February 28, 2009
LIONS LOSE CONSOLATION FINAL AT CIS WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
FREDERICTON, N.B. - The No. 3-seeded Trinity Western Spartans overcame a two-set deficit to edge the No. 5 York Lions 3-2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-17, 26-24, 15-4) Saturday afternoon in the fifth-place consolation final of the 2009 CIS women's volleyball championship, at the UNB Aitken University Centre.
The Canada West finalist Spartans, who were upset 3-1 by No. 6 Laval in Thursday's quarterfinal round, end the tournament with a 2-1 record and finish among the top five teams in the nation for the third time in four years, following a fourth-place finish in 2006-07 and a fifth position in 2005-06.
Making their first CIS tourney appearance in 12 years, the OUA finalist Lions, who lost to No. 4 Calgary on Thursday, return home with a 1-2 mark.
Championship website: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009
Down two sets to none, Trinity Western rebounded to win the third stanza with relative ease but had to save a pair of match points in the fourth, scoring four straight points of their own to get out of a 22-24 hole.
First-team all-Canadian middle Dayna Jansen Van Doorn was the hero of that decisive sequence, assisting on a block for the Spartans' set-tying 24th point, scoring the 25th on a solo block, and ending the frame with a kill.
York couldn't recover and TWU took the decisive set in convincing fashion, scoring the first nine points en route to the 15-4 win and the match.
"We had to learn how to score on this team. They're an outstanding defensive team and so we had to be able to realize we had to mix up our shots," said Trinity Western head coach Ryan Hofer, when asked what was done differently after the first two sets. "We had to be smart, we had to use their block. We had to push them forward, push them back. We had to serve them tough so we could score points."
The opening set started with a lot of back and forth play but the score did not stay balanced long after the first technical timeout with York leading 8-7. The Lions increased their attacks at the net, totalling 15 for the set, though both teams hesitated on offence with several tips and setter dumps. Candice Paulsen of York finished the set with a kill to increase her kill total to six and win the set 25-18.
The Lions continued with their momentum into the second stanza taking the Spartans 25-20. Lauren O'Reilly led the Spartans defensively with five digs in the backcourt and her teammate, Kim Klassen, led her team on offence with five kills and a hitting percentage of .375. York rookie Thinesha Sriskandarjah had five kills with a hitting percentage of .333 after the second set.
Unable to recover from a 0-5 deficit at the beginning of game three, the Lions lost 17-25.
The fourth frame had York hot on the heels of Trinity Western on the scoreboard; you could see the determination in the eyes of all the players on and off the court. Long rallies filled with strong defence and effort made up much of the set. The teams wavered back and forth throughout. The Spartans put up a brick wall against the Lions to tie the game 24-24, and eventually seized the win 26-24.
The final frame of the match saw Trinity Western dominate from the start, scoring nine consecutive points. The Spartans were superior at the net with seven kills, while York only squeezed in two. Despite their two set advantage at the beginning of the match, York could not finish off on top. The Spartans won 15-4.
Player-of-the-game honours for the Spartans went to Klaussen with 18 kills, two serving aces, 14 digs and three blocks. The Lions' recipient was Paulsen with 14 kills, three service aces and eight digs.
STATS LEADERS
TWU
Kills: Kim Klassen (18), Dayna Jansen Van Doorn (12)
Blocks: Dayna Jansen Van Doorn (9), Nicole Bazin (4)
Digs: Kara Jansen Van Doorn (17), Dayna Jansen Van Doorn (17)
Assists: Lauren O'Reilly (41)
Player of the game: Kim Klassen
York
Kills: Thinesha Sriskandarjeh (19), Candice Paulsen (14)
Blocks: Nadia Reider (2), Kristine Vlcek (2)
Digs: Antonia Stathakos (24), Sarah Sutton (15)
Assists: Nadia Reider (42)
Player of the game: Candice Paulsen
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL: Atlantic Time)
Video webcast of all 11 games available through: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009
Thursday, February 26
Quarter-final #1: UBC 3, Moncton 1 (16-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-13)
Quarter-final #2: Laval, 3, Trinity Western 1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22)
Quarter-final #3: Calgary 3, York 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-21)
Quarter-final #4: Montreal 3, UNB 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-16)
Friday, February 27
Consolation #1: Trinity Western 3, Moncton 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17)
Consolation #2: York 3, UNB 1 (28-26, 12-25, 25-21, 25-20)
Semi-final #1: UBC 3, Laval 0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-22)
Semi-final #2: Calgary 3, Montreal 2 (19-25, 25-13, 20-25, 27-25, 15-12)
Saturday, February 28
5th place: Trinity Western 3, York 2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-17, 26-24, 15-4)
16:00 Bronze medal: No. 6 Laval vs. No. 1 Montreal (Rogers TV local)
19:00 Championship final: No. 2 UBC vs. No. 4 Calgary (Rogers TV local)
Source: UNB Varsity Reds Athletics
The Canada West finalist Spartans, who were upset 3-1 by No. 6 Laval in Thursday's quarterfinal round, end the tournament with a 2-1 record and finish among the top five teams in the nation for the third time in four years, following a fourth-place finish in 2006-07 and a fifth position in 2005-06.
Making their first CIS tourney appearance in 12 years, the OUA finalist Lions, who lost to No. 4 Calgary on Thursday, return home with a 1-2 mark.
Championship website: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009
Down two sets to none, Trinity Western rebounded to win the third stanza with relative ease but had to save a pair of match points in the fourth, scoring four straight points of their own to get out of a 22-24 hole.
First-team all-Canadian middle Dayna Jansen Van Doorn was the hero of that decisive sequence, assisting on a block for the Spartans' set-tying 24th point, scoring the 25th on a solo block, and ending the frame with a kill.
York couldn't recover and TWU took the decisive set in convincing fashion, scoring the first nine points en route to the 15-4 win and the match.
"We had to learn how to score on this team. They're an outstanding defensive team and so we had to be able to realize we had to mix up our shots," said Trinity Western head coach Ryan Hofer, when asked what was done differently after the first two sets. "We had to be smart, we had to use their block. We had to push them forward, push them back. We had to serve them tough so we could score points."
The opening set started with a lot of back and forth play but the score did not stay balanced long after the first technical timeout with York leading 8-7. The Lions increased their attacks at the net, totalling 15 for the set, though both teams hesitated on offence with several tips and setter dumps. Candice Paulsen of York finished the set with a kill to increase her kill total to six and win the set 25-18.
The Lions continued with their momentum into the second stanza taking the Spartans 25-20. Lauren O'Reilly led the Spartans defensively with five digs in the backcourt and her teammate, Kim Klassen, led her team on offence with five kills and a hitting percentage of .375. York rookie Thinesha Sriskandarjah had five kills with a hitting percentage of .333 after the second set.
Unable to recover from a 0-5 deficit at the beginning of game three, the Lions lost 17-25.
The fourth frame had York hot on the heels of Trinity Western on the scoreboard; you could see the determination in the eyes of all the players on and off the court. Long rallies filled with strong defence and effort made up much of the set. The teams wavered back and forth throughout. The Spartans put up a brick wall against the Lions to tie the game 24-24, and eventually seized the win 26-24.
The final frame of the match saw Trinity Western dominate from the start, scoring nine consecutive points. The Spartans were superior at the net with seven kills, while York only squeezed in two. Despite their two set advantage at the beginning of the match, York could not finish off on top. The Spartans won 15-4.
Player-of-the-game honours for the Spartans went to Klaussen with 18 kills, two serving aces, 14 digs and three blocks. The Lions' recipient was Paulsen with 14 kills, three service aces and eight digs.
STATS LEADERS
TWU
Kills: Kim Klassen (18), Dayna Jansen Van Doorn (12)
Blocks: Dayna Jansen Van Doorn (9), Nicole Bazin (4)
Digs: Kara Jansen Van Doorn (17), Dayna Jansen Van Doorn (17)
Assists: Lauren O'Reilly (41)
Player of the game: Kim Klassen
York
Kills: Thinesha Sriskandarjeh (19), Candice Paulsen (14)
Blocks: Nadia Reider (2), Kristine Vlcek (2)
Digs: Antonia Stathakos (24), Sarah Sutton (15)
Assists: Nadia Reider (42)
Player of the game: Candice Paulsen
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL: Atlantic Time)
Video webcast of all 11 games available through: www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009
Thursday, February 26
Quarter-final #1: UBC 3, Moncton 1 (16-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-13)
Quarter-final #2: Laval, 3, Trinity Western 1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22)
Quarter-final #3: Calgary 3, York 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-21)
Quarter-final #4: Montreal 3, UNB 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-16)
Friday, February 27
Consolation #1: Trinity Western 3, Moncton 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17)
Consolation #2: York 3, UNB 1 (28-26, 12-25, 25-21, 25-20)
Semi-final #1: UBC 3, Laval 0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-22)
Semi-final #2: Calgary 3, Montreal 2 (19-25, 25-13, 20-25, 27-25, 15-12)
Saturday, February 28
5th place: Trinity Western 3, York 2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-17, 26-24, 15-4)
16:00 Bronze medal: No. 6 Laval vs. No. 1 Montreal (Rogers TV local)
19:00 Championship final: No. 2 UBC vs. No. 4 Calgary (Rogers TV local)
Source: UNB Varsity Reds Athletics
