M-VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Gaels beat No. 5 Western en route to sixth straight win

Ryerson Rams @ McMaster Marauders

Hamilton, Ont. - McMaster's men's volleyball team took out the Ryerson Rams in three sets on Friday night in their last regular season home game. Losing earlier in the season to the Rams in five, the Marauders got revenge winning in three sets with scores of 25-17, 25-11, 25-21.

Second-year Jori Mantha scored a game-high 10 kills in the match, along with four aces and a game-high six digs. Also hitting double-digit numbers was Jeremy Groenveld with eight kills and two blocks. Setter TJ Sanders recorded 24 assists, coming off a recent concussion.

For Ryerson, Luka Milosevic scored a team-high six kills for the Rams. Roman Kabanov and Aleksa Miladinovic both had five points in the match.

The Marauders take on the Toronto Varsity Blues and the York Lions on the road next weekend to close out the regular season.

Source: Marauders Athletics

Fourth-year right side hitter Mitchell Woodside led all players with 13 kills as the Varsity Blues men's volleyball team defeated the Guelph Gryphons 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-13, 25-21) on Friday night at Mitchell Athletic Centre.

The win improves Toronto to 4-11 and sits them in eighth place in the OUA standings.

A native of Clyde River, P.E.I., Woodside added four digs and five blocks to his game-high 13-kill performance. Sophomore standout Jake Dysselhof added 11 kills and seven digs, while Matthew Vares had nine kills on the night.

Rookie setter Steven Khuu continued to control the ball well with 38 assists, while Michael Denton added a game-high nine digs in the win.

Winston Rosser led the Gryphons with 12 kills in the loss.

Source: Varsity Blues Athletics

The Warriors men's volleyball team won their third straight game with a sweep over the York Lions on Friday night at the PAC.  Set scores were 25-19, 25-18, 25-20.

Waterloo was able to execute a perfect game plan going to their one-two punch of Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo) and Cameron Wheelan (Barrie) with the Lions having no response for the outside hitters.

The win was Waterloo's tenth of the season and the black and gold now find themselves in three way tie for third with 20 points.  York dropped to 6-9 with 12 points and hold the seventh and final playoff spot.

Waterloo jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the first set thanks to the strategic setting of Scott Thomson (St. Marys) and incredible digs by Erich Woolley (New Dundee).  Waterloo would control the set from then on and James Evans (Rockwood/Warriors) would put away the final kill to give the home side the opening set by a score of 25-19.

The Warriors carried that momentum into the second set and take a choke hold of the game thanks to a 25-18 win.

The third set would be a different story as the Lions came out determined to make a game of it.  Down 14-10, the Warriors would chip away at the lead thanks to some stellar serving by Evans and unstoppable kills off the hand of Kazhamiaka. 

With the score notched at 17's, Thomson would throw down one of his patented dumps and the momentum would shift in Waterloo's favour.  Kazhamiaka and Wheelan continued their strong outside play and the Warriors would pull away late in the set and win it by a score of 25-20. 

Kazhamiaka led all players with 11 kills on just 16 attempts for a kill percentage of 63.  Wheelan was equally as good with 10 of his own kills on 19 attempts.  Wheelan also chipped in with nine digs while Woolley was once again all over the court for Waterloo notching a total of 12 digs.  Evans and Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) rounded out the attack with eight and seven kills respectively while Thomson collected 33 assists in the win.

For the Lions, Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) had an impressive match with 10 kills and two blocks.  Outside Nikola Sandic (Etobicoke, Ont.) also gave his squad 10 kills.  Setter Paul Jakubiak (Toronto) tallied 23 assists in a losing effort.

Source: Warriors Athletics

KINGSTON, Ont. (February 4, 2012) -  The Queen's Gaels (11-6) continued their strong play of late capturing their fifth straight win as they upset the No. 5 Western Mustangs (15-2) in straight sets (29-27, 25-20, 25-23).

The team has gone four straight games without dropping a set as they continue to improve as the OUA playoffs and CIS Championships approach.

Joren Zeeman of Cambridge, Ont. was just one part of what was a strong Gaels team this afternoon. Whether it was by a rally kept alive by the diving elbow of Ottawa native Alex Oenid, a shutdown block Michael Amoroso of Toronto, or a timely kill by Zeeman, the fans were brought to their feet several times today.

After winning the first set by the slimmest of margins, and allowing the Mustangs to press the set to 29 points, the Gaels defense tightened up. Queen's would end up with 60 digs in three sets, which in comparison to the Mustangs' 40 dig effort, can help explain the sweep victory for the Gaels.

Niko Rukavina of Missisaugua, Ont. seemed to be everywhere at once, posting a well-rounded eight kills, 14 digs, and two block assist effort. Rukavina was joined by teammates Oneid and Jackson Dakin of Courtenay, B.C. in fueling the Gaels defense, as all three would end up with 14 digs on the afternoon.

Amoroso imposed his will upon his opponents up at the net, closing the gap to register three solo blocks, three block assists and swatting home five kills.

The Mustangs were led by Matt Poulin of Shanty Bay, Ont., who had 10 kills on the night.

The Lancer men's volleyball team clinched a home playoff berth for the third straight year on Sunday with a fourth place finish overall in the OUA standings.

Windsor finished the season with an 11-7 record, and will face the Waterloo Warriors in the OUA quarter-finals on Saturday February 18th. The Warriors also finished 11-7, but the Lancers hold the tie-breaker placing them above the Warriors in the standings.

The Lancers closed out the season splitting their final two games on the road over the weekend.

On Saturday, Windsor swept the RMC Paladins 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-19). It was a balanced attack with Timothee Jaumel leading the way with 12 points and 8 kills.

Source: Lancers Athletics

Ray Szeto scored a game-high 25 points, Felipe Humana-Parades chipped in 18 to go along with a game-high three blocks, and the York University Lions men's volleyball team clinched a berth in the OUA playoffs with a 3-2 win over the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday (Feb. 4) at the W.F. Mitchell Centre in Guelph, Ont.

Source: Lions Athletics

The Warriors wrapped up their 2011-12 season with a sweep (25-22, 25-21, 25-17) over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night at the PAC.  The win was Waterloo's fourth straight win and the third time in a row winning in straight sets. 

With the win the Warriors sit in a three way tie for third place with Queen's and Windsor at 22 points, with those two teams scheduled to play each other in their final match of the season.  Queen's and Windsor both hold the tie-breaking scenarios over Waterloo meaning the Warriors will end up in fifth place in the OUA standings.

Cameron Wheelan (Barrie), who was recognized as the only graduating senior prior to the match, led all players 12 points in the game including nine kills, one service ace and five assisted blocks. 

Outside hitters Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo) and James Evans (Rockwood/Warriors) also had strong games for the black and gold each with seven kills.  Libero Erich Woolley (New Dundee) continued his strong rookie campaign with 14 digs, giving him 130 digs on the season.  Setter Scott Thomson (St. Marys) had 28 assists in the win.

For the Blues, outside Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, PEI) had eight kills while Jonathan Adomait of Dundas, Ont. knocked down six kills.  Setter Alex Park (Toronto) had 14 assists in a losing effort.

Source: Warriors Athletics

KINGSTON, Ont. (February 5, 2012) - The Gaels (12-6) ended their regular season strong, sweeping the Windsor Lancers (11-7) in straight sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-20).  With the win the Gaels have now locked up the third place position in the OUA and have won six straight games, sweeping their opponents in the last five contests.

Joren Zeeman of Camrbidge, Ont. continued his strong season registering 12 kills to lead the Gaels. Michael Amoroso of Toronto was also swinging strong, and put down nine kills from the middle. Amoroso would also fool the Lancers with three service aces.

Jackson Dakin of Courtenay, B.C. showed how versatile of a setter he is, dominating the net game while also demonstrating a soft touch around the ball. His impressive play produced 33 assists, three solo blocks and one block assist.

The Lancers were continually returning to outside hitter Kyle Williamson of Essex, Ont., and he did not disappoint, striking home 16 kills throughout the match. However, the lack of balance in the attack of the Lancers was smothered by the defence of the Gaels, who were rear-guarded by defensive specialist Jacob Glantz of St. Catharines, Ont. Glantz dug up 10 balls for the Gaels, and showed remarkable hustle and court presence.

The Gaels will look to continue their recent surge in the post-season on February 18, when they face off against their OUA quarter-finalist opponents.

KINGSTON, Ont. – It was a one-sided afternoon as the Western Mustangs (16-2) took three straights sets from the RMC Paladins (0-18)

Set scores were 25-13, 25-10 and 25-19.

Western jumped ahead early taking the first set 25-13, then the second 25-10.
 
RMC looked to take the third set, but a much stronger Western team finished ahead 25-19.

Derek Kuiack led the Mustangs with 11 kills, two digs and one solo block.

Jeffrey Fillmore had six kills, one ace and three digs for the Paladins.

The Mustangs will face the fourth place OUA team at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24 in the OUA Semi-Final at Alumni Hall.

Source: Mustangs Athletics