M-VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Lions defeat Queen's 3-1 to advance to Final Four in Hamilton

Sunday, February 15

Queen's 1 @ York 3 (19-25, 25-22, 29-27, 25-20)

The York University Lions men's volleyball team displayed a thrilling performance in a 3-1 victory over the Queen's Gaels in their OUA quarter-final match on Sunday (Feb. 15) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The Gaels took the first set 25-19, but the Lions stormed back to take the next three 25-22, 29-27, 25-20 to secure the win and advance to the OUA semifinals for the second time in the last three seasons.
 
The Gaels started strongly in the first set, capitalizing on the Lions' defensive errors for the early lead. However, the Lions were able to equalize at 6-6 on several of the Gaels' defensive deflections.
 
Mike Tomlinson, the Gaels' top-scoring outside hitter, delivered two menacing serves resulting in aces for a 15-9 lead.
 
In addition to the Gaels being more organized offensively, the scoreline was widened through several service errors by the home team that gave the Gaels the first set.
 
The visitors continued to look menacing with Scott Brunet powering an emphatic spike for the opening point of the second set. Lions' veteran outside hitter Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) immediately replied with a powerful spike of his own.
 
The set remained tight with good plays coming from both teams. The Lions' blockers successively blocked the opponent's attacking attempts to level the game at 9-9. The hosts continued their scoring spree with Josh Henderson (Scarborough, Ont.) scoring an ace and Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) a kill.
 
At 12-9, the Gaels called a timeout. After returning, the Lions experienced a temporary barren spell as the Gaels caught up to lead 13-12. Serve specialists Robert Thompson (Maple, Ont.) and Logan Mend (Naramata, B.C.) helped keep the Lions close with accurate serves. Mend made a service ace for the set-winning point.
 
Henderson emerged as the hero in the third set, giving the Lions an early lead through a number of successful blocks and kills. Despite his impressive form, the game remained in a deadlock due to the Lions committing several errors.
 
At 14-13, Henderson received a set from Nikola Sandic (Etobicoke, Ont.) as the opposition scrambled to anticipate the outside hitter's attempt, and he unleashed a thundering spike that completely stunned the defending Gaels.
 
The rookie outside hitter also extended the game with a kill for the first deuce. The set dragged on to a thrilling deadlock as both teams remained equally matched. The Lions eventually came out as winners at 29-27 through an attacking error by the Gaels. Henderson scored 13 of the team's 29  points on his own, with 10 kills and three blocks in the set.
 
Early in the fourth, the Gaels made several mistakes for York to lead 4-0. Henderson continued to dominate with every spike resulting in a kill.
 
Another impressive performer was Alexander Duncan-Thibault (Scarborough, Ont.), who recorded three of his eight kills in the fourth set alone.
 
The Lions came close to winning comfortable at 23-16, but the Gaels were relentless in trying to stay in the game and pushed it to 24-20, but Szeto sealed the Lions' victory with a kill on their second match point.
 
Henderson recorded 27.5 points with 22 kills, 4.5 blocks and one service ace, and also added  eight digs in the win. For the Gaels, Tomlinson recorded 22 points with 18 kills, two blocks and two service aces, and also added six digs.
 
Up next for the Lions is a trip to the OUA Final Four Championships hosted by the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton, Ont., next weekend. They will be facing the Waterloo Warriors in the semifinals on Friday (Feb. 20) beginning at 5:30pm.

Source: York Lions

Saturday, February 14

Western 2 @ Waterloo 3 (25-22, 25-26, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12)

It wasn't easy but the Warriors finally got the revenge they were looking for over the Western Mustangs on Saturday afternoon at the PAC.  Waterloo topped Western in a 5-set thriller (25-22, 25-26, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12) erasing memories of bitter defeat at the hands of the Mustangs in three straight seasons.  With the win Waterloo advances to their fourth straight OUA final four.

The Warriors got an inspired performance by fourth year outside hitter Zachary Doherty (Goderich) who put away 18 kills in the contest.  Doherty was also strong from the service line with three aces.  Another outside hitter, Aidan Simone (London) was also huge when called upon, especially down the stretch.  Simone tallied 16 kills while adding six digs and three blocks.

Waterloo controlled the game from the get go and took the opening set 25-22 thanks to three straight blocks by Doherty to close out the set.  The Warriors continued to have their way with Western in the second set, winning it by a score of 25-16.

The Mustangs came out firing in the third and with the combination of Waterloo errors, took full advantage to grab the set 25-23.  The fourth set continued to be a seesaw affair before three straight errors by Waterloo late in the set gave the edge to Western, 25-22.

The fifth set did not open the way the Warriors had hoped as Western's Justin Scapinello put on a one-man show with kill after kill to give his team the 6-4 lead.  After a timeout, Waterloo regained its attack as back-to-back kills by Jordan McConkey (Stratford) got the black and gold right back in the set. 

The two combatants continued their heavy weight tilt throughout the set but Waterloo would inch away with the score tied 9-all.  Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) and Aidan Simone (London) would step up their attack giving Waterloo six of the next nine points to secure the 15-12 final set win.

Adding to Waterloo's attack was Aaron Wiersma (St. Catharines) who had 13 kills in the match.  Middle hitters Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) and Jordan McConkey (Stratford) teamed up for 13 kills and 10 blocks while setter Gibson Graham (Markham) was on point with 53 assists.

For Western, Scapinello was a one-man wrecking crew with 21 kills and 10 digs in a losing effort.  Setter Matt Hooker had 40 assists for the Mustangs.

Waterloo will have to wait until tomorrow to find out their opponent at the OUA final four as York experience a power outage today.  The Warriors will take on the winner of York and Queen's after Windsor upset Ryerson today.

Source: Waterloo Warriors

Windsor 3 @ Ryerson 1 (27-25, 25-19, 13-25, 25-22)

The seventh seeded Windsor Lancers stunned the No. 9 nationally ranked and second seeded Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team in the OUA quarter-final on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Rams 3-1 (27-25, 25-19, 13-25, 25-22).
 
With the win, the Lancers advance to the OUA Final Four for the first time in over a decade.
 
A balanced attack from the Lancers kept the Rams defence on their toes all night long. Adam Thompson had a team-high nine kills for Windsor and added four solo blocks in the middle.
 
The Rams led for much of the first set, including a 16-15 edge at the technical timeout and 19-16 down the stretch. Windsor then rallied to tie the set up at 24-24 and force extra points before Jake MacNeil finished the set with a kill for the visitors to win the set 27-25.
 
Ryerson came out flat in the second and began to rack up some unforced errors, giving Windsor a 12-6 advantage before a Rams timeout. The Lancers continued to lead at the technical timeout at 16-9 before closing the set out at 25-19 to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.
 
In the third, the Rams stepped up their play at the net with multiple blocks which gave the home side some much needed momentum. Ryerson led 16-11 at the technical timeout and a kill from Marc Reardon (London, Ont.) ended the third set at 25-13 for the Rams to extend the match to a fourth set.
 
Windsor was able to earn a three point spread early in the fourth at 7-4 and that margin carried over for much of the set. The Lancers led 16-13 at the technical timeout and after the Rams got back to within one at 19-18, Windsor called timeout and took the next two points for a 21-18 lead. A kill from Windsor's Thompson finished the set at 25-22 for the visitors as the Lancers completed the 3-1 upset.

Source: Windsor Lancers