AROUND OUA: No. 10 Gaels triumph over Warriors in five-set thriller

SCOREBOARD

Waterloo 2 @ Queen's 3

Nipissing 1 @ Guelph 3

Toronto 3 @ Western 0

Ryerson 2 @ Windsor 3

McMaster 3 @ RMC 0

No. 10 Gaels triumph over Warriors in five-set thriller

KINGSTON, Ont. (November 28, 2015)- Mike Tomlinson recorded a game-high 20 kills, and the No. 10 Queen's Gaels men's volleyball team earned a dramatic five-set victory over the Waterloo Warriors by a score of 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 14-25, 15-9) on Saturday evening at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC).

Tomlinson (Stratford, Ont.) added 13 digs and five block assists for Queen's, while Will Hoey (Brampton, Ont.) and Scott Brunet (Calgary, Alta.) tallied nine and eight kills respectively in the win. Braden Cok picked up a game-best 23 points in a losing cause for the Warriors.

Queen's improves to 8-2 and sit alone in second place heading into the holiday break, while Waterloo drops to 7-4 on the year.

GAME FLOW
After Waterloo got on the board with an opening set win, the hosts went down early in the second set, but stormed back to take their first lead of the match, going up 10-8. Tomlinson started heating up on the right side, notching three kills to help maintain the Gael spread as the set neared the technical timeout. Waterloo managed to cut the deficit to a single point at the break, but another kill by Tomlinson capped a mini run by the hosts that put them up by three, prompting a Waterloo timeout.

Greg Simone did his best to keep the Warriors within striking distance, tallying a couple of kills following the timeout, but the Gaels refused to relinquish their small lead. A block by Jamie Wright gave Queen's a set-point, and a big kill from Scott Brunet closed out the second stanza and brought the match level at 1-1.

The third set was hotly contested in its early stages, as some close calls and momentum shifts created a dramatic atmosphere at the arc before the technical break. Rookie Zac Hutcheson (Kingston) picked up an ace after being substituted into the match, while veterans Tomlinson and Brunet tallied back-to-back kills to give Queen's a small two-point cushion. Hutcheson helped the men consolidate their lead with a massive hit from the left side, much to the delight of his teammates. The hometown native then proceeded to stuff the next Waterloo attack, bringing the ARC crowd to its feet and giving the Gaels a small cushion.

An ace from Simone sparked the Warriors, and the visitors tallied four-straight points to even the set at 22-22, forcing the Gaels into a timeout. A free-ball off another strong serve by Simone was botched by the Warriors after the break, and Hutcheson continued his formidable play since being substituted, notching an ace to give Queen's a set point. Hoey made good on their second opportunity, bringing the Gaels within a set of the match.

Down 8-4 in the fourth set, Queen's worked the deficit down to one point with the help of another ace from Hutcheson, but the visitors held a three-point lead at the technical. The Warriors then proceeded to take over the set, notching eight-straight points that gave them a number of set points. After Scott Brunet ended the point-streak, Simone responded with a kill, sending the match to a deciding fifth set.

Queen's opened the fifth with a bang as consecutive blocks from Tomlinson and Chris Brunet gave them a 3-1 lead. Tomlinson extended the lead to three with a kill after a Waterloo timeout, and the hosts went up 8-4 before the teams changed benches midway through the set.

After Waterloo cut the lead to two, Hoey and Marko Dakic (Mississauga) combined for a huge block that brought the ARC crowd to its feet. Hoey then put the ball down after a great save by Tomlinson, who then put Queen's on match-point with a kill. Scott Brunet came up with a huge solo block that landed deep in the Waterloo court, clinching the marathon win for Queen's.  

FINAL SAY
"We started taking the pressure off of Waterloo by serving too easy (in the middle sets)," said Head Coach Brenda Willis. "We tried to run as much right side and middle options as we could, which worked really well. Our left side wasn't as effective for the second game in a row against two good teams, so that is something we will have to look at. When we were down in the fourth set, we talked about trying to get a bit of momentum and stable approach going into the fifth in our timeout, and we were able to do that."

"Zac Hutcheson is fearless. He did a great job coming in for Marco. I have no qualms about going to him. I'm really proud of Zac, he's done really well. He allowed Marco to take some time and reflect. (And then) we challenged Marco and he really stepped up in the fifth set."

On the first half of the season
"Coming into the season I was really concerned when we lost Markus Trence, who was our biggest power hitter. We were also down a setter and were without Mike Tomlinson for a number of weekends, but other guys have stepped up and speaks well to our depth. I'm delighted to be 8-2 at this point, and I think we can manage a strong showing in the second half with some good preparation during the break."

BY THE NUMBERS
1 – The difference between Queen's and Waterloo's kill total. The hosts tallied 50, the guests 51
3- The number of aces by rookie Zac Hutcheson
.353- The hitting efficiency for the Gaels in the fifth set, their strongest in the match

UP NEXT
The Gaels are back in action on January 15 when they take on the No. 1 McMaster Marauders in Hamilton. Queen's returns to the ARC on January 22 and 23 to host York and Nipissing respectively.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Gryphons pick up third straight win with four sets victory over Nipissing

Guelph, ON - The Guelph Gryphons men's volleyball team finished off the first half of the season on a strong note, beating the Nipissing Lakers in four sets on Saturday afternoon at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre. Set scores were 25-20, 25-22, 20-25 and 26-24.

Second-year left side, Zach Newman (Kitchener, ON), came up huge for the Gryphons with a game-high 21 kills. The biggest of all came on the winning point – fellow second-year player Kendrick Kerr (Georgetown, ON) served it to Lakers fifth year, Jason Cannon (Fredericton, NB), who bumped it right over the net, and into Newman's wheelhouse. Newman made no mistake, driving home the kill to bring Guelph to a 4-6 record on the season.

Newman's performance on the attack was huge, making up for what wasn't his best serving game. From the velocity and downward movement on the ball, you can tell why he has a dozen service aces on the season, but he was a little wild against Nipissing, recording no aces along with three service errors.

Guelph didn't have a tough time putting themselves up two sets early, but struggled throughout the third set, and had to rally back to take the fourth. Guelph, down 22-23 at the time, tied the fourth set off one what was probably the biggest of fifth-year masters student, Dallas Keith's (Toronto, ON) game-high 13 digs.

Guelph's blocking game rose to the occasion, matching the Lakers' (who had the second-highest combined blocks in the OUA entering play) solo blocks with two (from Luke Woud and Kerr), and beating them in assisted blocks, 18-14. Woud (5) and Kerr (4) also led the both teams in that category.

Cameron Branch (Kingsville, ON) had another solid game for the Lakers, whose 20 kills vaulted the third year to first in the OUA with 159 kills through 10 matches. Branch also landed one of his team's 10 service aces (Jack Peckham and Warren Taylor led the match with three apiece). Guelph was not as dangerous on the serve, racking up only five aces. Two of the five came from the 6-foot-8 Woud. The fourth year from Uxbridge, ON was also effective at the net, using his height to his advantage, while being short to the ball, to drive home six kills.

Saturday's game wrapped up a huge 2-0 weekend for the Gryphons, as they move into a tie for eighth place with Nipissing. Guelph doesn't play again until they host the undefeated McMaster Maurauders at home on January 16.

Source: Guelph Gryphons

Mustangs fall to Toronto in straight sets

LONDON, Ont. – Taking control of the game as soon as they hit the floor, the Varsity Blues soared through three sets to hand the Mustangs a 0-3 loss (15-25, 16-25, 22-25).
 
The loss puts the Mustangs into a five-game losing streak to close out the first half of the season with a 4-6 record. The Varsity Blues, who have taken the last two matches on their schedule, now sit at 5-5.
 
"Toronto played well, said head coach Jim Sage. "They scrapped, and dug everything we threw at them and took advantage of every mistake. A lot of credit goes to Toronto. We had guys that didn't have a good match, and if we have that we're in trouble."
 
Middle Mike Choja led the Mustangs offense with ten points from nine kills and one solo block. Doug Austrom came in behind with six points throughout all three sets, while Seth Siegfried picked up 10 balls in the backcourt.
 
However, it was Toronto's Stefan Ristic who topped both sides of the scoresheet with 19 points from 18 kills and one block.
 
Still fired up from the previous night's four set win over Windsor, the Varsity Blues came out firing from the first serve. Immediately challenging Western at the net with strong blocks, the purple and white attackers were more tentative than usual.
 
Maintaining a slight edge at 10-12, Toronto had already put up two service aces on the board and a number of impressive blocks. As seen in earlier games, serve receive continued to be a problem spot for Western with overpasses being slammed back into the open Mustang court.
 
Forced into their second timeout of the set at 14-22, the Mustangs were unable to prevent the Blues from closing out the set just minutes later at 15-25.
 
Back on the floor for the second set, the Mustangs were visibly more engaged on the floor. Western tied the set at 8-8 after a number of momentum changes, better covering the towering Varsity Blue block and even using it to their advantage,  
 
Slowly pulling away from the Western score and evenly distributing the flow of kills, Toronto again built up an impressive lead to head into the technical up by four.
 
The Varsity Blues continued to control the pace of the match in the third. Veterans Ristic and William Colucci were the greatest offensive threats on the floor, each sending out seven kills in the second set alone. Toronto's defense was also nearly perfect, landing touches on every ball the Mustangs sent over the net.
 
"Every time we ran offense they seemed to have a guy right where we would hit the ball," said Evan Cranshaw. "Their defense was incredibly strong, even their block was well formed and getting touches on everything to make most of our attacks free balls."
 
Rushing through the final points of the game, the Mustangs were handed a 16-25 loss.
 
The Mustang half of the court saw a few new faces in the starting lineup, as well as higher energy. Rebounding from a five-point deficit with strong attacks, Western was back within two at 10-12.
 
"As a team the guys were ready," said Choja about the third set lineup change. "We had some guys coming in as relief and they did really well in their roles. […] Evan Hammond in particular came in and played really well. He did exactly what we needed him to do, got a couple blocks late in the set and a couple kills when we needed them."
 
Despite catching themselves on the net and picking up a couple of net violations, the Mustangs rebounded to tie the set at 18s. Standing at 6-7, Choja was the greatest offensive asset in the comeback as he easily found his way around the imposing Toronto block.
 
Rallies were not only longer but also devoid of the errors that had previously put both teams in sticky situations, and they rose in intensity as both teams hit the 20-point mark,
 
Unfortunately, the Varsity Blue momentum that had been building throughout the previous sets couldn't be slowed. Ristic slammed out three final points, supplemented by Western errors, to close out the third set at 22-25.  
 
"We had trouble limiting our own errors," said Choja. "A lot of errors happened from the service line, and a blocking perspective that need to change going forward if we're going to be successful at all in the second half."
 
For Cranshaw, the greatest flaw in the purple and white game was in the backcourt.
 
"We need to get our defense going," he noted. "We didn't pick up even half as many balls as they did, our block wasn't as well formed as theirs was."
 
The Mustangs have a clear schedule until January, when they'll head to Toronto for the annual York Excalibur Volleyball Classic. In preparation for the second half of the season, the team will take a break before ramping back up.
 
"We're going to take a break and get away from volleyball," said Sage. "Focus in on school and then gear it up again for the second half to see what we can do. We're going to have to win some big games and ty to fight ourselves back into a playoff spot."

Source: Western Mustangs

Lancers split weekend home series

The Lancer men's volleyball team closed out 2015 with a weekend split on home court against the Toronto Varsity Blues and Ryerson Rams.
 
On Friday night, Windsor dropped a 3-1 decision to Toronto (21-25, 25-22, 15-25, 18-25)  before coming back with a huge five set 3-2 victory over the third place Rams (25-21, 14-25, 25-27, 25-23, 15-11) on Saturday.
 
Heading into the holiday break, the Blue & Gold are 2-8 in the OUA standings.
 
After falling 25-21 to Toronto in the first set, Windsor rebounded 25-22 in the second but couldn't maintain the momentum. The Lancers bowed out 25-15 in set three, and gave up the best-of-five with a 25-18 loss in the final set.
 
Josh Edwards led Windsor's effort with 11 kills, while John Moate and Brad Gyemi contributed 6 apiece. Defensively Shawn Reaume and Blase Wasser had 8 digs each with Gyemi and Matthew De Benito registering 6.
 
On Saturday, the Lancers came out strong against the Rams taking the first set 25-21 before struggling defensively against the Rams in the second, falling 25-14.
 
Windsor rebounded in the third going point for point with the Rams narrowly falling in extra points. The fourth was a set full of long rallies making for an entertaining game. Brad Gyemi came up with huge late in the set with four points to push the game to a fifth set.
 
In the final set, Ryerson took a 3-0 lead before the Lancers rallied with four unanswered points of their own. Unforced errors on the Ryerson side of the net gave the Lancers the opportunity to secure the win and a kill by Gyemi did just that.
 
Edwards and Gyemi led the Lancers with 14 kills each, while Matthew Pe Benito led the team defensively with 15 digs.
 
The Lancers will now break until January 15th when they host the Waterloo Warriors at 8:00pm.

Source: Windsor Lancers

Marauders youth adds tenth straight sweep to tally

Dave Preston gave the keys to his young players on Saturday, and they provided the usual, dominant service at the expense of the RMC Paladins. The Marauder bench swept the Paladins (25-18, 25-9, 25-17) to extend McMaster's stretch of sets won to a whopping 31 over the span of 10 matches.

With the victory, the CIS no. 1-ranked Marauders moved to 11-0 at the conclusion of their fall schedule, and will take their spotless OUA record and top spot in the conference standings into the holiday break.

A regular figure in cleanup time this season, rookie outside Matt Passalent excelled in a full match's duty, leading the Marauders and the match with 15 points while hitting 53 per cent, knocking down 10 kills on 15 attempts with just two errors. He terrorized the Paladins from the service line as well, acing the hosts five times with a single service error.

Middle Peter Khodkevych also impressed, killing 11 of 20 hitting attempts with just one error, while adding three solo blocks for 14 points.

Attention now turns to the exam room, with McMaster adjourning from OUA play for the examination period and holiday break. The team will reconvene in the New Year for a three-match series in Columbus, Ohio against the Ohio State Buckeyes, before returning to conference play on January 15.

Source: McMaster Marauders