October 22, 2010
OUA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL SEASON PREVIEW
HAMILTON, Ont. – The Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men’s volleyball season will kick off Friday, October 22 with four games around the league. The defending champions, Queen’s Gaels, look to win their fourth title in six seasons.
Ranked second in Ontario, the Gaels pushed their way past the Toronto Varsity Blues in the quarterfinals in straight sets and battled hard against the Western Mustangs to get to the finals. The Marauders, ranked No. 8 in the country were vying for their third straight title last season but lost to the Guelph Gryphons in the semifinals. The finals saw a see-saw battle between the Gaels and Gryphons, going to five sets until the match was decided 15-13 in favour of Queen’s. At the CIS championships, Queen’s finished a respectable fifth place in the country after beating the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack in five sets.
In their first game of the 2010 season, Queen’s travels to Toronto to take on the Varsity Blues. The Gaels, ranked tenth in the country for this upcoming season, will have a veteran lineup. Queens returns First-Team All-Stars Michael Amoroso (Toronto) and Joren Zeeman (Cambridge, Ont.). Zeeman was also named a CIS Second-Team All-Star. Named to the All-Rookie Team was outside hitter Will Sidgwick (Toronto) who will also be looked upon this year. Other returning standouts include fourth-year veterans Bryan Fautley (Oakville, Ont.), Niko Rukavina (Mississauga, Ont.) and Dan Rosenbaum (Hamilton, Ont.).
A quarterfinal rematch will take place at the Varsity Blues campus on Friday. After finishing seventh in OUA last year Toronto loses team captain and First-Team All-Star Steve Kung (Toronto). Middle Adam Palmer (Ottawa, Ont.) andsetter Deagan McDonald (Calgary, Alta.) will be looked to lead the team as fifth-year veterans.
The Western Mustangs, ranked No. 6 in the country coming into the 2010-2011 season, will play their home opener on Friday against the Guelph Gryphons. Western has lost OUA Most Valuable Player Eric Simon (London, Ont.) who was named a First-Team All-Star. Western returns Rookie of the Year Phil James (Ottawa, Ont.). The middle was also named to the All Rookie Team. Second-Team All-Star Mathieu Poulin (Shanty Bay, Ont.) will be returning to the lineup as a fourth-year vet.
The Guelph Gryphons posed as a serious threat to the consistently top ranked teams in OUA last year. Last season, the Gryphons went 1-1 against the Mustangs and will lose a few key players. Libero of the Year Gabriel deGroot (Langley, B.C.) finished up his five years as well as Second-Team All-Star Jonathan Whitton (Edmonton, Alta.). Guelph will look to Second-Team All-Star Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont.) to lead his team to a winning season.
The Marauders are ranked at No. 9 in the country coming into the season and have high expectations. After the Guelph upset in last year’s OUA semifinals, the Marauders look to take over OUA again after two straight titles two years ago. Aside from three key veterans, the Marauders have a young team this season. First-Team All-Stars Jeremy Groenveld (Welland, Ont.) and Tyler Santoni (Kingston, Ont.) as well as fourth-year vet Josh Lichty (St. Catharines, Ont.) will be leading the team this season. The Marauders also return Kevin Stevens (Winnipeg, M.B.) who was named to the All-Rookie Team. McMaster’s only significant loss was Second-Team All-Star Ryan Hudson (Winnipeg, M.B.).
The Marauders will travel to Windsor to take on the Lancers in the first game of the season. The Lancers lost to the Guelph Gryphons in quarterfinal play. Two years ago, Windsor finished eighth in OUA. Just a year later the Lancers improved their record and finished fourth overall. The Coach of the Year award went to Huub Kemmere from the Lancers. Windsor returns rookie Ryan Le (Windsor, Ont.) who was named to the All-Rookie Team last season and fourth-year middle Josh Edwards (Seeley, Ont.).
The Waterloo Warriors head to Toronto to take on the Ryerson Rams on Friday night. The Warriors finished fifth last sixth last season and were knocked out of the playoffs by the Mustangs. Waterloo will lose Aaron Dam (Grimsby, Ont.) who was not only a Second-Team All-Star but also won the Dale Iwanoczko Sportsmanship Award. They do return Aleks Poldma (Toronto), named to the All-Rookie Team, and fifth-year libero Dave Steiner (Dundas, Ont.).
The Rams have missed the playoffs two years in a row now and are looking to break the habit this season. Ryerson will return fifth-year right side Chris McLaughlin (Ottawa, Ont.) as well as fourth-year Greg MacDonald (Thamesville, Ont.). Middle Roman Kabanov (Toronto) will also be looked to for leadership. Ryerson lost experienced setter Cam Bartlett (Chatham, Ont.) and will be relying on new hands this year. Rookie Harry Shannon (Whitby, Ont.) who was named to the All-Rookie Team will not be returning.
The Laurier Golden Hawks and the York Lions will face off on Friday night as well. Although Laurier did not qualify for playoffs this year, they are hoping Second-Team All-Star Greg Houston (Chatham, Ont.) will be able to help out the offence on the right side. Laurier also has a decent contingent of fourth-years and will be more experience than some teams.
The Lions also finished with a dismal record, winning the OUA championships just six years ago. Despite the team having no fourth or fifth-years, this young squad will be lead by All-Rookie Team member Marvin Macalino (Aurora, Ont.).
Be sure to stay logged on to oua.ca for all your game times and updates at http://oua.ca/sports/volleyball/mvolleyball/results/ and find out when your team is broadcasted by checking the OUA website’s broadcast section at http://www.oua.ca/broadcast/.
OUA MEN’S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
October 22
7:00pm – Waterloo @ Ryerson
8:00pm – Laurier @ York
8:00pm – Queen’s @ Toronto
8:00pm – McMaster @ Windsor
October 23
7:00pm – Laurier @ Ryerson
8:00pm – Waterloo @ York
8:00pm – Guelph @ Windsor
8:00pm – McMaster @ Western
October 24
4:00pm – RMC @ Toronto
