February 21, 2005
PLAY-OFFS WELL UNDERWAY
OUA Quarter-Final
McMaster 3, Queen's 2
The McMaster men's volleyball team made a return to the post season, after a multiple year absence, and made the most of their opportunity defeating the Queen's University Golden Gaels in the OUA quarterfinals, 3-2. The Marauders and Gaels had split the regular season series with each team winning their match at home, 3-0.
In the three vs. sixth seed match-up, the Marauders started strong and crushed the visitors in the opening set, 25-16. The teams battled closely in the second set with MAC narrowly defeating Queens, 29-27. The Golden Gaels would not bow out gracefully and fought hard to take the next two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-22. That set the stage for the most exciting game of the match. With a large and boisterous crowd cheering the Marauders on both teams strung together a series of points with MAC eventually jumping out to a 10-6 lead before Queens roared back to tie the game at 10-10. In a see-saw flurry of points the Marauders would not quit and fought hard for every point, led by the blocking and serving of late-match substitute Amardeep Singh. He sealed the match with a tough floating serve resulting in a Queen's error giving the Marauders the game 15-13 and the match win 3 games to 2.
Offensively, Peter Hrkal led the Marauders with 16 kills and 2 service aces. Brent Carter and Steve Murray tossed in 12 and 13 kills respectively with Murray showing his defensive prowess with 6 digs. In the middle, Duncan Gillespie and Nathan Groenveld each had 6 kills with Groenveld adding a phenomenal 5 service aces. Singh finished with 1 ace, 3 blocks and 4 digs, all of which seemed to occur at critical moments late in the match. Sean Panchal guided the Marauder offense with precision setting and ended with 49 assists while adding 4 assisted blocks, 2 service aces and 6 digs. Andrew Bridgeman and Daniel McCrae lead the Queens team with 19 and 17 points respectively, while veteran setter Marek Plawinski added 45 assists to the match.
OUA Quarter-Final
Ryerson 3, Toronto 2
Ryerson's Rams played host to the Toronto Varsity Blues in the second Quarter Final match-up. Ryerson beat the OUA's hottest team 3-2 in an unforgettable match (25-20, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-13). The final set saw the lead change several times before Rams' substitution Symon Weirdak entered the game and served four tough serves to put the home team ahead for good.
The final points sent the Rams and their wild fans into a frenzy. "It's an unbelievable feeling," said Ryerson left-side Ryan Vandenburg. "We had a bunch of guys who had never played a playoff game and none of us had ever won in the playoffs, but we knew what we had to do and we brought the intensity. "Vandenburg was the top offensive player in Canadian volleyball this year and he continued to dominate in this match, scoring 29 kills and had a match high eight digs. Varsity Blues Adrian Weglo led his team with 21 kills in what would be his final game at the university. Brandon Peel followed closely behind with 15 kills, while Blues setter James McKay tallied 39 assists. The Varsity Blues were the hottest team in Ontario coming into the match, having won eight in a row. The loss also ends their hopes of a third-straight OUA championship.
OUA Semi-Final
York 3, Ryerson 2
For the second-straight year, the York University men's volleyball team has advanced to the OUA Finals after dropping the visiting Ryerson Rams in a nail biting 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 27-29, 29-31, 18-16) quarterfinal match. Paul Podstawka put on a brilliant performance including a clutch block to give York the win in the final set, while also providing an offensive spark for the Lions with 21 kills. He also had some key plays down the stretch, scoring the majority of the Lions kills in the fifth frame to lift his team to victory. The Lions won the first two sets in strong fashion led by some key plays by Ryan Anderson and Podstawka, but the Rams did not fall away quietly and won the next two.
York's chances of extending their playoff run seemed to be in danger when the Lions succumbed to an early 5-0 Rams run to begin the fifth frame. Jason Kinoshita renewed the Lions hopes by dropping a kill down the left side to tie the score at eight. Both teams battled back-and-forth for the lead down the stretch. With York up 17-16, Rams hitter Anton Hauser had an opportunity to drill one down the right line to tie it up but Podstawka denied the chance with his game-winning block. Ryan Anderson finished with 16 kills and nine digs for the Lions. Jason Kinoshita recorded 53 assists, while adding a team-high 15 digs. Ryan Vandenburg proved why he is one of the nation's top offensive players with a game-high 28 kills. Matt Fugard and Anton Hauser added to the kill column with 11 and 10, respectively. Ryerson's Lukas Porosa led his team with 29 assists and 14 digs.
OUA Semi-Final
Western 3, McMaster 0
The Western men's volleyball team (18-1) eliminated the McMaster Marauders (14-6) from OUA playoff competition with a 3-0 sweep in semi-final action. As a result, Western will compete for the OUA men's volleyball championship next week in a best-of-three match final against the York Lions (18-2). Third-year left side Alex Dumond led the Western offensive attack with 17 kills. While Fifth-year outside hitter Peter Sidler and second-year left side Alex Jerome recorded 14 and 13 kills respectively. Sidler finished the regular season ranked third in the country with 278 kills. Rookie setter and CIS assists leader Andrew Hinchey notched 37 assists for the Mustangs. First-year left side Peter Hrkal led the Marauders with 19 kills and Sean Panchal added 30 assists.
McMaster 3, Queen's 2
The McMaster men's volleyball team made a return to the post season, after a multiple year absence, and made the most of their opportunity defeating the Queen's University Golden Gaels in the OUA quarterfinals, 3-2. The Marauders and Gaels had split the regular season series with each team winning their match at home, 3-0.
In the three vs. sixth seed match-up, the Marauders started strong and crushed the visitors in the opening set, 25-16. The teams battled closely in the second set with MAC narrowly defeating Queens, 29-27. The Golden Gaels would not bow out gracefully and fought hard to take the next two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-22. That set the stage for the most exciting game of the match. With a large and boisterous crowd cheering the Marauders on both teams strung together a series of points with MAC eventually jumping out to a 10-6 lead before Queens roared back to tie the game at 10-10. In a see-saw flurry of points the Marauders would not quit and fought hard for every point, led by the blocking and serving of late-match substitute Amardeep Singh. He sealed the match with a tough floating serve resulting in a Queen's error giving the Marauders the game 15-13 and the match win 3 games to 2.
Offensively, Peter Hrkal led the Marauders with 16 kills and 2 service aces. Brent Carter and Steve Murray tossed in 12 and 13 kills respectively with Murray showing his defensive prowess with 6 digs. In the middle, Duncan Gillespie and Nathan Groenveld each had 6 kills with Groenveld adding a phenomenal 5 service aces. Singh finished with 1 ace, 3 blocks and 4 digs, all of which seemed to occur at critical moments late in the match. Sean Panchal guided the Marauder offense with precision setting and ended with 49 assists while adding 4 assisted blocks, 2 service aces and 6 digs. Andrew Bridgeman and Daniel McCrae lead the Queens team with 19 and 17 points respectively, while veteran setter Marek Plawinski added 45 assists to the match.
OUA Quarter-Final
Ryerson 3, Toronto 2
Ryerson's Rams played host to the Toronto Varsity Blues in the second Quarter Final match-up. Ryerson beat the OUA's hottest team 3-2 in an unforgettable match (25-20, 18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-13). The final set saw the lead change several times before Rams' substitution Symon Weirdak entered the game and served four tough serves to put the home team ahead for good.
The final points sent the Rams and their wild fans into a frenzy. "It's an unbelievable feeling," said Ryerson left-side Ryan Vandenburg. "We had a bunch of guys who had never played a playoff game and none of us had ever won in the playoffs, but we knew what we had to do and we brought the intensity. "Vandenburg was the top offensive player in Canadian volleyball this year and he continued to dominate in this match, scoring 29 kills and had a match high eight digs. Varsity Blues Adrian Weglo led his team with 21 kills in what would be his final game at the university. Brandon Peel followed closely behind with 15 kills, while Blues setter James McKay tallied 39 assists. The Varsity Blues were the hottest team in Ontario coming into the match, having won eight in a row. The loss also ends their hopes of a third-straight OUA championship.
OUA Semi-Final
York 3, Ryerson 2
For the second-straight year, the York University men's volleyball team has advanced to the OUA Finals after dropping the visiting Ryerson Rams in a nail biting 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 27-29, 29-31, 18-16) quarterfinal match. Paul Podstawka put on a brilliant performance including a clutch block to give York the win in the final set, while also providing an offensive spark for the Lions with 21 kills. He also had some key plays down the stretch, scoring the majority of the Lions kills in the fifth frame to lift his team to victory. The Lions won the first two sets in strong fashion led by some key plays by Ryan Anderson and Podstawka, but the Rams did not fall away quietly and won the next two.
York's chances of extending their playoff run seemed to be in danger when the Lions succumbed to an early 5-0 Rams run to begin the fifth frame. Jason Kinoshita renewed the Lions hopes by dropping a kill down the left side to tie the score at eight. Both teams battled back-and-forth for the lead down the stretch. With York up 17-16, Rams hitter Anton Hauser had an opportunity to drill one down the right line to tie it up but Podstawka denied the chance with his game-winning block. Ryan Anderson finished with 16 kills and nine digs for the Lions. Jason Kinoshita recorded 53 assists, while adding a team-high 15 digs. Ryan Vandenburg proved why he is one of the nation's top offensive players with a game-high 28 kills. Matt Fugard and Anton Hauser added to the kill column with 11 and 10, respectively. Ryerson's Lukas Porosa led his team with 29 assists and 14 digs.
OUA Semi-Final
Western 3, McMaster 0
The Western men's volleyball team (18-1) eliminated the McMaster Marauders (14-6) from OUA playoff competition with a 3-0 sweep in semi-final action. As a result, Western will compete for the OUA men's volleyball championship next week in a best-of-three match final against the York Lions (18-2). Third-year left side Alex Dumond led the Western offensive attack with 17 kills. While Fifth-year outside hitter Peter Sidler and second-year left side Alex Jerome recorded 14 and 13 kills respectively. Sidler finished the regular season ranked third in the country with 278 kills. Rookie setter and CIS assists leader Andrew Hinchey notched 37 assists for the Mustangs. First-year left side Peter Hrkal led the Marauders with 19 kills and Sean Panchal added 30 assists.
