AROUND OUA: Errors hinder Warriors in 5-set loss to Nipissing
It was a scary Halloween night for coach Lawson and his men's volleyball team as they dropped an error filled 5-setter to Nipissing. Despite the sloppy play, Waterloo almost made a miraculous comeback to pick up their second win of the season but poor passing and service errors would prove too costly. The Warriors dropped to 1-2 on the season while the Lakers improved to 2-2.
SCOREBOARD
Errors hinder Warriors in 5-set loss to Nipissing
It was a scary Halloween night for coach Lawson and his men's volleyball team as they dropped an error filled 5-setter to Nipissing. Despite the sloppy play, Waterloo almost made a miraculous comeback to pick up their second win of the season but poor passing and service errors would prove too costly. The Warriors dropped to 1-2 on the season while the Lakers improved to 2-2.
Nipissing jumped out to a 2-0 set lead and looked as if they were going to sweep the home side but Waterloo cleaned up their game and took the third set 25-23. Waterloo kept the errors to just two in that third set and maintained the crisp play into the fourth, topping Nipissing 25-17 to send this match into a fifth and deciding set.
Unfortunately for Waterloo, they would get into their own head in the fifth with more costly errors, falling behind early 8-3. They would however overcome their demons to even the game at 13's but poor passing down the stretch would cost them the game as Nipissing would take the final set 15-13 and match 3-2.
Overall the Warriors had 22 service errors which tells the story of Waterloo's night. The one bright spot for Waterloo was Braden Cok (Waterloo) with his 22 kills and three blocks. Gibson Graham (Markham) was busy with 56 assists in the loss.
Cameron Branch was huge for Nipissing with 16 kills, several coming at key times down the stretch. He also had six blocks for the visiting side while Jack Peckham had five. Setter Shawn Humphrey collected 41 assists in a winning effort.
Waterloo will have to turn their focus to next weekend as they welcome the No. 1 McMaster Marauders to the PAC in a rematch of their 5-set thriller earlier in the season which saw Waterloo come up short.
Source: Waterloo Warriors
Fans at the Burridge Gym got their first look at a radically remodelled York Lions team on Saturday, as the Marauders dealt the young Lions roster a straight-set defeat to continue their perfect start to the OUA campaign.
Set scores were 25-15, 25-22 and 25-17 in favour of the top-ranked team in the CIS, who improved to 4-0 on the season. The Lions, meanwhile, fall to 2-2, having lost two consecutive matches after opening their OUA season with a pair of wins over the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs.
Stephen Maar was the leading scorer for McMaster in the win, providing 15.5 points while converting 15 of 24 hitting attempts and adding a block assist. Typical of their balanced offensive approach, the Marauders had four players hit double digits in scoring, with Danny Demyanenko (13.5), Jayson McCarthy (10.5) and Andrew Richards (10) joining that club alongside Maar.
The two teams began Saturday's match neck-and-neck, but McMaster made a decisive move mid-set, building a seven-point lead at 14-7 after McCarthy successfully stuffed Tyler Covach on the right wing to bring up a York timeout. It was one-way traffic from that point on, and Demyanenko brought the set to an end with a perfectly-placed ace along the far sideline.
Play was tight yet again to begin the second set, with Mac taking a slender 16-15 lead into the technical timeout after a York service error. The Marauders built upon that lead as they barrelled toward the finish line, with McCarthy stuffing Covach yet again to give Mac a 20-17 advantage. York threatened at 21-20, but that was as close as the visitors would get, and the combination of Richards and Demyanenko stuffed Tim Jensen to seal the second for the hosts.
Building on their dominant overall lead, the Marauders grabbed an early advantage in the third, as Maar tipped smartly into space to give Mac an 8-4 cushion. Luck seemed to be going the way of the Marauders as well, as Demyanenko enjoyed the benefit of a tape ace to bring his team into the technical timeout ahead 16-9.
Mac had the set well in hand, and after Maar wiped off a block to bring up match points, McCarthy found an acute angle with the cut shot to end the Halloween match.
Having played all four of their games to this point in the friendly confines of the Burridge Gym, the Marauders will now embark on a three-match road trip, beginning with a trip to Waterloo to conclude the season series with the Warriors on Friday, November 6.
Source: McMaster Marauders
No. 9 Gaels score a 3-0 win over Toronto
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 31, 2015) – The Gaels (2-1) claimed victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues (2-1) in three straight sets this Saturday night.
GAME FLOW
It was a cut and dry first set for the Gaels who led from the first serve. Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) was a force for the Gaels as he smacked down kill after kill in the 25-16 set win. The second set was a closer match up as Toronto picked up their offense and kept right on the heels of the Gaels only trailing them by a four point deficit at the technical timeout mark. The Blues got within a point of the Gaels at the set point but Scott Brunet (Calgary, Alta.) shut down the set with a massive kill for Queen's to take the set 25-23.
Heading into the final frame up 2-0, the Gaels kept their momentum rolling getting out ahead as they had been for the entire game. Toronto began to gain some traction and caught the Gaels for the first time in the match, slowing the pace and trading the Gaels point for point. The Gaels gained a slim 16-15 lead at the technical mark but the Blues kept up their pressure to tie it all up at 20-20. The Gaels wouldn't let the set go and pulled away one last time, winning the set 25-21 and leaving with a 3-0 overall win.
The Gaels had a big nights from Marko Dakic, who scored 14 kills and six digs, and Chris Brunet (Calgary, Alta.) who picked up 10 digs on top of his six kills. Stefan Ristic was a powerhouse for the Blues as he contributed 14 kills, seven digs and led all scorers with 17 points.
BY THE NUMBERS
25-16, 25-23, 25-21 – Set scores
10 – Digs by Chris Brunet
17 – Total points by Blues player Ristic
2 – Serving aces from Will Hoey (Brampton, Ont.)
UP NEXT
The Gaels will be back in action next Friday, November 6 when they will play the Nipissing Lakers in North Bay at 8:00 pm.
Source: Queen's Gaels
KINGSTON, Ont. - The Ryerson Rams men's volleyball team remains undefeated this season following a 3-0 sweep (25-13, 25-17, 25-17) of the RMC Paladins on Saturday night in Kingston.
Brendan Kewin (Milton, Ont.) led the Rams with 11 kills in his first game of the season while Robert Wojcik (Whitby, Ont.) and Brandon Jordan (London, Ont.) added ten kills each in the victory.
The Rams offence was in full control on Saturday, posting 47 kills compared to just 20 from the Paladins. Part of the reason for so few kills from the home side was the Rams ability to continue rallies as they racked up 34 digs.
Ryerson got off on the right foot with 17 kills in the first set en route to an easy 25-13 victory. Setter Brett Whitley (Brighton, Ont.) had a strong game distributing the ball, racking up 32 assists on the night. The Rams were in control after the first set and posted identical 25-17 score lines in the next two sets to complete the sweep.
RMC's Logan Morris had a team-high seven kills in the loss.
Ryerson improves to 3-0 on the season and is one of just two remaining OUA teams yet to suffer a loss this season. RMC drops to 0-4 with the loss.
The Rams are back in action next Sunday, November 8 when they play the Toronto Varsity Blues (2-1) at Toronto's Goldring Centre at 1:00 p.m.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Gryphons pick up first win of season with straight sets victory over Windsor
Guelph, ON – The Gryphons Men's Volleyball team picked up their first win of the season on Saturday night with a straight sets victory over the Windsor Lancers. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 1-3 while the Lancers fall to 0-3. Set scores were 25-22, 25-20 and 25-22.
The Gryphons set the tone early on in the opening set when Josh Green drove a strike directly into the chest of Andre Khayat for the kill, giving Guelph a 6-4 lead. Although MVB action vs Windsor battled back to even things out at 10-10, the moment of parity was fleeting. The Gryphons regained the lead and did not look back, winning the first set 25-22 in a highly competitive frame.
The second set saw Guelph pick up where they left off, establishing a lead and keeping it. Again, Windsor rallied around the mid-way point and took the lead at 12-11. This proved to be momentary as the Gryphons roared back with a series of kills. A smash from Zachery Newman gave the Gryphons 14-13 lead and the momentum as they would go on to take the second set 25-20.
Falling behind on this Halloween night, the Windsor Lancers did their best to come back from the dead in the beginning of the third set. For the first time in the game they took the lead early as the first 3 points on the board belonged to the Lancers. The fourth point for the Lancers showed luck may have finally swung on their side. A huge hit from Windsor sent the ball 50 feet in the air and appeared to be heading into the ceiling. It would be the first point for Guelph in the set. However, just as the ball approached the rafters it appeared to have found the smallest and slightest opening to pass through without touching while sailing clear to the Gryphon side of the floor. The Gryphons can be excused for not being ready, but the Lancers would need more than a bit of luck to get past the Gryphons on this night.
Guelph would regroup, take the lead by mid point with a 10-9 score, and never look back. In spots throughout the remainder of the third set the Windsor team appeared demoralized as Guelph was playing their best volleyball of the season thus far. The Gryphons to the final set 25-22, and took the match in straight sets.
The Gryphons will next be in action on Saturday, November 7th when they play host to the Waterloo Warriors.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
