit a monster smash to extend the Gryphon's lead to 5-1 over the Lancers. This spurred a comeback from Windsor, as they would go on a 5-0 run to take the 6-5 lead. The two sides would exchange points, eventually battling to a 10-10 tie. Both teams battled through the next ten points, with each side taking five points to keep the game tied at 15. The first set continued to be close, as yet another kill from Luke Woud tied things up at 20. After Guelph jumped to a late 22-21 lead, they would take three of the next five points to close out the first set on top of the Lancer's 25-23.
The second set started with the Gryphon's and Lancer's taking three points each. Windsor would rally to take the lead, 11-8. While the two teams treated fans to a few long, exciting rallies, the Lancer's would be on the winning end of most rallies, giving them a commanding 16-10 lead. Luke Woud was a consistent threat for the Gryphon's in the second set, with multiple hard kills. However, these efforts would not be enough to swing the set, as Windsor jumped to a 19-13 lead, and despite Guelph's best attempt at a comeback, the Lancers would take the set 25-18.
The third set opened with more even play, as things were tied up at 5, 6, and 7. Neither squad was willing to surrender momentum to the other. Windsor would eventually snatch the momentum and the lead, taking the next seven points to go up 14-7, and then 18-10. The Lancer's would finish off the Gryphon's in the third set, taking it 25-14.
Windsor looked to finish off the Gryphon's for good in the fourth set, jumping out to a quick 5-1 lead. Guelph would battle back to make it a one-point game, trailing 9-8 to the Lancers. After exchanging points Windsor would eventually extend their lead to 17-13. Guelph would battle to make it closer, trailing 18-16. Despite Guelph's best effort's to come back in the set, the Lancers would take the set 25-19 to win the match 3-1.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Western 3 @ Waterloo 2
Another OUA matchup between Western and Waterloo, another classic as the two rivals once again went the distance with the visiting Mustangs edging the Warriors in five sets.
The win puts Western alone in second spot with a 16-3 record and secures them a bye to the OUA final four to be hosted by McMaster. The loss means Waterloo will be hosting a quarter-final matchup next weekend with their opponent yet to be determined.
After Western took the opening set 25-23 the Warriors bounced back to take the next two by identical scores of 25-21. Waterloo appeared to be in control of the fourth set but service errors once again got the worse of the black and gold and Western would take advantage to grab the set 25-23. In all, Waterloo would make 23 service errors in the contest compared to just 10 for Western.
The fifth and deciding set would bring the crowd to their feet with exhilarating rallies and stellar defence on display. The Mustangs would hold a 2-point edge in the early going until Zachary Doherty (Goderich) put on a digging clinic with two huge defensive plays while finishing it off with a kill to start a run for Waterloo. The Warriors would notch three of the next four points to take an 11-10 lead but Western again showed their fight and battled back to take a 13-12 lead. The Mustangs would hold onto that slim lead and take the final set 15-13.
Doherty led the way in the loss with 17 points with 13 kills and six blocks while Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) also had 17 points with a game high 10 blocks. Aleks Poldma(Toronto/Warriors) also put away 13 kills in the loss while Erich Woolley (New Dundee) collected 22 digs.
Garrett May and Luke Sim led the charge for the Mustangs with 16 and 12 kills respectively.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Ryerson 3 @ RMC 1
KINGSTON, Ont. – The Ryerson Rams men’s volleyball team won their 12th game of the season on Friday with a 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17) victory over the RMC Paladins in Kingston.
Marc Reardon (London, Ont.) tallied a game-high nine kills while libero Will Otten(Delaware, Ont.) posted 12 digs to lead the Rams to victory.
The Rams outplayed the Paladins in nearly all aspects of the game. Ryerson finished with 58 kills to RMC’s 33, 57 digs to RMC’s 39, and nine service aces to the Paladins’ three. RMC finished with more blocks (12-8), spearheaded by middle Thomas McMullen (Ottawa, Ont.) who had eight of his own.
Thirteen different Rams saw the court on Friday night including Brett Whitley(Brighton, Ont.) who took full advantage of his playing time. The first year setter racked up eight kills and tallied 18 assists, both of which are new career-highs.
The victory improves the Rams record to 12-7 and moves them into a tie for fourth in the OUA standings with the York Lions, though Ryerson has played one game more than York.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Saturday, February 8
Ryerson 0 @ Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 8, 2014) - After fighting off five set-points in the game's opening set, Queen's swept Ryerson with relative ease on Saturday afternoon at the ARC, 28-26, 25-13, and 25-15.
The Gaels relied on their scrappy defensive play to work their way back into the first, with every Queen's player laying out to keep the ball alive when the first set was on the line. The Gaels strong defensive play made the Rams offense look bad, as Ryerson's best kill percentage was .091 in the third set.
Queen's out-dug Ryerson 32-18 throughout the match. Efficiency was the story for the Gaels on offense, with .600 and .500 team kill percentages in the second and third sets, respectively. The Gaels also dominated in the blocking game, with 15 blocks to Ryerson's three.
Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) had a game-high 14 kills for Queen's. Ivo Dramov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) also had a game-high, picking up 12 digs. Scott Brunet (Calgary) led the way in terms of blocking, with 5.5 in the game. Another notable Gaels performance came from Philippe Goyer (Ottawa), who had five kills, 4.5 blocks, and a game-high four aces.
Lucas Coleman was the sole Ram to reach double-digit kills with 10.
Prior to the game the Gaels honoured their graduating athlete libero Jacob Glantz (St. Catharines, Ont.) who played a key role in the team's OUA Championship and CIS tournament at Queen's in 2011-12.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Windsor 0 @ Waterloo 3
A night after the men's volleyball team lost a heartbreaker to Western, the Warriors bounced back with a straight set victory over the Windsor Lancers. Set scores were 25-23, 25-22, 25-18.
The win gives the black and gold a 16-4 record, good for third overall setting up a quarter-final tilt with Queen's next Saturday. Windsor finishes the season with an 8-12 record but will miss the post-season.
The victory was relatively routine for the Warriors as they got progressively stronger throughout the contest. Waterloo put an exclamation mark on their incredible season in the third and final set with a team kill percentage of 42.9.
James Evans (Rockwood) was again a critical factor in the game with a game high 11 kills. The fifth year left side added three blocks and two digs. Another fifth year, Tyler Motherwell (Toronto) was a wall in the middle with seven blocks in the win.
Scott Thomson (St. Marys) showed off his soft hands at the setter position with 32 assists. The recreation and leisure student finished the season with an impressive 720 assists, the second most in the OUA. At libero, Erich Woolley (New Dundee) was on his toes with 19 digs giving him 227 on the season which leads the OUA, his third straight year of achieving that feat.
The Warriors will now shift their attention to the Gaels who will come to the PAC next Saturday, February 15 at 7pm with the winner advancing to the OUA final four to be hosted by McMaster the following weekend.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Western 3 @ Guelph 0
The Guelph Gryphon's men's volleyball team were defeated by the visiting Western Mustangs 3-1 on Saturday night. Set scores were 25-23, 25-13, and 25-23. The loss drops the Gryphon's record to 5-15 on the season.
Patrick Strzalkowski led the Gryphon's in scoring with 15 points (13 kills, 2 aces), while Connor Cressman chipped in with seven points (5 kills, 2 blocks).
Garrett May led the Western Mustangs in scoring with 13 points (12 kills, 1 block).
The opening set started with both teams exchanging points, with the Gryphon's and Mustang's battling to a tie at 4, 5, 6, and 7. After several long rallies, Western would eventually take an 11-8 lead. Strong serving from Guelph's Patrick Strzalkowski would even things up at 11. Western would go on to take four of the next five points to take the leas 15-12. Western would extend this lead to 20-16. Guelph would battle back to make it a one-point game, but a service error from the Gryphon's would eventually give Western the set, 25-23. Despite the set loss, the Gryphon's played some resilient volleyball, battling back from multiple deficits to make it a close set.
Similar to the first set, the second opened with back and forth scoring from both teams, with Western ahead 6-5. Western would start to gather momentum, going up 12-7, and eventually 16-8. Western would continue their strong attacking game, taking a 22-11 lead. Guelph simply could not gain any momentum in the set. Consistent serving and error-free volleyball made it a quick and easy victory for the Mustangs, 25-13.
Guelph's Patrick Strzalkowski was on fire with his serving for much of the match, and he used it to Guelph's advantage in the third set bringing them back from an early deficit to tie things up at three. Things would remain close in the early going of the set. A cheeky pitch over the net from Guelph's Kyle Richards would tie the set up again at six. Richards frequently utilizes this tactic to throw his opponents off guard, usually with much success. Western would eventually take a slim 13-10 lead over the Gryphon's. The two teams would continue to treat the fans to some long rallies, with the Mustangs getting the better of Guelph most of the time, taking a 20-16 lead. More strong serving from Guelph's Patrick Strzalkowski would get the Gryphon's back into the set late, but a service error would end things as the Mustangs took the set 25-23.
Tonight's game marks the end of the regular season for the Gryphon's, they finished with a record of 5-15 and failed to make the playoffs.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Nipissing 0 @ McMaster 3
The McMaster men's volleyball team welcomed the Nipissing Lakers to the Burridge Gym for the first time and handed the OUA newbies a 3-0 defeat in the final conference game of the season.
It was also senior recognition night for the men in Maroon, who had clinched first-place in the OUA with Friday's win over York.
Prior to the match, presentations were made to Mac seniors Brendan Dennis, Austin Campion-Smith, Jori Mantha, and Tyson Alexander.
McMaster showed the proper respect to the Lakers, who will not make the playoffs in their first OUA season but look like they have a bright future as the roster is very young. The Marauders used a very balanced attack and took the opening set 25-16.
Mac coach Dave Preston tinkered with his line-up in the second set, but the Marauders were still able to take the lead and carry it through to win 25-19 and take a two-set lead.
The Lakers seemed up for this match with the top-ranked team in Canada and made McMaster work for every point in the third set. The Marauders led 16-10 at the technical timeout but the Lakers were able to fight back and tie the score at 18-18. Not wanting to extend the match any further than necessary, McMaster got some big swings from Mantha, Alexander, and Stephen Maar and closed out the set and the match 25-20.
Seniors Honoured Before match with Nipissing
Mantha led McMaster with 14 kills while Alexander was named the BIG MAC player of the game for a strong overall performance. Nipissing setter Taylor Bielby was the Lakers' player of the game.
Next action for the Marauders will be at the OUA Final-Four being hosted at McMaster on February 21st and 22nd. As the top-seed, McMaster will play the lowest remaining seed from the first round of OUA playoffs next week.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Toronto 3 @ RMC 0
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team shut out the RMC Paladins 3-0 (23-25, 16-25, 18-25) on Saturday, February 8 in Kingston, Ont.
With the win, the Blues improve to 6-13 and sit in eighth place in the OUA standings. Toronto wraps up their 2013-14 campaign tomorrow as they take on the Queen's Gaels at 3 p.m.
Rookie William Colucci led all players with 13 kills, eight digs and two blocks, while Jake Dysselhof had seven kills and a game-high 16 digs on the night. Aleksa Miladinovic totalled 33 assists, with Trevor Grant adding four kills and five blocks in the win.
RMC was led by Trevor Melcher's eight-kill performance.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Sunday, February 9
Nipissing 0 @ York 3
The York University Lions men's volleyball team closed out its regular season in style Sunday (Feb. 9), winning in straight sets over the Nipissing Lakers on home court at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The win wraps up the Lions' regular season record at 13-7, which places them in fourth place in the OUA standings, one game ahead of the Ryerson Rams.
The Lions conceded points early as Nipissing jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead, but the Lions settled down and Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) reset the tone, hammering a strong kill down the middle of the court that eventually led to a 7-7 tie and forced the Lakers to call a timeout.
The rest did little to slow the Lions, who overtook the lead, 10-9, and did not surrender it for the rest of the frame. Through setting up strong blocks at the net and returning the ball with authority, the Lions forced a second Lakers timeout up 23-18 and hung on for the eventual 25-20 win.
Moving onto the second the Lions continued to roll, accumulating a 7-2 lead to kick off the set. Down for a second time, Nipissing needed to slow the Lions' offensive prowess and attempted to do so by taking away the kill shot at the net. The change-up worked momentarily, as the Lakers began regaining ground and closed the score to 16-15 at the technical timeout. But Szeto proved why he's the OUA scoring leader by scoring one of his eight points of the set on a kill to orchestrate a Lions run and they pulled ahead, finishing the set 25-21 to lead 2-0 in the match.
In the third, the Lions ripped off four unanswered points before the Lakers found the scoreboard. Strong serving byAlexander Duncan-Thibault (Scarborough, Ont.) on two unreturned bullets helped build the 16-12 tally at the technical break. The Lakers closed the score to within two, but the Lions were too strong in the end, winning 25-22 to sweep the match.
Szeto finished the day with a match-high 16 points on 13 kills and three serving aces.
Before the opening serve, graduating Lions Greg Ivan (Toronto) and Paul Jakubiak (Toronto) were joined by their families and honoured for their years with the program. In the match, Ivan contributed 10 points on three kills, three blocks and four service aces, while Jakubiak had 25 assists.
With their fourth-place finish, the Lions will host an OUA quarter-final game next weekend against the Ryerson Rams. The date and time of the match has yet to be determined
Source: York Sports Info
Toronto 0 @ Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 9, 2014) - Finishing off the regular season with a 3-0 home win over Toronto, 25-13, 25-21, and 25-19, the Gaels are playoff-bound having swept their last three opponents.
On Sunday afternoon, Queen's played their final regular season game, and their final home game of the 2013-2014 season. As the only graduating player, Jacob Glantz (St. Catherines, Ont.) was honoured before Saturday's match against Ryerson for his contributions to the Gaels program. Against Toronto, Glantz served out the match to a standing ovation at the ARC.
The Gaels efficiency gave them a chance to win the game, making only 10 attacking errors in the match compared to Toronto's 26. Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) was the best player on court, racking up 24 points, including 18 kills and all three of the Gaels service aces. Queen's also dominated in the blocking game with 14.5 to the Varsity Blues three. Scott Brunet (Calgary) was the best Gael in that regard with six. When the Gaels defense was called upon, Ivo Dramov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) led the way with seven digs.
Kyle Fick was the only Varsity Blue to reach double-digits in points, with 10. Alex Park had the most digs for Toronto, recording seven in the loss.
With the win, Queen's finishes the regular season with a 9-11 record, good enough for the sixth and final playoff spot. As a result, the Gaels will head to Waterloo to play the third-place Warriors on Saturday night.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
York 0 @ McMaster 3
It was a dominant, statement performance from the Marauders that saw them cruise past the typically-dangerous York Lions on Friday night.
McMaster took an early lead and never looked back, sweeping York 25-21, 25-19 and 25-10 to move to 18-1 on the season and clinch the top spot in the OUA. Meanwhile, the Lions fall to 12-7 and come under threat by the Ryerson Rams (11-7) for fourth place.
Second-year outside Stephen Maar had one of the best efforts of his young career on Friday, pacing the Marauders with 16 points while converting on 12 of 19 hitting attempts with just a single error (57.9 per cent) and adding four aces. Fellow outside Jayson McCarthy was similarly efficient, converting eight of 14 attempts versus two errors (42.9 per cent) while adding two aces and two total blocks.
McMaster held the OUA's most prolific scorer to a quiet offensive night, as Ray Szeto was 5-12 from the floor with four errors (8.3 per cent) on Friday. Marko Dakic led all Lions with 7.5 points, converting seven of 18 hitting attempts with six errors.
The teams began the night evenly matched, with the Marauders guarding Szeto effectively, but being exploited by the likes of Dakic and Nicholas Pirnat on the outside. Both teams struggled to serve effectively in the early stages, but McMaster's efforts from the service line began to improve as the first set progressed.
Separation came late, as the Marauders punished a few badly timed errors from the Lions, and raced toward the finish line.
The second set began much like the first, but McMaster began to assert its dominance with a well-organized block, and an increasingly dangerous cast at the service line. Maar, Mantha and McCarthy were all finding the range with their spin serves, and causing defensive havoc among the Lions. The Marauders led 16-13 at the technical timeout, but immediately built upon that lead in the ensuing rallies. York had no answers as McMaster comfortably closed out the set for a commanding 2-0 lead.
Having taken firm control of momentum, the Marauders showed no signs of relinquishing it in the third, and raced out to a healthy early lead. That advantage grew to 16-6 at the technical timeout, with York effectively resigned to defeat. McMaster continued the assault from the service line, and York won just four of the match's final 13 points.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Windsor 3 @ Guelph 1
The Guelph Gryphon's men's volleyball team were defeated by the visiting Windsor Lancers 3-1 on Friday night at the W.F. Mitchell Centre. Set scores were 23-25, 25-18, 25- 4, and 25-19. The loss drops the Gryphon's record to 5-14 on the season.
First year Joshua Green led the Gryphons with 13 points (11 kills, 1 ace, 1 block) while Luke Woud contributed nine kills and Eric Wagner had nine digs.
The Lancers were led by Gabriel Burlacu with a game-high 14 points (11 kills, 2 aces, 1 block).
Guelph jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the first set thanks to two aces from Kyle Richards. A few points later Guelph's Luke Woud hit a monster smash to extend the Gryphon's lead to 5-1 over the Lancers. This spurred a comeback from Windsor, as they would go on a 5-0 run to take the 6-5 lead. The two sides would exchange points, eventually battling to a 10-10 tie. Both teams battled through the next ten points, with each side taking five points to keep the game tied at 15. The first set continued to be close, as yet another kill from Luke Woud tied things up at 20. After Guelph jumped to a late 22-21 lead, they would take three of the next five points to close out the first set on top of the Lancer's 25-23.
The second set started with the Gryphon's and Lancer's taking three points each. Windsor would rally to take the lead, 11-8. While the two teams treated fans to a few long, exciting rallies, the Lancer's would be on the winning end of most rallies, giving them a commanding 16-10 lead. Luke Woud was a consistent threat for the Gryphon's in the second set, with multiple hard kills. However, these efforts would not be enough to swing the set, as Windsor jumped to a 19-13 lead, and despite Guelph's best attempt at a comeback, the Lancers would take the set 25-18.
The third set opened with more even play, as things were tied up at 5, 6, and 7. Neither squad was willing to surrender momentum to the other. Windsor would eventually snatch the momentum and the lead, taking the next seven points to go up 14-7, and then 18-10. The Lancer's would finish off the Gryphon's in the third set, taking it 25-14.
Windsor looked to finish off the Gryphon's for good in the fourth set, jumping out to a quick 5-1 lead. Guelph would battle back to make it a one-point game, trailing 9-8 to the Lancers. After exchanging points Windsor would eventually extend their lead to 17-13. Guelph would battle to make it closer, trailing 18-16. Despite Guelph's best effort's to come back in the set, the Lancers would take the set 25-19 to win the match 3-1.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Western 3 @ Waterloo 2
Another OUA matchup between Western and Waterloo, another classic as the two rivals once again went the distance with the visiting Mustangs edging the Warriors in five sets.
The win puts Western alone in second spot with a 16-3 record and secures them a bye to the OUA final four to be hosted by McMaster. The loss means Waterloo will be hosting a quarter-final matchup next weekend with their opponent yet to be determined.
After Western took the opening set 25-23 the Warriors bounced back to take the next two by identical scores of 25-21. Waterloo appeared to be in control of the fourth set but service errors once again got the worse of the black and gold and Western would take advantage to grab the set 25-23. In all, Waterloo would make 23 service errors in the contest compared to just 10 for Western.
The fifth and deciding set would bring the crowd to their feet with exhilarating rallies and stellar defence on display. The Mustangs would hold a 2-point edge in the early going until Zachary Doherty (Goderich) put on a digging clinic with two huge defensive plays while finishing it off with a kill to start a run for Waterloo. The Warriors would notch three of the next four points to take an 11-10 lead but Western again showed their fight and battled back to take a 13-12 lead. The Mustangs would hold onto that slim lead and take the final set 15-13.
Doherty led the way in the loss with 17 points with 13 kills and six blocks while Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) also had 17 points with a game high 10 blocks. Aleks Poldma(Toronto/Warriors) also put away 13 kills in the loss while Erich Woolley (New Dundee) collected 22 digs.
Garrett May and Luke Sim led the charge for the Mustangs with 16 and 12 kills respectively.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Ryerson 3 @ RMC 1
KINGSTON, Ont. – The Ryerson Rams men’s volleyball team won their 12th game of the season on Friday with a 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17) victory over the RMC Paladins in Kingston.
Marc Reardon (London, Ont.) tallied a game-high nine kills while libero Will Otten(Delaware, Ont.) posted 12 digs to lead the Rams to victory.
The Rams outplayed the Paladins in nearly all aspects of the game. Ryerson finished with 58 kills to RMC’s 33, 57 digs to RMC’s 39, and nine service aces to the Paladins’ three. RMC finished with more blocks (12-8), spearheaded by middle Thomas McMullen (Ottawa, Ont.) who had eight of his own.
Thirteen different Rams saw the court on Friday night including Brett Whitley(Brighton, Ont.) who took full advantage of his playing time. The first year setter racked up eight kills and tallied 18 assists, both of which are new career-highs.
The victory improves the Rams record to 12-7 and moves them into a tie for fourth in the OUA standings with the York Lions, though Ryerson has played one game more than York.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Saturday, February 8
Ryerson 0 @ Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 8, 2014) - After fighting off five set-points in the game's opening set, Queen's swept Ryerson with relative ease on Saturday afternoon at the ARC, 28-26, 25-13, and 25-15.
The Gaels relied on their scrappy defensive play to work their way back into the first, with every Queen's player laying out to keep the ball alive when the first set was on the line. The Gaels strong defensive play made the Rams offense look bad, as Ryerson's best kill percentage was .091 in the third set.
Queen's out-dug Ryerson 32-18 throughout the match. Efficiency was the story for the Gaels on offense, with .600 and .500 team kill percentages in the second and third sets, respectively. The Gaels also dominated in the blocking game, with 15 blocks to Ryerson's three.
Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) had a game-high 14 kills for Queen's. Ivo Dramov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) also had a game-high, picking up 12 digs. Scott Brunet (Calgary) led the way in terms of blocking, with 5.5 in the game. Another notable Gaels performance came from Philippe Goyer (Ottawa), who had five kills, 4.5 blocks, and a game-high four aces.
Lucas Coleman was the sole Ram to reach double-digit kills with 10.
Prior to the game the Gaels honoured their graduating athlete libero Jacob Glantz (St. Catharines, Ont.) who played a key role in the team's OUA Championship and CIS tournament at Queen's in 2011-12.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Windsor 0 @ Waterloo 3
A night after the men's volleyball team lost a heartbreaker to Western, the Warriors bounced back with a straight set victory over the Windsor Lancers. Set scores were 25-23, 25-22, 25-18.
The win gives the black and gold a 16-4 record, good for third overall setting up a quarter-final tilt with Queen's next Saturday. Windsor finishes the season with an 8-12 record but will miss the post-season.
The victory was relatively routine for the Warriors as they got progressively stronger throughout the contest. Waterloo put an exclamation mark on their incredible season in the third and final set with a team kill percentage of 42.9.
James Evans (Rockwood) was again a critical factor in the game with a game high 11 kills. The fifth year left side added three blocks and two digs. Another fifth year, Tyler Motherwell (Toronto) was a wall in the middle with seven blocks in the win.
Scott Thomson (St. Marys) showed off his soft hands at the setter position with 32 assists. The recreation and leisure student finished the season with an impressive 720 assists, the second most in the OUA. At libero, Erich Woolley (New Dundee) was on his toes with 19 digs giving him 227 on the season which leads the OUA, his third straight year of achieving that feat.
The Warriors will now shift their attention to the Gaels who will come to the PAC next Saturday, February 15 at 7pm with the winner advancing to the OUA final four to be hosted by McMaster the following weekend.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Western 3 @ Guelph 0
The Guelph Gryphon's men's volleyball team were defeated by the visiting Western Mustangs 3-1 on Saturday night. Set scores were 25-23, 25-13, and 25-23. The loss drops the Gryphon's record to 5-15 on the season.
Patrick Strzalkowski led the Gryphon's in scoring with 15 points (13 kills, 2 aces), while Connor Cressman chipped in with seven points (5 kills, 2 blocks).
Garrett May led the Western Mustangs in scoring with 13 points (12 kills, 1 block).
The opening set started with both teams exchanging points, with the Gryphon's and Mustang's battling to a tie at 4, 5, 6, and 7. After several long rallies, Western would eventually take an 11-8 lead. Strong serving from Guelph's Patrick Strzalkowski would even things up at 11. Western would go on to take four of the next five points to take the leas 15-12. Western would extend this lead to 20-16. Guelph would battle back to make it a one-point game, but a service error from the Gryphon's would eventually give Western the set, 25-23. Despite the set loss, the Gryphon's played some resilient volleyball, battling back from multiple deficits to make it a close set.
Similar to the first set, the second opened with back and forth scoring from both teams, with Western ahead 6-5. Western would start to gather momentum, going up 12-7, and eventually 16-8. Western would continue their strong attacking game, taking a 22-11 lead. Guelph simply could not gain any momentum in the set. Consistent serving and error-free volleyball made it a quick and easy victory for the Mustangs, 25-13.
Guelph's Patrick Strzalkowski was on fire with his serving for much of the match, and he used it to Guelph's advantage in the third set bringing them back from an early deficit to tie things up at three. Things would remain close in the early going of the set. A cheeky pitch over the net from Guelph's Kyle Richards would tie the set up again at six. Richards frequently utilizes this tactic to throw his opponents off guard, usually with much success. Western would eventually take a slim 13-10 lead over the Gryphon's. The two teams would continue to treat the fans to some long rallies, with the Mustangs getting the better of Guelph most of the time, taking a 20-16 lead. More strong serving from Guelph's Patrick Strzalkowski would get the Gryphon's back into the set late, but a service error would end things as the Mustangs took the set 25-23.
Tonight's game marks the end of the regular season for the Gryphon's, they finished with a record of 5-15 and failed to make the playoffs.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Nipissing 0 @ McMaster 3
The McMaster men's volleyball team welcomed the Nipissing Lakers to the Burridge Gym for the first time and handed the OUA newbies a 3-0 defeat in the final conference game of the season.
It was also senior recognition night for the men in Maroon, who had clinched first-place in the OUA with Friday's win over York.
Prior to the match, presentations were made to Mac seniors Brendan Dennis, Austin Campion-Smith, Jori Mantha, and Tyson Alexander.
McMaster showed the proper respect to the Lakers, who will not make the playoffs in their first OUA season but look like they have a bright future as the roster is very young. The Marauders used a very balanced attack and took the opening set 25-16.
Mac coach Dave Preston tinkered with his line-up in the second set, but the Marauders were still able to take the lead and carry it through to win 25-19 and take a two-set lead.
The Lakers seemed up for this match with the top-ranked team in Canada and made McMaster work for every point in the third set. The Marauders led 16-10 at the technical timeout but the Lakers were able to fight back and tie the score at 18-18. Not wanting to extend the match any further than necessary, McMaster got some big swings from Mantha, Alexander, and Stephen Maar and closed out the set and the match 25-20.
Seniors Honoured Before match with Nipissing
Mantha led McMaster with 14 kills while Alexander was named the BIG MAC player of the game for a strong overall performance. Nipissing setter Taylor Bielby was the Lakers' player of the game.
Next action for the Marauders will be at the OUA Final-Four being hosted at McMaster on February 21st and 22nd. As the top-seed, McMaster will play the lowest remaining seed from the first round of OUA playoffs next week.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Toronto 3 @ RMC 0
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's volleyball team shut out the RMC Paladins 3-0 (23-25, 16-25, 18-25) on Saturday, February 8 in Kingston, Ont.
With the win, the Blues improve to 6-13 and sit in eighth place in the OUA standings. Toronto wraps up their 2013-14 campaign tomorrow as they take on the Queen's Gaels at 3 p.m.
Rookie William Colucci led all players with 13 kills, eight digs and two blocks, while Jake Dysselhof had seven kills and a game-high 16 digs on the night. Aleksa Miladinovic totalled 33 assists, with Trevor Grant adding four kills and five blocks in the win.
RMC was led by Trevor Melcher's eight-kill performance.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
Sunday, February 9
Nipissing 0 @ York 3
The York University Lions men's volleyball team closed out its regular season in style Sunday (Feb. 9), winning in straight sets over the Nipissing Lakers on home court at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The win wraps up the Lions' regular season record at 13-7, which places them in fourth place in the OUA standings, one game ahead of the Ryerson Rams.
The Lions conceded points early as Nipissing jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead, but the Lions settled down and Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) reset the tone, hammering a strong kill down the middle of the court that eventually led to a 7-7 tie and forced the Lakers to call a timeout.
The rest did little to slow the Lions, who overtook the lead, 10-9, and did not surrender it for the rest of the frame. Through setting up strong blocks at the net and returning the ball with authority, the Lions forced a second Lakers timeout up 23-18 and hung on for the eventual 25-20 win.
Moving onto the second the Lions continued to roll, accumulating a 7-2 lead to kick off the set. Down for a second time, Nipissing needed to slow the Lions' offensive prowess and attempted to do so by taking away the kill shot at the net. The change-up worked momentarily, as the Lakers began regaining ground and closed the score to 16-15 at the technical timeout. But Szeto proved why he's the OUA scoring leader by scoring one of his eight points of the set on a kill to orchestrate a Lions run and they pulled ahead, finishing the set 25-21 to lead 2-0 in the match.
In the third, the Lions ripped off four unanswered points before the Lakers found the scoreboard. Strong serving byAlexander Duncan-Thibault (Scarborough, Ont.) on two unreturned bullets helped build the 16-12 tally at the technical break. The Lakers closed the score to within two, but the Lions were too strong in the end, winning 25-22 to sweep the match.
Szeto finished the day with a match-high 16 points on 13 kills and three serving aces.
Before the opening serve, graduating Lions Greg Ivan (Toronto) and Paul Jakubiak (Toronto) were joined by their families and honoured for their years with the program. In the match, Ivan contributed 10 points on three kills, three blocks and four service aces, while Jakubiak had 25 assists.
With their fourth-place finish, the Lions will host an OUA quarter-final game next weekend against the Ryerson Rams. The date and time of the match has yet to be determined
Source: York Sports Info
Toronto 0 @ Queen’s 3
KINGSTON, Ont. (February 9, 2014) - Finishing off the regular season with a 3-0 home win over Toronto, 25-13, 25-21, and 25-19, the Gaels are playoff-bound having swept their last three opponents.
On Sunday afternoon, Queen's played their final regular season game, and their final home game of the 2013-2014 season. As the only graduating player, Jacob Glantz (St. Catherines, Ont.) was honoured before Saturday's match against Ryerson for his contributions to the Gaels program. Against Toronto, Glantz served out the match to a standing ovation at the ARC.
The Gaels efficiency gave them a chance to win the game, making only 10 attacking errors in the match compared to Toronto's 26. Mike Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) was the best player on court, racking up 24 points, including 18 kills and all three of the Gaels service aces. Queen's also dominated in the blocking game with 14.5 to the Varsity Blues three. Scott Brunet (Calgary) was the best Gael in that regard with six. When the Gaels defense was called upon, Ivo Dramov (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) led the way with seven digs.
Kyle Fick was the only Varsity Blue to reach double-digits in points, with 10. Alex Park had the most digs for Toronto, recording seven in the loss.
With the win, Queen's finishes the regular season with a 9-11 record, good enough for the sixth and final playoff spot. As a result, the Gaels will head to Waterloo to play the third-place Warriors on Saturday night.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
