January 14, 2013
M-VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Waterloo keeping pace with first-place McMaster
January 11 - Toronto @ McMaster
The McMaster men’s volleyball team tangled with a game Toronto squad on Friday evening, and managed to take a 3-set win over the Varsity Blues to stay unbeaten in the OUA standings.
The first set saw the Marauders build a 9-6 lead, but the Blues managed to keep pace with Mac and at the technical timeout, the lead was 16-13 for the Maroon. After the break, Marauder Stephen Maar got into a serving groove and the lead went to 21-13, which was too big a deficit for Toronto to overcome, losing the set 25-17.
The second set saw a gritty Toronto team come out strong and take an 8-5 lead before McMaster started to respond and at the technical timeout, Mac had taken a 16-13 lead. With the momentum now in their favour, the Marauders were able to add to the lead and took the second set 25-21.
Now facing a two-set deficit, Toronto refused to concede anything and took the early lead in the third set and fought hard to hit the technical timeout with a 16-12 lead. McMaster fought back to close the gap, but Toronto played some inspired volleyball and had a chance to win the set leading 24-22, but could not close it out as McMaster tied things up at 24-24.
The two teams then exchanged the advantage and both had chances to end the set and failed. Finally, a tough serve by Maar forced a bad pass and allowed Tyson Alexander to bury a free ball for the 32-30 win and a sweep of the match.
Mac setter Austin Campion-Smith had a strong match with 28 assists and was named the BIG MAC player of the game.
The win is McMaster 10th straight in OUA play and keeps the Marauders alone in first place.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Ryerson @ York
The York University Lions men's volleyball team was victorious on Friday night (Jan. 11), downing the Ryerson Rams by a final score of 3-1 at the Tait Mackenzie Centre.
The win vaulted the Lions back to .500 with a 5-5 record on the year. It was also a significant victory as it moved them into a fifth-place tie with the Rams, who are also 5-5, in the OUA standings.
The first set was tightly contested from start to finish as neither team was able to run away with it. York would hold the largest lead of the set at 10-7, but the Rams would answer back to take a 16-15 lead after some impressive kills.
The rest of the set saw both teams trade points, with the Rams unable to go up by more than one. That would prove costly as after Ryerson had set point at 24-22, the Lions rallied with four straight points to take the opening set 26-24.
The second set saw York open up a 6-1 lead, forcing the Rams to burn a timeout. That seemed to spur the Rams as they would go on a sustained rally to take the next three points and eventually the lead at 14-12. A Lions timeout didn't do much and the Rams took the set by a final score of 25-18.
The third set opened just like the second with the Lions taking an early lead. However, this time the timeout for the Rams wouldn't provide a remedy as the Lions took a one-set lead once again, winning the third by a score of 25-19.
The fourth set was extremely close from the beginning as neither team was able to take more than a one-point lead until late. After a technical timeout was taken with Ryerson clinging to a 16-15 lead, the Lions would explode for four straight points to open up the biggest lead by either team in the set at 19-16. The Rams would respond to tie the game at 22, only to be disappointed by a service fault that gave York the deciding set by a final score of 25-23.
Second-year outside hitter Daniel Dearing led the attack for the Lions with 17 points, 13 coming off of kills. Fellow outside hitter Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) had a big game with 15 points on 11 kills, while also playing some gritty defence in leading the team with nine digs.
The Rams offence was controlled by outside hitter Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.), who had 18 points off of 16 kills. He also led the team with nine digs.
Source: York Sports Info
Windsor @ Western
LONDON, Ont.- The Western Mustangs men’s volleyball team stepped back on home court tonight against the Windsor Lancers for their first game of the new year. The Lancers showed a lot of heart, but it was not enough to overcome the dominant play of the Mustangs who topped Windsor in three straight sets bringing their OUA season record to 8-2.
Set scores were 25-22, 25-18, 25-19.
“I was a little bit worried about the match,” Mustangs head coach Jim Sage said. “Windsor is fighting for a playoff spot, and they gave us a handful last time they played us in Windsor. Even up 2-0, I thought ‘oh no—maybe, here we go again.’ I was probably more nervous in the third set than the whole game, just because I wanted to get this done. As soon as you give Windsor a snip, they’ll run with it.
“They play on a lot of emotion. I was pleased with the guys—we are getting close to achieving some of our goals in terms of focus and intensity. I am proud of them for that.”
Leading the Mustangs were Justin Scapinello and Garrett May, each with 12.5 points and four digs in the three set affair. Scapinello also earned 12 kills on 20 attempts, while May followed with 12 kills on 24 attempts. Leading the way for the Lancers was Greg Simone with a game high of 13 points and 11 kills.
After a successful first half of the 2012-2013 season, the Mustangs looked confident against the Windsor Lancers. The game commenced as a point-for-point affair before the Lancers took a slim lead. But the Mustangs wouldn’t trail for long as they managed to tie the game making it a point-for-point affair once again. At the technical timeout, Windsor was up by one. When the game resumed, Western surged two points ahead and challenged their opponent’s every move. The Mustangs eventually took the set 25-22.
Windsor opened the second set with a quick three points, edging Western for what only seemed like a moment before the set was tied 4-4. The game took a turn as the Mustangs gained a convincing lead over their opponent, building up a seven-point advantage. Remaining consistent, the Mustangs held on to their lead, and despite Windsor getting a few points near the end of the set, Western earned the second set victory by a score of 25-18.
Down by two sets, Windsor was seeking a comeback and tried to prevent Western from gaining any easy points in the third. Both teams traded points during the opening half of the set. But with the help of strong kills from powerhouse May, the Mustangs managed to get ahead 11-7. The Mustangs led 16-12 at the technical time out and showed no sign of relinquishing their lead. Windsor aimed for revenge after the first two sets, but could not keep up with the puprle and white and fell for the third time by a score of 25-19.
The Mustangs return to the court next weekend to continue the OUA regular season, when they play the Queen’s Gaels at 2:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
Source: Western Sports Info
January 12 - Waterloo @ RMC
The men's volleyball team was slow out of the gate but managed to get back on track and pick up their first victory of 2013 with a 3-1 (31-33, 25-13, 28-26, 25-20) win over the RMC Paladins on Saturday afternoon in Kingston.
The win gives the Warriors a 9-1 record, two points back of the first place McMaster Marauders (10-0) while RMC dropped to 0-10 on the season.
Waterloo got off to a sluggish start making several errors, allowing the Paladins to take the first set 33-31 but Waterloo responded as they have all year to capture the second set with ease, 25-13. The third and pivotal set was a back and forth affair that would end in favour of the Warriors 28-26. The Paladins could not recover in the fourth and Waterloo would take the set 25-20 and match 3-1.
Rookie outside hitter Sergey Grabovsky (Aurora) was an offensive threat for Waterloo collecting 18 points in the win. Grabovsky had 14 kills while adding six digs and four blocks. Third year, Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) was a blocking machine in the middle with a game high six blocks. Dyck also added 13 kills for the black and gold.
Setting up the Warriors was Hussein Abdo (Ottawa) who tallied 39 assists and an astounding five service aces.
For the Paladins the duo of Thomas McMullen (Ottawa) and Tyler Leknois (Kingston) combined for 28 kills while setter Eric Hawn (London) had 37 assists in a losing effort.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Guelph @ Queen's
KINGSTON, Ont. (January 12, 2013) – The Queen's Gaels men's volleyball team (7-3) was in action Saturday afternoon against the Guelph Gryphons (2-8), in their first game of 2013. The Gaels were able to cruise past the Guelph Gryphons in straight sets (26-24, 25-10, 25-19). Queen's currently sits in fourth place in the OUA.
The match opened on a rather lackluster note, with three errors. Queen's saw their first offensive productivity from Philippe Goyer (Ottawa) who stifled a Gryphon's attack with a block up the middle. Queen's and Guelph proceeded to exchange points until the Gaels were able to pull ahead in the final points of the set with middle Tyler Scheerhoorn (Belleville, Ont.) making his presence felt upfront with two timely blocks and a tip over the Gryphon defenders. Scheerhoorn closed out the first frame with a service ace.
Although Guelph was able to keep the first set close, much in part because of Queen's eight errors, they could not find an answer for the Gaels strong offensive production in the second set. Guelph opened the set with a service error, which gave Queen's some momentum out of the gate. The Gaels were all over the court in the second, and Jackson Dakin (Courtenay, B.C.) illustrated this in one particular rally where he recorded three different digs—eventually setting up offside-hitter Michael Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) for a commanding kill, which capped a 11-4 Gaels run. Tomlinson recorded two more kills in the second set to close-out a lop-sided set victory, 25-10. The Gaels stand-out second-year hitter was also named the Gaels player of the game, finishing with a game-high 15 kills, eight digs and three blocks.
In the third set it was the Gryphons getting on the board first with a Gaels service error. Guelph continued to make a push, with right-side hitter Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont.)
and left-side hitter Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont.) combining for five of the Gryphons 19 points in the third. For the Gaels it was second-year offside-hitter Aaron Nusbaum (Aurora, Ont.) who was noteworthy in the set, accounting for three of the tricolour's points after the technical timeout. Tomlinson was also pivotal upfront recording two blocks late to close things out for the Gaels, who won the set 25-19—cruising to their first straight set victory of 2013.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Toronto @ York
The York University Lions men's volleyball team rallied from two-sets-to-one down but was defeated in five sets by the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night (Jan. 12) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
After a heroic effort for victory in the fourth set, the Lions failed to gather any momentum in the deciding fifth and lost the critical set 15-9. It was a disappointing finish to a game that saw the Lions repeatedly rallying from behind to put its sets on the board.
The Lions struggled in the first set despite strong defensive performances from outside hitter Karim Khalil (Mississauga, Ont.) and middle Felipe Humana-Paredes (Toronto), whose performance at the net resulted in several critical blocks, and went on to drop the first set by a score of 25-19.
After a slow start to the second, the Lions went on a 12-2 run that saw them explode past the Blues en route to a 25-16 set victory to even the match up at one set apiece. Outside hitter Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) served for a six-point streak in the set despite repeated frustrating digs Toronto libero Michael Denton (Scarborough, Ont.).
The third set presented the toughest challenge yet to each team as neither could manage to establish a strong lead. The teams traded points more or less from the outset, culminating in a tense 26-24 set finish in favour of the Varsity Blues as they pulled ahead 2-1.
The Lions leapt to an early lead in the fourth set and held onto a significant lead for most of the stanza. Despite a rousing comeback by the Varsity Blues, the deficit was too great and the Blues fell short, dropping the fourth to the Lions 25-20 and setting the stage for the deciding final set.
Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) played the strongest game for the Lions, earning a match-high 23.5 points on 20 kills, two service aces and 1.5 blocks. Szeto had 17 points, all kills, as well as leading the Lions in digs, with 15. Gregory Ivan (Toronto) added 17 points as well, from seven kills, two service aces and a team-leading seven blocked shots.
Jonathan Adomait (Dundas, Ont.) led the Blues with 15 points and 10 digs, earning 12 kills, two service aces and one block. Denton led the team in assists, registering 39 of the team's 49 total assists.
The Lions' next game is on Friday (Jan. 18) against the Gryphons in Guelph at 8pm. Their next home game is a tough matchup against the Windsor Lancers on Friday (Jan. 25) at 8pm at Tait McKenzie Centre.
Source: York Sports Info
Ryerson @ McMaster
McMaster persevered in a long, five-set battle to come away with a 3-2 win and continue the unbeaten conference run that has seen the Marauders win 11-consecutive matches.
Jayson McCarthy had 21.5 points for the Marauders in the win, converting 17 of 30 hitting attempts. Dany Demyanenko added 17 points, including 14 kills on 19 attempts.
Robert Wojcik led the Rams in a losing effort, putting up 18 points and 15 kills.
A close beginning to the match saw the Marauders take a 9-6 lead when a serve took a fortunate bounce, rolling limply over the tape and finding the Rams' side of the floor. Ryerson was often its own worst enemy in the opening set, and a slew of errors helped the Marauders take a 16-12 lead into the technical timeout.
The trend continued after the break, and yet another attack pushed long gave McMaster a seven-point lead a 21-14. The deficit was too much for the visitors, and after an ace from Jayson McCarthy gave the hosts a set point, Ryerson's Robert Wojcik fired a jump serve into the bottom of the net to end it 25-18.
The second set developed much as the first had before it, with the two teams remaining close until the midpoint. McMaster edged ahead 14-13 when Dany Demyanenko converted a quick in the middle through a double block. That slim lead held into the technical timeout, as the Marauders entered the break with a 16-15 advantage.
But the Rams fought back late in the second set, aided in large part by their blocking efforts. Jori Mantha fell into a double block on the left and the Marauders were forced to call time trailing 23-21. McMaster used the timeout well, and sent the set into extra points where McCarthy came up with a clutch spinning ace to take it 28-26.
Ryerson's blockers once again took the fore in the third, with Aleksa Miladinovic reeling off a string of stuffs on the right to help his team into a 16-12 lead at the technical timeout. The advantage held as the set progressed, and a Stefan Ristic ace gave the Rams a seven-point lead at 22-15. They would polish off the set just points later, when a miscommunication between setter Austin Campion-Smith and middle Alex Elliot led the latter to whiff on an attack at net, giving Ryerson the set 25-17.
The Rams held the early edge again in the fourth, clinching a long rally to move ahead 6-4. But the home side found another level midway through the set, and a Dany Demyanenko kill in the middle propelled McMaster into a 12-10 lead. The back-and-forth set took another turn at the technical, with a Ryerson surge bringing the visitors back into the lead after a well executed double block.
The two teams traded points as the set approached a conclusion, with the Rams gaining separation at 24-22 after a Steven Maar attack rolled wide off the tape. Ryerson levelled the match two points later, when the Marauder serve found the bottom of the net.
Momentum seemed to be entirely on the visitors' side, but it was the hosts who took the initiative to open the deciding set. McMaster took the first three points of the shortened fifth before Ryerson called time to halt the run. Alex Elliot took the reins as the Marauders raced ahead, bouncing a swing off of the attempted dig for 6-3. The home side's lead only grew from there, and Austin Campion-Smith's well-placed dump gave McMaster match point at 14-7. Demyanenko sealed it with an ace, catching the back line in the process.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
January 13 - Waterloo @ Queen's
KINGSTON, Ont. (January 13, 2013) - The Queen's Gaels men's volleyball team (7-4) was in action Sunday afternoon as they took on the No. 10 Waterloo Warriors (10-1). The Gaels were nearly successful in their upset of the Warriors, leading them two sets to one headed into the fourth. Unfortunately Waterloo was able to battle back capitalizing on Queen's errors and eventually closing out the match 3-2 (28-30, 25-12, 25-22, 15-25, 11-15).
The first set gave a preview of what the game was going to be like, with the Gaels forcing Waterloo into extra points, where the Warriors surpassed the Gaels, 30-28. Gaels outside-hitters Philippe Goyer (Ottawa) and Michael Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) were pivotal for the tricolour in the first set—recording three kills each. Jackson Dakin (Courtenay, B.C.) was the offensive mastermind for the Gaels, setting up 14 of the Gaels 28 first set points. Dakin also combined with second-year middle Tyler Scheerhoorn (Belleville, Ont.) for a timely block that helped establish a run for the Gaels in the opening set. The Gaels fifth-year setter finished the match with an impressive 42 assists and 22 digs, many of which were difficult defensive plays to keep the rally alive.
Queen's offense really came to life in the second set, going on long scoring runs that Waterloo could not answer. The Gaels closed out the set on an 8-2 run which was finished out by a Tomlinson kill and an Aaron Nusbaum (Aurora, Ont.) ace.
In the third, the Gaels offensive productivity picked up where it left off, starting the frame on a 7-3 run. The Warriors closed the gap and eventually drew even with Queen's by capitalizing on tricolour attacking errors. A late set surge from Goyer, who recorded three straight kills allowed the Gaels to take a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set—winning the frame 25-22.
The fourth set featured the Warriors fighting to stay alive and avoid the upset. Deadlocked through the first five points, neither team seemed to be able to gain any momentum until the mid-way mark when Waterloo orchestrated a 14-4 run. Gaels errors accompanied by four Zachary Doherty (Goderich, Ont.) kills allowed the Warriors to establish such a large run and force the match into a fifth and deciding set. Doherty was the game leader in kills with 18.
After opening the final set exchanging points, the Waterloo Warriors were eventually able to establish some momentum and go on a 4-1 run. Kills from second-year hitter Brett Walter (Sudbury, Ont.) and Goyer mid-way through the set allowed the Gaels to climb back in the match. Even at 10, Waterloo was again able to marginally pull ahead from Queen's attacking errors and strong play from Doherty. Up 14-10 on the Gaels, the Warriors looked to be in control until Tomlinson was able to serve up a commanding kill for Queens. Unfortunately it was too little too late as Doherty recorded kill number 18 to give Waterloo a 3-2 victory.
Rookie libero Ivo Dramov (Plovdiv, Bulg.) was the Gaels player of the game. He recorded an impressive seven assists and 19 digs.
The Queen's Gaels men's volleyball team looks to gain their eighth win of the season and move past the Mustangs for third place, when they visit Western on Saturday. Game time is set for 2pm in London.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
The McMaster men’s volleyball team tangled with a game Toronto squad on Friday evening, and managed to take a 3-set win over the Varsity Blues to stay unbeaten in the OUA standings.
The first set saw the Marauders build a 9-6 lead, but the Blues managed to keep pace with Mac and at the technical timeout, the lead was 16-13 for the Maroon. After the break, Marauder Stephen Maar got into a serving groove and the lead went to 21-13, which was too big a deficit for Toronto to overcome, losing the set 25-17.
The second set saw a gritty Toronto team come out strong and take an 8-5 lead before McMaster started to respond and at the technical timeout, Mac had taken a 16-13 lead. With the momentum now in their favour, the Marauders were able to add to the lead and took the second set 25-21.
Now facing a two-set deficit, Toronto refused to concede anything and took the early lead in the third set and fought hard to hit the technical timeout with a 16-12 lead. McMaster fought back to close the gap, but Toronto played some inspired volleyball and had a chance to win the set leading 24-22, but could not close it out as McMaster tied things up at 24-24.
The two teams then exchanged the advantage and both had chances to end the set and failed. Finally, a tough serve by Maar forced a bad pass and allowed Tyson Alexander to bury a free ball for the 32-30 win and a sweep of the match.
Mac setter Austin Campion-Smith had a strong match with 28 assists and was named the BIG MAC player of the game.
The win is McMaster 10th straight in OUA play and keeps the Marauders alone in first place.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Ryerson @ York
The York University Lions men's volleyball team was victorious on Friday night (Jan. 11), downing the Ryerson Rams by a final score of 3-1 at the Tait Mackenzie Centre.
The win vaulted the Lions back to .500 with a 5-5 record on the year. It was also a significant victory as it moved them into a fifth-place tie with the Rams, who are also 5-5, in the OUA standings.
The first set was tightly contested from start to finish as neither team was able to run away with it. York would hold the largest lead of the set at 10-7, but the Rams would answer back to take a 16-15 lead after some impressive kills.
The rest of the set saw both teams trade points, with the Rams unable to go up by more than one. That would prove costly as after Ryerson had set point at 24-22, the Lions rallied with four straight points to take the opening set 26-24.
The second set saw York open up a 6-1 lead, forcing the Rams to burn a timeout. That seemed to spur the Rams as they would go on a sustained rally to take the next three points and eventually the lead at 14-12. A Lions timeout didn't do much and the Rams took the set by a final score of 25-18.
The third set opened just like the second with the Lions taking an early lead. However, this time the timeout for the Rams wouldn't provide a remedy as the Lions took a one-set lead once again, winning the third by a score of 25-19.
The fourth set was extremely close from the beginning as neither team was able to take more than a one-point lead until late. After a technical timeout was taken with Ryerson clinging to a 16-15 lead, the Lions would explode for four straight points to open up the biggest lead by either team in the set at 19-16. The Rams would respond to tie the game at 22, only to be disappointed by a service fault that gave York the deciding set by a final score of 25-23.
Second-year outside hitter Daniel Dearing led the attack for the Lions with 17 points, 13 coming off of kills. Fellow outside hitter Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) had a big game with 15 points on 11 kills, while also playing some gritty defence in leading the team with nine digs.
The Rams offence was controlled by outside hitter Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.), who had 18 points off of 16 kills. He also led the team with nine digs.
Source: York Sports Info
Windsor @ Western
LONDON, Ont.- The Western Mustangs men’s volleyball team stepped back on home court tonight against the Windsor Lancers for their first game of the new year. The Lancers showed a lot of heart, but it was not enough to overcome the dominant play of the Mustangs who topped Windsor in three straight sets bringing their OUA season record to 8-2.
Set scores were 25-22, 25-18, 25-19.
“I was a little bit worried about the match,” Mustangs head coach Jim Sage said. “Windsor is fighting for a playoff spot, and they gave us a handful last time they played us in Windsor. Even up 2-0, I thought ‘oh no—maybe, here we go again.’ I was probably more nervous in the third set than the whole game, just because I wanted to get this done. As soon as you give Windsor a snip, they’ll run with it.
“They play on a lot of emotion. I was pleased with the guys—we are getting close to achieving some of our goals in terms of focus and intensity. I am proud of them for that.”
Leading the Mustangs were Justin Scapinello and Garrett May, each with 12.5 points and four digs in the three set affair. Scapinello also earned 12 kills on 20 attempts, while May followed with 12 kills on 24 attempts. Leading the way for the Lancers was Greg Simone with a game high of 13 points and 11 kills.
After a successful first half of the 2012-2013 season, the Mustangs looked confident against the Windsor Lancers. The game commenced as a point-for-point affair before the Lancers took a slim lead. But the Mustangs wouldn’t trail for long as they managed to tie the game making it a point-for-point affair once again. At the technical timeout, Windsor was up by one. When the game resumed, Western surged two points ahead and challenged their opponent’s every move. The Mustangs eventually took the set 25-22.
Windsor opened the second set with a quick three points, edging Western for what only seemed like a moment before the set was tied 4-4. The game took a turn as the Mustangs gained a convincing lead over their opponent, building up a seven-point advantage. Remaining consistent, the Mustangs held on to their lead, and despite Windsor getting a few points near the end of the set, Western earned the second set victory by a score of 25-18.
Down by two sets, Windsor was seeking a comeback and tried to prevent Western from gaining any easy points in the third. Both teams traded points during the opening half of the set. But with the help of strong kills from powerhouse May, the Mustangs managed to get ahead 11-7. The Mustangs led 16-12 at the technical time out and showed no sign of relinquishing their lead. Windsor aimed for revenge after the first two sets, but could not keep up with the puprle and white and fell for the third time by a score of 25-19.
The Mustangs return to the court next weekend to continue the OUA regular season, when they play the Queen’s Gaels at 2:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
Source: Western Sports Info
January 12 - Waterloo @ RMC
The men's volleyball team was slow out of the gate but managed to get back on track and pick up their first victory of 2013 with a 3-1 (31-33, 25-13, 28-26, 25-20) win over the RMC Paladins on Saturday afternoon in Kingston.
The win gives the Warriors a 9-1 record, two points back of the first place McMaster Marauders (10-0) while RMC dropped to 0-10 on the season.
Waterloo got off to a sluggish start making several errors, allowing the Paladins to take the first set 33-31 but Waterloo responded as they have all year to capture the second set with ease, 25-13. The third and pivotal set was a back and forth affair that would end in favour of the Warriors 28-26. The Paladins could not recover in the fourth and Waterloo would take the set 25-20 and match 3-1.
Rookie outside hitter Sergey Grabovsky (Aurora) was an offensive threat for Waterloo collecting 18 points in the win. Grabovsky had 14 kills while adding six digs and four blocks. Third year, Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) was a blocking machine in the middle with a game high six blocks. Dyck also added 13 kills for the black and gold.
Setting up the Warriors was Hussein Abdo (Ottawa) who tallied 39 assists and an astounding five service aces.
For the Paladins the duo of Thomas McMullen (Ottawa) and Tyler Leknois (Kingston) combined for 28 kills while setter Eric Hawn (London) had 37 assists in a losing effort.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Guelph @ Queen's
KINGSTON, Ont. (January 12, 2013) – The Queen's Gaels men's volleyball team (7-3) was in action Saturday afternoon against the Guelph Gryphons (2-8), in their first game of 2013. The Gaels were able to cruise past the Guelph Gryphons in straight sets (26-24, 25-10, 25-19). Queen's currently sits in fourth place in the OUA.
The match opened on a rather lackluster note, with three errors. Queen's saw their first offensive productivity from Philippe Goyer (Ottawa) who stifled a Gryphon's attack with a block up the middle. Queen's and Guelph proceeded to exchange points until the Gaels were able to pull ahead in the final points of the set with middle Tyler Scheerhoorn (Belleville, Ont.) making his presence felt upfront with two timely blocks and a tip over the Gryphon defenders. Scheerhoorn closed out the first frame with a service ace.
Although Guelph was able to keep the first set close, much in part because of Queen's eight errors, they could not find an answer for the Gaels strong offensive production in the second set. Guelph opened the set with a service error, which gave Queen's some momentum out of the gate. The Gaels were all over the court in the second, and Jackson Dakin (Courtenay, B.C.) illustrated this in one particular rally where he recorded three different digs—eventually setting up offside-hitter Michael Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) for a commanding kill, which capped a 11-4 Gaels run. Tomlinson recorded two more kills in the second set to close-out a lop-sided set victory, 25-10. The Gaels stand-out second-year hitter was also named the Gaels player of the game, finishing with a game-high 15 kills, eight digs and three blocks.
In the third set it was the Gryphons getting on the board first with a Gaels service error. Guelph continued to make a push, with right-side hitter Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont.)
and left-side hitter Timothy Warnholtz (Guelph, Ont.) combining for five of the Gryphons 19 points in the third. For the Gaels it was second-year offside-hitter Aaron Nusbaum (Aurora, Ont.) who was noteworthy in the set, accounting for three of the tricolour's points after the technical timeout. Tomlinson was also pivotal upfront recording two blocks late to close things out for the Gaels, who won the set 25-19—cruising to their first straight set victory of 2013.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
Toronto @ York
The York University Lions men's volleyball team rallied from two-sets-to-one down but was defeated in five sets by the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night (Jan. 12) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
After a heroic effort for victory in the fourth set, the Lions failed to gather any momentum in the deciding fifth and lost the critical set 15-9. It was a disappointing finish to a game that saw the Lions repeatedly rallying from behind to put its sets on the board.
The Lions struggled in the first set despite strong defensive performances from outside hitter Karim Khalil (Mississauga, Ont.) and middle Felipe Humana-Paredes (Toronto), whose performance at the net resulted in several critical blocks, and went on to drop the first set by a score of 25-19.
After a slow start to the second, the Lions went on a 12-2 run that saw them explode past the Blues en route to a 25-16 set victory to even the match up at one set apiece. Outside hitter Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) served for a six-point streak in the set despite repeated frustrating digs Toronto libero Michael Denton (Scarborough, Ont.).
The third set presented the toughest challenge yet to each team as neither could manage to establish a strong lead. The teams traded points more or less from the outset, culminating in a tense 26-24 set finish in favour of the Varsity Blues as they pulled ahead 2-1.
The Lions leapt to an early lead in the fourth set and held onto a significant lead for most of the stanza. Despite a rousing comeback by the Varsity Blues, the deficit was too great and the Blues fell short, dropping the fourth to the Lions 25-20 and setting the stage for the deciding final set.
Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) played the strongest game for the Lions, earning a match-high 23.5 points on 20 kills, two service aces and 1.5 blocks. Szeto had 17 points, all kills, as well as leading the Lions in digs, with 15. Gregory Ivan (Toronto) added 17 points as well, from seven kills, two service aces and a team-leading seven blocked shots.
Jonathan Adomait (Dundas, Ont.) led the Blues with 15 points and 10 digs, earning 12 kills, two service aces and one block. Denton led the team in assists, registering 39 of the team's 49 total assists.
The Lions' next game is on Friday (Jan. 18) against the Gryphons in Guelph at 8pm. Their next home game is a tough matchup against the Windsor Lancers on Friday (Jan. 25) at 8pm at Tait McKenzie Centre.
Source: York Sports Info
Ryerson @ McMaster
McMaster persevered in a long, five-set battle to come away with a 3-2 win and continue the unbeaten conference run that has seen the Marauders win 11-consecutive matches.
Jayson McCarthy had 21.5 points for the Marauders in the win, converting 17 of 30 hitting attempts. Dany Demyanenko added 17 points, including 14 kills on 19 attempts.
Robert Wojcik led the Rams in a losing effort, putting up 18 points and 15 kills.
A close beginning to the match saw the Marauders take a 9-6 lead when a serve took a fortunate bounce, rolling limply over the tape and finding the Rams' side of the floor. Ryerson was often its own worst enemy in the opening set, and a slew of errors helped the Marauders take a 16-12 lead into the technical timeout.
The trend continued after the break, and yet another attack pushed long gave McMaster a seven-point lead a 21-14. The deficit was too much for the visitors, and after an ace from Jayson McCarthy gave the hosts a set point, Ryerson's Robert Wojcik fired a jump serve into the bottom of the net to end it 25-18.
The second set developed much as the first had before it, with the two teams remaining close until the midpoint. McMaster edged ahead 14-13 when Dany Demyanenko converted a quick in the middle through a double block. That slim lead held into the technical timeout, as the Marauders entered the break with a 16-15 advantage.
But the Rams fought back late in the second set, aided in large part by their blocking efforts. Jori Mantha fell into a double block on the left and the Marauders were forced to call time trailing 23-21. McMaster used the timeout well, and sent the set into extra points where McCarthy came up with a clutch spinning ace to take it 28-26.
Ryerson's blockers once again took the fore in the third, with Aleksa Miladinovic reeling off a string of stuffs on the right to help his team into a 16-12 lead at the technical timeout. The advantage held as the set progressed, and a Stefan Ristic ace gave the Rams a seven-point lead at 22-15. They would polish off the set just points later, when a miscommunication between setter Austin Campion-Smith and middle Alex Elliot led the latter to whiff on an attack at net, giving Ryerson the set 25-17.
The Rams held the early edge again in the fourth, clinching a long rally to move ahead 6-4. But the home side found another level midway through the set, and a Dany Demyanenko kill in the middle propelled McMaster into a 12-10 lead. The back-and-forth set took another turn at the technical, with a Ryerson surge bringing the visitors back into the lead after a well executed double block.
The two teams traded points as the set approached a conclusion, with the Rams gaining separation at 24-22 after a Steven Maar attack rolled wide off the tape. Ryerson levelled the match two points later, when the Marauder serve found the bottom of the net.
Momentum seemed to be entirely on the visitors' side, but it was the hosts who took the initiative to open the deciding set. McMaster took the first three points of the shortened fifth before Ryerson called time to halt the run. Alex Elliot took the reins as the Marauders raced ahead, bouncing a swing off of the attempted dig for 6-3. The home side's lead only grew from there, and Austin Campion-Smith's well-placed dump gave McMaster match point at 14-7. Demyanenko sealed it with an ace, catching the back line in the process.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
January 13 - Waterloo @ Queen's
KINGSTON, Ont. (January 13, 2013) - The Queen's Gaels men's volleyball team (7-4) was in action Sunday afternoon as they took on the No. 10 Waterloo Warriors (10-1). The Gaels were nearly successful in their upset of the Warriors, leading them two sets to one headed into the fourth. Unfortunately Waterloo was able to battle back capitalizing on Queen's errors and eventually closing out the match 3-2 (28-30, 25-12, 25-22, 15-25, 11-15).
The first set gave a preview of what the game was going to be like, with the Gaels forcing Waterloo into extra points, where the Warriors surpassed the Gaels, 30-28. Gaels outside-hitters Philippe Goyer (Ottawa) and Michael Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) were pivotal for the tricolour in the first set—recording three kills each. Jackson Dakin (Courtenay, B.C.) was the offensive mastermind for the Gaels, setting up 14 of the Gaels 28 first set points. Dakin also combined with second-year middle Tyler Scheerhoorn (Belleville, Ont.) for a timely block that helped establish a run for the Gaels in the opening set. The Gaels fifth-year setter finished the match with an impressive 42 assists and 22 digs, many of which were difficult defensive plays to keep the rally alive.
Queen's offense really came to life in the second set, going on long scoring runs that Waterloo could not answer. The Gaels closed out the set on an 8-2 run which was finished out by a Tomlinson kill and an Aaron Nusbaum (Aurora, Ont.) ace.
In the third, the Gaels offensive productivity picked up where it left off, starting the frame on a 7-3 run. The Warriors closed the gap and eventually drew even with Queen's by capitalizing on tricolour attacking errors. A late set surge from Goyer, who recorded three straight kills allowed the Gaels to take a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set—winning the frame 25-22.
The fourth set featured the Warriors fighting to stay alive and avoid the upset. Deadlocked through the first five points, neither team seemed to be able to gain any momentum until the mid-way mark when Waterloo orchestrated a 14-4 run. Gaels errors accompanied by four Zachary Doherty (Goderich, Ont.) kills allowed the Warriors to establish such a large run and force the match into a fifth and deciding set. Doherty was the game leader in kills with 18.
After opening the final set exchanging points, the Waterloo Warriors were eventually able to establish some momentum and go on a 4-1 run. Kills from second-year hitter Brett Walter (Sudbury, Ont.) and Goyer mid-way through the set allowed the Gaels to climb back in the match. Even at 10, Waterloo was again able to marginally pull ahead from Queen's attacking errors and strong play from Doherty. Up 14-10 on the Gaels, the Warriors looked to be in control until Tomlinson was able to serve up a commanding kill for Queens. Unfortunately it was too little too late as Doherty recorded kill number 18 to give Waterloo a 3-2 victory.
Rookie libero Ivo Dramov (Plovdiv, Bulg.) was the Gaels player of the game. He recorded an impressive seven assists and 19 digs.
The Queen's Gaels men's volleyball team looks to gain their eighth win of the season and move past the Mustangs for third place, when they visit Western on Saturday. Game time is set for 2pm in London.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
