LIONS VOLLEYBALL TEAMS SWEEP RMC FOR SECOND STRAIGHT DAY AS MEN PUNCH TICKET TO POSTSEASON

The York University Lions volleyball teams hosted the RMC Paladins on Saturday afternoon to close out their weekend series and the home schedule.

These being the final home games of the season, the Lions honoured their graduating seniors in pre-game ceremonies. The women’s team will graduate five seniors – Ella Rohani, Brooklyn Parlaiment, Jessica Reynolds, Amarai Endes and Natalie Lafaive.

The men’s team, meanwhile, loses four players, Noah Halladay, Sam Jansen, Robert Kemp and Martin Prinsloo. Additionally, Luke de Greeff and Andrew Wiebe – both now on the Lions coaching staff – were also recognized after not receiving grad ceremonies during their senior seasons.

As for the matches themselves, they both were big. The women’s team looked for a fourth straight win to improve to 9-7 on the year and improve their playoff chances. On the men’s side, a win Saturday would qualify York for the postseason for the second time in three years as they look to lock down a home playoff game, and perhaps a second.

Women’s Game:

Lefaive, who suffered a career-ending injury last season, returned to the floor for the opening serve, which led to a York point. The Lions scored seven of the first nine points, with all four active seniors posting kills in the run, which forced an RMC timeout. The Paladins battled back to within two at 11-9, before the Lions scored the next four. RMC cut it to two once again at 21-19, but the home side rallied off another four straight – punctuated by a Rohani kill, one of her three in the set – to win the set 25-19 and take a 1-0 lead.

The teams exchanged points early in the second to the tune of an 8-8 tie. York scored four straight to take an 11-8 lead thanks to kills from Rohani and Parliament, nine of the next ten points to take an 18-9 lead. Parliament led the way with six kills in the set for the home side. They would go on to win the second by an identical 25-19 count and take a 2-0 lead.

The third set was topsy-turvy to say the least. York took leads of 3-0 and 7-3, appearing poised to make quick work of the Paladins. However, the visitors responded by scoring eight of the next nine to take an 11-8 lead. They eventually built that advantage up to six at 16-10. Then, back came the Lions. They put up seven consecutive, the big flashes being a Kianna Drewniak kill and a Trinity Lam ace, to go up 17-16. Another Drewniak kill made it 21-19, with an Endes kill making it 24-22, before the Paladins fought back to tie it at 24. The extras wouldn’t last long, however, as a service error from RMC’s Elisa Markentin put York on the precipice, and Drewniak finished it off with her fifth kill of the set to make give York the set 26-24 and secure a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 26-24) victory.

Men’s Game:

All four active Lions seniors were in the starting lineup for York, and all figured into the scoring in the opening set. Jansen posted three kills in the first, while Prinsloo had one. Halladay posted an assist and a block in the opening set, while libero Kemp tallied four digs. The Lions got off to a 12-5 lead before the Paladins battled back to trim the lead to three late in the set, 21-18. However, York was able to put it away with a kill from Alex Ko and two RMC errors, taking the set 25-21 to grab a 1-0 lead.

The hosts roared out to a 6-0 lead in the second thanks in part to kills from Jansen, Kemp and Ko. The Paladins, proving to be a scrappy bunch in this one, rallied to cut the York lead to two midway through the set, 14-12. After a kill from Alex Dorling made it 18-15, the Lions went on another extended run, the Dorling score the start of a 7-0 spurt to go up 24-15. The Lions posted the winning point courtesy of an Aidan Labossiere block to take the second set 25-16 and put the Paladins on the brink of a second straight sweep.

RMC hung point for point with the home side in the third, and took a 10-8 lead on a Tommy Roussel kill. The Lions bounced back, however, with a 12-5 run. In and amongst it were kills by Ko, Halladay and rookie Bodhi Jones, seeing action for the first time since Nov. 22 vs. Queen’s. Prinsloo had back-to-back kills to close the run, staking York to a 20-15 lead. That five-point edge would be all they’d need, as they took the third set 25-19 – the final point being a Paladin service error – to secure their third straight win and second consecutive sweep (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) of RMC.

The win clinches a return to the playoffs for York, as they look to hunt down Queen’s for second in the OUA. A Western win over the Gaels on Saturday night will bring York into a tie for that spot, with the Lions holding the tiebreaker by virtue of sets won in head-to-head competition (5-4).

LOOKING AHEAD: 

York’s teams begin their season-ending four-game road trip next Friday in St. Catharine’s against the Brock Badgers. First serve of the women’s game flies at 6:00 pm, while the men’s game begins at approximately 8:00 pm.