CIS MEN'S VOLLEYBALL RECAP: Gaels fall short of bronze

Saturday, March 3
Semifinal - Queen's Gaels vs. Trinity Western

KINGSTON, Ont. (CIS) – The top-seeded Trinity Western Spartans will get the chance to defend their national title on Sunday thanks to a straight-set win over the tournament host Queen’s Gaels in the second semifinal of the CIS men’s volleyball championship, Saturday night in front of 1,994 fans at the ARC.

Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern, the Spartans will make their third consecutive appearance in the gold-medal final and their fifth overall since joining CIS in 1999-2000. The powerhouse from Langley, B.C., captured the Tantramar Trophy a year ago with a 3-0 win over Brandon and in 2006 with a straight set victory against Alberta, and settled for silver in 2010 and 2005.

In order to claim a second straight banner tomorrow, the Canada West champions will have to defeat the No. 3 Laval Rouge et Or, who downed Manitoba 3-1 in the early semi. Trinity Western sports a 2-0 all-time record against Laval at the CIS tournament, including a 3-2 semifinal win in 2010 and a 3-1 quarter-final victory in 2004.

Trinity Western also hopes to extend the remarkable streak of 17 straight national titles won by Canada West schools since Laval captured its third and last Tantramar Trophy in 1994.

For their part, the Gaels will try to please their home crowd by winning a first-ever CIS medal. Queen’s faces Manitoba for bronze at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Spartans were led by third-year hitter Steven Marshall of Abbotsford, B.C., who had a game-high 14 kills to lead all players on just 23 attacks. He also chipped in with four digs and four blocks on defence.

For Queen’s, OUA player of the year Joren Zeeman of Cambridge, Ont., was named player of the game for Queen’s with a 10 kill, eight dig performance.

“We had good execution and we wanted to serve tough and pass well and I thought we did both,” said Trinity Western head coach Ben Josephson. “The atmosphere here was electric and I’m really glad we quieted them down a little bit. After having that advantage last year we knew what that meant to us so we wanted to make sure we played good early.”

Queen’s head coach Brenda Willis praised the quality of Trinity Western’s play.

“We lost to a better team today and I give Trinity Western all the credit in the world. They have so much faith in their block that if they just give you an easy ball and you get a perfect pass out of it they’re still confident that they can block you and they did.”

The two teams went toe-to-toe early, the Spartans took a 2-0 advantage before the Gaels rallied for five of the next six points to go up 5-3. After the game saw the two teams locked at 10-10 Trinity Western took a slight 12-10 lead before Queen’s came right back with a kill by Niko Rukavina of Mississauga, Ont. and an ace from Toronto native Michael Amoroso.

The No. 1 seed Spartans kept their composure, defending the Gaels attacks well after being tied at 12 as they took three straight points forcing the Gaels to take a timeout trailing 15-12.

Daniel Jansen Van Doorn of Langley, B.C. fed the Spartan momentum with a block in the middle increasing the Trinity Western lead to 19-13. Queen’s climbed to within four after holding off a set point opportunity but the Spartans were too strong and finished off set one with a 25-20 victory.

The Spartans kept the momentum from their set one win going in the second frame, they opened up leads of 5-1 and 7-2 over the home Gaels. CIS player of the year Ben Ball of Abbotsford, B.C. gave his hitters great opportunities and they converted continuously. Ball showed off his finesse skills with a tip past unsuspecting Gaels defenders to give his team a 10-5 advantage.

Trinity Western took six of the next nine points into the technical timeout with a 16-8 lead over the Gaels.

The Gaels middle Amoroso fired back-to-back kills for Queen’s to cut into the Trinity Western lead as they trailed 17-11. Rudy Verhoeff of Calgary responded with an attack off the blocking arm of Amoroso that went out of bounds. The point was the first of four for the Spartans who increased their lead to 20-11.

The Spartans cruised from there on, taking five of the next seven points as they took a commanding two sets to none lead over Queen’s.

Ball put the Spartans in front 2-0 the third set with a service ace, but the Gaels Will Sidgwick of Toronto fired a kill that was deflected out of bounds. After trading service errors Sidgwick was then denied at the net by Lucas Van Berkel of Edmonton who put the Spartans up 5-2.

Steven Marshall of Abbotsford, B.C. continued to lead the power attack of the Spartans adding a kill and block on back to back plays making it 11-5 for Trinity Western.

Trinity Western got out in front 12-7 and followed up with three straight points thanks in large part to the team’s ability to block the Gaels outside hitters. Heading into the technical timeout the Spartans were in control leading 16-9 over Queen’s.

Coming out of the technical timeout the Gaels continued to stumble giving up two more points to the Spartans. Queen’s head coach Brenda Willis had no choice but to call a timeout.

The tactic wasn’t successful as the Spartans continued to roll. The Gaels had no rebuttal for their multiple attackers and strong blocking and the Spartans closed in on their victory, picking up the six points they needed to win the third set by a 25-14 margin and seal the straight set win.

Consolation #1 - Western Mustangs vs. Calgary Dinos

KINGSTON, Ont. (CIS) – The sixth-seeded Calgary Dinos rebounded from a disappointing first-round loss with a dominating 25-14, 25-21, 25-6 win against the No. 7 Western Mustangs in the first consolation match of the CIS men’s volleyball championship at Queen’s University, Saturday afternoon.

Led by 7-foot-1 middle Ivan Kartev of Calais, France, who earned Calgary player-of-the-game honours, the Canada West fourth-place finisher Dinos made quick work of the OUA finalists and will now face either No. 4 Alberta or No. 8 Dalhousie in the consolation finale for fifth place, Sunday at 11 a.m. Eastern.

Calgary, who dropped a four-set decision to No. 3 Laval on Friday, had reached the CIS semifinals each of the past two years, claiming bronze a year ago after capturing the Tantramar Trophy in 2010.

Kartev was a force along the net as he recorded four kills on eight attacks and added 10 of his team’s 23 blocks to hold Western to a -.013 team hitting percentage.

Making their first trip to the CIS championship since 2001, the Mustangs return home with an 0-2 record. They couldn’t seem to recover from a heartbreaking quarter-final loss on Friday, when they were edged 19-17 in the fifth set by No. 2 Manitoba.

Western player of the game Allan Screaton had five kills on six attacks as well as three digs. He had a team-high .667 hitting percentage.

“The team was good and played well as a group and we liked how the game went,” said Kartev. “It was disappointing to lose yesterday but you have to get over it right after, that's the game that’s volleyball.”

Mustangs head coach Jim Sage sees the appearance at the championships as a learning opportunity for the program.

“Having the opportunity to play at a CIS championship is something we can take with us to give us more drive and next year the guys will have that much more experience.”

The Dinos came out swinging to start the game, as they opened up a 5-2 lead very early on. Western didn’t let them get any further ahead however as they went on a five point run to take a 7-5 lead. The teams traded the next eight points to move to a tie at 11. The Dinos pulled ahead heading into the technical timeout as they registered the next five points and a 16-11 lead.

Out of the technical timeout it was all Calgary as they continued to roll on the attack, earning a 19-11 lead and forcing Western to use their first timeout of the set. The Mustangs brought two points back to make it a 19-13 game, but that’s as close as they could get as the Dinos closed out the set with six of the final seven points to earn a 25-14 set victory.

The Mustangs looked strong to begin the second set as they took three of the opening four points. The Dinos battled back with three straight points of their own to take a 4-3 lead. The teams traded points until they were tied at 13 before the Mustangs regained their earlier form. They recorded three straight points to enter the technical timeout with a 16-13 lead.

After the timeout, momentum swung between the two teams with Calgary slowly chipping away at Western’s three point lead. They eventually drew even with the Mustangs at 19 points before taking a 21-20 lead. From there it was all Calgary to close out the set as the Dinos took four of the final five points in the set for a 25-21 win and their second set win of the game.

The Dinos were dominant defensively to open up the third set. After earning a 2-1 lead, three consecutive solo blocks by Kartev gave Calgary a 5-1 lead, forcing Western to call a timeout. The break in play didn’t do anything to slow down Calgary’s momentum as they recorded another five straight points which prompted Western to call their second timeout. Again, Calgary was not deterred by the break as they scored six of nine points to take the third set into the technical timeout.

Calgary couldn’t be stopped after the technical timeout. After the Mustangs recorded the first point coming out of the break, the Dinos went on a 9-1 run to finish the game as they won the third and final set by a 25-6 score.

Friday, March 2
Quarter-final - Queen's Gaels vs. Alberta Golden Bears

KINGSTON, Ont. (CIS) – The tournament host Queen’s University Gaels earned their first-ever berth into the national semifinals thanks to a 3-1 upset victory over the fourth-seeded Alberta Golden Bears in the third quarter-final of the CIS men’s volleyball championship, Friday evening.

The game, which ended 25-23, 25-18, 25-27 and 25-23 in favour of the hometown favourites, was played in front of a record crowd of 1,802 fans in the Main Gym of the ARC, surpassing the previous venue mark of 1,581.

With the win, the fifth-seeded and OUA champion Gaels advance to Saturday’s late semifinal at 8 p.m., where they will face either top-ranked and defending CIS champion Trinity Western or No. 8 Dalhousie. Queen’s previous best result at the CIS tournament was a pair of fifth-place finishes in 2006 and 2010.

The Gaels are only the second OUA team to qualify for the national semis since 1998, the other being McMaster, which finished fourth in 2009.

Canada West bronze medallist Alberta will resume play on the consolation side of the draw Saturday at 3 p.m. against the losers of the TWU-Dalhousie match-up. The Bears’ loss, combined to Calgary’s defeat at the hands of Laval earlier on Friday, means that for only the second time since 1995 (2009), there will be less than three Canada West squads in the CIS semis.

Michael Amoroso, a second-team OUA all-star from Toronto, was named player of the match for the winners. He put in one of Queen’s most well-rounded performances as he contributed nine kills, eight blocks and a service ace.

For Alberta, game MVP Jarron Mueller, a setter from Calgary, orchestrated the offence with a 41 assist performance, while putting up four kills on six attacks and contributing five digs on defence.

“It was a great atmosphere and we had a chance to put them away in the third but couldn’t quite do that, then we managed to regroup and bounced back,” said first-team all-Canadian Joren Zeeman, referring to the Gaels blowing a 24-21 lead en route to a 27-25 loss in the third frame. “So much energy from the crowd it was awesome out there, it felt like there was a seventh man on the court with us thanks to that.”

Alberta head coach Terry Danyluk attributed his team’s struggles to unforced errors.

“I thought we had to be a little more consistent especially playing Queen’s at home but we just didn’t do that. It was a close game but I think if you look at the unforced errors that spells the difference in this game,” said Danyluk, whose team was without the services of injured first-team all-Canadian right side Mitch Irvine.

The Gaels got out in front of their counterparts quickly taking an early 6-3 lead, OUA Libero of the year Niko Rukavina of Missisauga, Ont. who has now moved to his original left side hitter position got things rolling with an early cross-court kill for Queen’s. The Golden Bears made their way back into the set however getting out front 8-7.

The teams continued their back and forth play leading into the technical timeout with Alberta taking a slight edge over Queen’s 16-14. The Gaels rallied once more drawing even at 21-21 to force Alberta to take a timeout. Zeeman of Cambridge, Ont. gave the Gaels the lead 23-21 with back-to-back service aces.

Michael Amoroso came down with a kill from the middle spot to make it 24-22 but Robert Wojick of Whitby, Ont. responded with a kill that fooled the Gaels defenders.

With Alberta controlling the serve Taylor Hunt of Brooklin, Ont. had his attempt go into the net giving the Gaels the first set 25-23.

The first set had Alberta edge Queen’s in kills by an 11-10 margin and a 12-11 margin in digs.

The second set saw the Gaels out in front early 4-2. Alberta’s Jay Olmstead of Edmonton helped lead the Panda’s in front 11-10 after nabbing a service ace and a left side kill that was too strong for Queen’s to handle.

The Gaels led by their left-side Zeeman took a 16-14 lead into the technical timeout. He continued to build the lead shortly after with yet another kill to put Queen’s up 18-14 and force Alberta to take a timeout.

Queen’s built upon that momentum led by an Amoroso block in the middle that forced a second timeout from Alberta with the Gaels out in front 21-16. Alberta couldn’t find their offensive flow after that and Queen’s took the set the same way as the first with an Alberta service error 25-18.

Alberta came out strong in set three building up early leads of 5-2 and 8-5 thanks to some strong defensive play. The Gaels were able to rally once again thanks in part to Jackson Dakin of Courtenay, B.C. in the front who surprised Alberta on multiple occasions with misdirected tips. Alberta still pushed forward with a slight 16-14 lead heading into the technical timeout.
Queen’s took their first lead of the match at 19-18 and after adding one more the Golden Bears were forced into a timeout.

Alberta kept pace and forced the Gaels into difficult defensive receptions with their attacking game. After drawing even at 24-24 Alberta pushed forward and secured a 27-25 set win.

The Golden Bears opened up a quick 4-2 lead in set four mainly thanks to their blocking that shut down the Gaels attacks from the right side. With Alberta getting out in front 9-5 Queen’s went on a five point swing to take the set lead once more at 10-9. Queen’s continued to build their lead and went up 16-13 at the technical timeout.

The Gaels opened up a bigger gap after the technical time out as they increased their lead to 20-15 over the Golden Bears. Alberta fought back to an even score at 23-23, but that’s as close as they got to taking the set as the Gaels won the next two points and captured the game with a 25-23 scoreline.

GAME NOTES: The two teams had battled in non-conference action back on Oct. 21 in Calgary with Alberta coming away with a narrow 3-2 victory.

Quarter-final - Western Mustangs vs. Manitoba Bisons

KINGSTON, Ont. (CIS) – The second-seeded Manitoba Bisons were pushed to the brink in their CIS men’s volleyball championship quarter-final against the No. 7 Western Mustangs, but ultimately prevailed in a closely contested five-set match in the Main Gym of the Queen’s ARC, Friday afternoon.

First-team all-Canadian Dane Pischke of Winnipeg was named player of the match for the Bisons as he led the Canada West silver medallists past the Mustangs, the OUA finalists, 25-22, 25-27, 25-17, 22-25 and 19-17. Manitoba advances to Saturday’s first semifinal against the No. 3 Laval Rouge et Or.

Pischke was one of Manitoba’s top producers across the board as he led the Bisons with 17 kills, 10 digs, six blocks and a service ace.

Western moves to the consolation side where they will take on the No. 6 Calgary Dinos on Saturday at 1 p.m. Mustangs player of the game Garrett May of Scarborough, Ont., had a game-high 26 kills and chipped in 11 digs, five blocks and a service ace.

“A 19-17 fifth set game, obviously it couldn’t get much closer than that” said Pischke. “It was a really good first game in this CIS tournament even though we came out a little slower than we liked but eventually built up our momentum.”

Despite the loss Western Mustangs head coach Jim Sage acknowledges the compete level that his players put forth on the court.

“Honestly I couldn’t be more proud of my players and how they competed. We knew Manitoba was going to be a handful and once the game got to five set it can go either way.” said head coach Sage after the loss. “What I wanted out of my players was to compete and leave it on the floor and that’s exactly what they did.”

The Mustangs came out strong to start the first set and jumped out to a lead over the Bisons. However, Manitoba kept them close and took a 14-12 lead after three service aces from Chris Voth of Winnipeg. Manitoba entered the technical timeout with a 16-12 lead after three consecutive blocks from Joseph Brooks of Toronto.

Manitoba was strong on the attack after the technical timeout, jumping out to a 23-16 lead after the break. The Mustangs battled back, picking up six of the next seven points and narrowing the gap to 24-22. The Bisons closed out the first half with the point they were looking for to take a 1-0 lead.
The Mustangs came out of the gate strong once again in the second, taking a 7-4 lead to start the set and continued to pick up points while holding off the Bisons. They entered the technical timeout with a 16-12 lead.

The Bisons began to mount a comeback as they reeled the Mustangs in after the break. Manitoba drew even with Western at 19 points apiece, before the squads traded points back and forth down the stretch. Manitoba broke Western’s set point advantage twice to make the score 24-24 and 25-25 before Western finally broke through to take the second set 27-25.

Manitoba used some excellent serving to their advantage in the third set as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the break, forcing Western to take a timeout. The Bisons continued their strong play and increased their lead to 10-3 before the Mustangs began to push back. Western took five of the next six points in the set to make the score 11-8 which forced Manitoba to take a timeout. The Bisons rebounded after the timeout and went into the technical timeout leading 16-11.

The Bisons picked up where they left off after the technical timeout and controlled the play with their attack. Big hits from Voth and key digs from libero Derek Nieroda of Headingley, Man., led the Bisons to a 25-17 set win.

The squads went point for point to start the set, and found themselves even at eight points apiece. An ace from Mathieu Poulin of Winnipeg tipped the momentum in favour of the Mustangs, as they increased their lead to 13-8. Manitoba chipped away at the Western lead but not before the Mustangs brought the set to the technical timeout with a 16-13 lead. Manitoba’s Pishcke was shown a yellow card during the sequence.

The Bisons reeled the Mustangs in after the timeout, evening up the score at 18 apiece after several thrilling rallies. The Mustangs regrouped after a timeout, and took four of the next five points in the set to move out to a 22-19 lead before Manitoba called a timeout of their own. The Bisons got within two but couldn’t close the gap further than that as the Mustangs took the set by a 25-22 score.

The Mustangs got off to a good start in the fifth set as they earned the first three points and forced Manitoba to call a timeout. The Bisons battled back after the break and tied the set at four points apiece after a long rally. Another Voth aces gave the Bisons their first lead of the set and forced Western to burn a timeout of their own. After more back and forth between the two teams, two big blocks gave the Bisons an 8-6 lead as they went into the technical timeout.

Several big hits found their way into the middle of the court for the Bisons as their attack led them to a 12-9 advantage over the Mustangs who called a timeout. Two quick points after the break for Western forced Manitoba’s hand as they called a timeout of their own.

After the timeout, the two teams went point for point and broke each other’s set point opportunities in a heated tiebreaker. The Bisons eventually prevailed by a 19-17 margin after a Western attack sailed out of bounds.

Source: CIS