February 17, 2014
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP: Waterloo, Ryerson advance to Final Four after quarter-final wins
Friday, February 14
Ryerson 3 @ York 2
The York University Lions men's volleyball team was defeated in a five-set thriller by the visiting Ryerson Rams in their OUA quarter-final game on Friday night (Feb. 14) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
With the win, the Rams advance to the OUA Final Four Championships for the first time since 2008, while the loss ended the Lions' season.
The Lions used an excited home crowd to build an early 4-1 lead in the first set of the match, but the Rams chipped away at the deficit and took their first lead at 10-9. The Lions finally tied it again at 19-all, but the Rams picked up steam as the set neared its conclusion and took a 1-0 lead by winning it 25-23.
The second set was a tight affair that saw both teams trade points back and forth throughout much of it, until the Lions finally built some momentum after the technical timeout and pulled ahead 21-17. The Rams closed it to within two, but the Lions held on to even the match with a 25-23 set win.
The third set began in similar fashion until the Rams went on a run to open up a 14-10 lead, only to see the Lions tie it again at 15-15. From there the two teams traded points back and forth, and it wasn't until the Lions led 22-20 that either team had an advantage greater than one. Ryerson fought off one set point, but the Lions capitalized on the second to win 25-23 and lead the match 2-1.
The Lions were not able to carry that momentum into the start of the fourth, as the Rams jumped out to a 7-3 lead and never looked back. The Lions tied the set at 14-14 but never led, and Ryerson went on to take it 25-18 to force a fifth and deciding set.
The Lions began the final frame by winning four of the first six points, but the Rams then went on an 8-1 run to lead 10-5 and all but seal the victory, ultimately taking the match with a 15-9 win in the fifth.
York's Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) and Ryerson's Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.), who both finished among the OUA's top four in scoring in the regular season, were again the leaders on this night. Szeto ended up with 25 points on 22 kills, two blocks and one service ace, while Wojcik had 23 kills.
The Rams will now travel to Hamilton, Ont., for the OUA semifinals hosted by the McMaster Marauders next Friday night (Feb. 21).
Source: York Sports Info
Saturday, February 15
Queen’s 1 @ Waterloo 3
The Waterloo men's volleyball team clinched their third straight OUA final four berth with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 27-25) win over the Queen's Gaels on Saturday night. The Warriors will face familiar foe, Western for the third straight year in the OUA semi's hoping for a different result this time around.
The victory didn't come as easy as Chris Lawson and his team would have liked as the pesky Gaels battled Waterloo every inch of the way.
The opening set did not go the way of the Warriors with sloppy passing and several hitting errors which the visiting Gaels took full advantage of. Rookie setter Jamie Wright of the Gaels stepped to the service line and gave his squad six straight points to open up a 22-17 lead which would eventually turn into a 25-22 first set win.
After even play in the second set the Warriors would find their groove going on an 8-0 run to take an 18-13 lead. The Gaels would however battle their way back to within two but an incredible save by Zachary Doherty (Goderich) setting up James Evans (Rockwood) for the kill would ignite the Warriors and give them the set 25-17.
Waterloo would maintain their momentum into the third and pivotal set going up 8-3 in the early going. The resilient Gaels would however battle their way back into the set before the point of the match came at 17-13 with Aleks Poldma (Toronto) capping it off with a tremendous attack. The Warriors would get several key attacks up the middle fromJordan Dyck (St. Catharines) and Tyler Motherwell (Toronto) to close out the set 25-21.
The fourth set would once again see Waterloo take a 16-9 lead but the never-say-die Gaels once again fought their way back into the set tying things up at 20-all. Back-to-back kills by Motherwell and Poldma would put Waterloo up 22-20 and the Warriors could see the finish line but the Gaels again evened the score sending this set the distance.
With Waterloo up 26-25, Dyck would close out his strong game with a kill up the middle to seal the 3-1 victory and punch Waterloo's ticket to the OUA final four.
Dyck was a force for the Warriors with eight kills on just 14 attempts while adding a game high eight blocks. Motherwell was also a factor up the middle with 11 kills in the contest.
From the outside Waterloo got offensive output from all three of their veteran stars with Evans leading the way with 14 kills. Poldma and Doherty added 13 and 11 kills respectively in the win.
Setting up Waterloo all night long was Scott Thomson (St. Marys) with 50 assists while libero Erich Woolley (New Dundee) had 10 digs.
For Queen's it was Mike Tomlinson earning 20 points on his 15 kills, four service aces, and one block.
Waterloo will turn their attention to the Mustangs and with a win will book their ticket to the CIS Championship tournament. The OUA semifinal game goes Friday night in Hamilton at 5:30pm.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Ryerson 3 @ York 2
The York University Lions men's volleyball team was defeated in a five-set thriller by the visiting Ryerson Rams in their OUA quarter-final game on Friday night (Feb. 14) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
With the win, the Rams advance to the OUA Final Four Championships for the first time since 2008, while the loss ended the Lions' season.
The Lions used an excited home crowd to build an early 4-1 lead in the first set of the match, but the Rams chipped away at the deficit and took their first lead at 10-9. The Lions finally tied it again at 19-all, but the Rams picked up steam as the set neared its conclusion and took a 1-0 lead by winning it 25-23.
The second set was a tight affair that saw both teams trade points back and forth throughout much of it, until the Lions finally built some momentum after the technical timeout and pulled ahead 21-17. The Rams closed it to within two, but the Lions held on to even the match with a 25-23 set win.
The third set began in similar fashion until the Rams went on a run to open up a 14-10 lead, only to see the Lions tie it again at 15-15. From there the two teams traded points back and forth, and it wasn't until the Lions led 22-20 that either team had an advantage greater than one. Ryerson fought off one set point, but the Lions capitalized on the second to win 25-23 and lead the match 2-1.
The Lions were not able to carry that momentum into the start of the fourth, as the Rams jumped out to a 7-3 lead and never looked back. The Lions tied the set at 14-14 but never led, and Ryerson went on to take it 25-18 to force a fifth and deciding set.
The Lions began the final frame by winning four of the first six points, but the Rams then went on an 8-1 run to lead 10-5 and all but seal the victory, ultimately taking the match with a 15-9 win in the fifth.
York's Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) and Ryerson's Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.), who both finished among the OUA's top four in scoring in the regular season, were again the leaders on this night. Szeto ended up with 25 points on 22 kills, two blocks and one service ace, while Wojcik had 23 kills.
The Rams will now travel to Hamilton, Ont., for the OUA semifinals hosted by the McMaster Marauders next Friday night (Feb. 21).
Source: York Sports Info
Saturday, February 15
Queen’s 1 @ Waterloo 3
The Waterloo men's volleyball team clinched their third straight OUA final four berth with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 27-25) win over the Queen's Gaels on Saturday night. The Warriors will face familiar foe, Western for the third straight year in the OUA semi's hoping for a different result this time around.
The victory didn't come as easy as Chris Lawson and his team would have liked as the pesky Gaels battled Waterloo every inch of the way.
The opening set did not go the way of the Warriors with sloppy passing and several hitting errors which the visiting Gaels took full advantage of. Rookie setter Jamie Wright of the Gaels stepped to the service line and gave his squad six straight points to open up a 22-17 lead which would eventually turn into a 25-22 first set win.
After even play in the second set the Warriors would find their groove going on an 8-0 run to take an 18-13 lead. The Gaels would however battle their way back to within two but an incredible save by Zachary Doherty (Goderich) setting up James Evans (Rockwood) for the kill would ignite the Warriors and give them the set 25-17.
Waterloo would maintain their momentum into the third and pivotal set going up 8-3 in the early going. The resilient Gaels would however battle their way back into the set before the point of the match came at 17-13 with Aleks Poldma (Toronto) capping it off with a tremendous attack. The Warriors would get several key attacks up the middle fromJordan Dyck (St. Catharines) and Tyler Motherwell (Toronto) to close out the set 25-21.
The fourth set would once again see Waterloo take a 16-9 lead but the never-say-die Gaels once again fought their way back into the set tying things up at 20-all. Back-to-back kills by Motherwell and Poldma would put Waterloo up 22-20 and the Warriors could see the finish line but the Gaels again evened the score sending this set the distance.
With Waterloo up 26-25, Dyck would close out his strong game with a kill up the middle to seal the 3-1 victory and punch Waterloo's ticket to the OUA final four.
Dyck was a force for the Warriors with eight kills on just 14 attempts while adding a game high eight blocks. Motherwell was also a factor up the middle with 11 kills in the contest.
From the outside Waterloo got offensive output from all three of their veteran stars with Evans leading the way with 14 kills. Poldma and Doherty added 13 and 11 kills respectively in the win.
Setting up Waterloo all night long was Scott Thomson (St. Marys) with 50 assists while libero Erich Woolley (New Dundee) had 10 digs.
For Queen's it was Mike Tomlinson earning 20 points on his 15 kills, four service aces, and one block.
Waterloo will turn their attention to the Mustangs and with a win will book their ticket to the CIS Championship tournament. The OUA semifinal game goes Friday night in Hamilton at 5:30pm.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
