LIONS VOLLEYBALL TEAMS SPLIT SATURDAY DOUBLE-HEADER WITH BROCK AS MEN SURPASS HIGHEST WIN TOTAL SINCE 2016-17

The York University Lions volleyball teams continued their weekend series against the Brock Badgers in St. Catharines on Saturday night. The sides split their matches on Friday, with the women falling 3-1, while the men secured a 3-0 straight-set victory.  

This matchup, like Friday’s, featured heavy playoff implications, with the men battling for seeding and the women fighting to remain in contention. The women entered the rematch at 9-8, tied with the Toronto Varsity Blues for the eighth and final playoff spot in the OUA.  

The men enter this contest on a four-game winning streak, with their three latest victories being in straight-sets. While the red-hot Windsor Lancers have locked up the first seed, the Lions are still contending with the Queen’s Gaels for the second.

Women’s Match:

York opened the match with a 4-0 start that featured a Brooklyn Parliament kill and two aces from Megahn Kociancic. The Badgers were able to rally with a 4-0 run of their own to tie things up, and subsequently, go on a 13-6 run to take a 17-10 lead. While the teams traded scores the rest of the way, Brock would take the set 25-18 and a 1-0 lead in the match.

The teams battled to a 4-4 score to open the second set, but Brock would go on a 9-3 run to take a 13-7 advantage. Despite York’s best efforts to close the gap, which included three Victoria Herrington kills, Brock took the set 25-16 and led the match 2-0.

The teams traded scores throughout the third set, with the longest run coming from York when they went on a 4-0 run to take a 14-13 lead midway through the third, looking to extend it to a fourth. Parliament recorded an ace and four kills and Herrington notched three in a set that would eventually reach extras. However, with the set tied at 25, Brock would earn a kill from Laurin Ainsworth and force an error from Parliament to win the set 27-25 and secure the straight-sets victory.

Men’s Match: 

The opening set saw both teams trade points throughout, ultimately pushing the set to extras. Alex Ko and Nathan Luken each had an ace to go along with three kills, while Chris Hoffman had four. With the set tied at twenty-four, Kylar Code put the stamp on it for the Badgers with an ace and a kill to win 26-24 for their first set win of the weekend to take a 1-0 lead.

While the Badgers were able to establish a 10-7 advantage to start the second set, the Lions recovered to work their way to a 14-14 tie. York would then go on a 7-1 run, powered by an Anders Say ace and a Sam Jansen kill, to take a 21-16 lead. Though the Badgers attempted a rally, the visitors closed out with a Hoffman kill to take the set 25-21 and tie the match 1-1.

The Lions got off to a 7-3 start in the third set. A subsequent 6-2 run, propelled by three Ko kills, increased York’s advantage to 12-5. Trailing 21-14, Brock nearly mounted a comeback, going on a 6-1 run to get back in it, down 22-21. The Lions would close it out with a 3-1 run to win the set 25-22 on another Hoffman kill to take a 2-1 lead.

York marched out to a 15-10 lead before Brock went on a 7-2 run to even things up at 17. The Lions would bounce back however, closing with an 8-3 run to win the set 25-20 – the final point an Adam Shapcott service error – and the game 3-1. Hoffman had sixteen kills in the match and 27 for the weekend with just four attack errors, while Ko notched twelve with an extremely efficient .476 hit percentage.

With this win, their 14th of the season, the Lions have now earned their most wins in a season since 2016-17 when they went 15-3. With two more wins, they will earn their most wins since their 2004-05 OUA championship season. With a loss by Queen’s to the McMaster Marauders in five sets on Saturday night, the Lions now control their own path to a second-place finish in the OUA. If they win their final two matches next weekend at TMU, they will finish second no matter what Queen’s does in its final two games at Trent.

LOOKING AHEAD: 

The Lions close out their regular season on the road against the TMU Bold next weekend, beginning on Friday night. The women’s match starts at 6:00 pm while the men’s match commences at 8:00 pm.