WESTERN MUSTANGS HOST OUA MEN�S VOLLEYBALL FINAL FOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
HAMILTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) will name its newest men’s volleyball champion as the 2011 OUA Men’s Volleyball Final Four Championship begins on Friday, February 25 at The University of Western Ontario.
The first semifinal will feature one of the biggest rivalries in OUA. The No. 9 McMaster Marauders will face the No. 10 Queen’s Gaels in what is sure to be an exciting match at 5 p.m. The No. 6 Western Mustangs will then take on the Guelph Gryphons at 7:30 p.m.
The McMaster Marauders (16-4) finished tied for second with the Queen’s Gaels at the end of the regular season and it would only be fitting that the two teams meet once again in the semifinals. This season, McMaster has prevailed in five set matches both times the teams met but it hasn’t been easy. The Marauders are led by middle and two-time All-Star Tyler Santoni (Kingston, Ont.). Libero Josh Lichty (St. Catharines, Ont.) will take the reigns in the back and rookie setter Austin Campion-Smith (Bowmanville, Ont.) will provide the sets necessary to get the job done. After winning the title in 2007-08 and 2009-10, the Marauders win streak came to a halt after losing to the Guelph Gryphons last year in the semifinals.
The Queen’s Gaels, the defending OUA champions, will look to build on their win from last year in hopes of a consecutive banner. The Gaels boast Joren Zeeman (Cambridge, Ont.). The veteran All-Star tallied 231 kills despite missing quite a few games throughout the season. He is currently ranked first in the league with 4.82 points per game. Teammates Michael Amoroso (Toronto) and Bryan Fautley (Oakville, Ont.) are also big factors for the Gaels offensive success.
The Western Mustangs have been in the national rankings almost all year and are currently ranked at No. 6. Falling to the Queen’s Gaels in the semifinals at last year’s Final Four, the Mustangs stepped it up a notch for the 2010-11 season. Despite losing 2010 OUA Player of the Year Eric Simon from the lineup, the Mustangs have gelled better than ever. Matt Poulin (Winnipeg) earned his second All-Star award after averaging 4.16 points per game. Poulin, along with rookie Garrett May (Scarborough, Ont.) will be big factor in the Western offence this weekend. In the back court, newest Libero of the Year Pat Johnston (Whitby, Ont.) will be the backbone of the Mustangs defensive structure. In meetings with the Gryphons this season Western took the games 3-0 and 3-1.
Despite having to compete with top volleyball schools Queen’s, McMaster and Western, the Guelph Gryphons have earned themselves their individual identity within OUA in the past years. Making it to the finals last year and beating out McMaster was a huge stepping stone for the program and they look to continue that success by knocking off the Western Mustangs. This season, Guelph has proved their worth, taking Queen’s to five sets and defeating McMaster in four. Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont.) was a force to be reckoned with this season scoring the most kills in the league with 260 and ranking third in OUA with an average of 4.36 points per game. Also hoping to come up big for Guelph this weekend is Jamie Stamler (North Bay, Ont.).
Winners of the semifinal matches will advance to the championship game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 26.
All three games of the championship will be webcast live on SSN Canada at www.ssncanada.ca. The 2011 OUA men’s volleyball gold medal game will be broadcast live on Rogers TV Cable 13 London at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
2011 Men’s Volleyball Final Four Championship
@ The University of Western Ontario
February 25, 2011 – OUA Semifinals
5:00 p.m. - Queen's vs. McMaster
7:30 p.m. - Guelph vs. Western
February 26, 2011 – OUA Final
7:00 p.m. - Championship Game
