LIONS SWEPT BY MUSTANGS IN OUA BRONZE MEDAL GAME

The York University Lions men’s volleyball team took on the Western Mustangs in the OUA bronze medal game on Friday night, with a trip to the U SPORTS championship on the line.

York was hosting the bronze medal match for the first time, and playing in it for the second time in three years. They were looking to avenge a loss in this game to the Toronto Varsity Blues in 2023, and looking to beat their Mustangs, for the third time this year. The Lions swept Western in a two-game series early in the season, winning the first match in five sets and the second one in four.

The first set of this of this one was all Mustangs. They scored five of the first six points, and forced York to use both its timeouts by the midway point of the set. Western led by as many as seven points at various times in the first, responding every time the Lions would try and inch closer. They closed it out on a York attack error, and drew first blood, 25-17.

The second set was much of the same. Though York scored first on a Western attack error, the Mustangs scored eight of the next nine to take an 8-2 lead. Western’s attack remained strong throughout the set, while York struggled with its block, as the visitors maintained control the entire set. They took the second 25-16, and put the Lions on the brink.

York came out with some renewed energy early in the third, opening the scoring on an Alex Dorling kill. They then took the lead 3-2 on a Western attack error, before the Mustangs went on another run. They put up 10 of the next 14 to go up 12-7, forcing York into a timeout. Western kept up the momentum after the timeout, going on another 5-2 spurt to go up 17-9. They eventually took the third 25-14, ending the Lions season and advancing to the U SPORTS championship in Brandon, Man., from Mar. 21-23.

LOOKING AHEAD:

After an impressive 15-5 regular season and a playoff win under second-year head coach Jordan Taylor, the Lions will return much of their core in 2025-26, including rookie of the year Chris Hoffman, all-stars Dennis Cota and Alex Dorling, as well as pieces like setter Jasraj Nijjar and outside hitter Alex Ko. York is poised to be among the top teams in the OUA again next season.