CONSOLATION #2 CIS championship: Golden Bears rebound with sweep of Sherbrooke

Final	1	2	3	4	5	Final
Sherbrooke ()	22	18	9			0
Alberta ()	25	25	25			3

Sherbrooke	Alberta
K: M-R Claessens Rivest - 6 B: Samuel Emond - 2 D: 2 Players (#1, #11 - 5) SA: 2 Players (#11, #16 - 1)	K: Spencer Leiske - 14 B: Simon Lidster - 7 D: Erik Mattson - 10 SA: Mitch Irvine - 3

TEAM STATISTICS	Sherbrooke	Alberta
Hitting %	.118	.418
Blocks	2.0	12.0
Digs	20	24
Aces	2	5

full stats

Courtesy: TWU sports information / Photo credit Scott Stewart
  
LANGLEY, B.C. (CIS) – Playing in a consolation game for the first time since 2001, the fifth-seeded Alberta Golden Bears dominated the Sherbrooke Vert et Or 25-22, 25-18, 25-9 Saturday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre to advance to the fifth-place match of the CIS men’s volleyball championship.
 
Championship website (including complete stats): http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball
 
The Bears, who saw their remarkable streak of nine straight CIS podiums come to an end Friday night when they lost a thrilling five-set quarter-final to tournament host Trinity Western, will face OUA champion McMaster Sunday at noon PST in the consolation final.
 
Alberta never trailed against Quebec champion Sherbrooke, which returns home with an 0-2 record.
 
“When you lose a match you really hope you’re going to win, it’s really tough to regroup,” said Alberta coach Terry Danyluk referring to the loss to Trinity Western. “I just approach it from the sense that it’s about character. No team wants to be in the second half of a draw or a bronze medal if they felt they had a chance to win. For us it was a chance for us to comeback and show that we’re a good team and show some character and desire.”
 
With a CIS medal no longer in the cards, the Golden Bears played a loose, energetic style that overmatched a young and inexperienced Sherbrooke side. Alberta was led by Spencer Leiske, who had a game-high 14 kills while Jay Olmstead had eight kills. Erik Mattson led the team with 10 digs and Simon Lidster had a game-high seven blocks.
 
“They had trouble this morning,” Danyluk said. “I’m not going to lie. Everybody was down from yesterday and had all sorts of different feelings about the way things have gone. The last two weeks have really shifted for us from the way we were three weeks ago. I think after not being successful last weekend, yesterday was a real sore because we thought we’d be able to comeback.”
 
In the opening set, three quick Alberta points set the table for how this match would transpire.
While the Vert et Or fought back and, after a Pierre-Marc Lussier kill, only trailed 10-9, it seemed always Alberta’s game to win.
 
The Golden Bears went on a 7-1 run to break open the set and then cruised to the 25-22 win. After Alberta’s Tanner Nault erred on a late-set serve, the Vert et Or got to within two points, at 24-22, but never nearer.  
 
The Golden Bears used a balanced attack in the set, with five players registering at least two kills.
 
In the second set, a smiley Alberta team steamrolled ahead. A kill by Mitch Irvine gave the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead and they never looked back. Leiske and Olmstead each had four kills and Lidster and Leiske had four blocks each to take the second set in quick order.
 
And in the final set, Alberta was simply better in every aspect of the game. The Vert et Or looked a defeated team as the Golden Bears ran away with a 25-9 victory. Leiske had another six kills in the set to finish with 14 on the afternoon and Alberta rode an 11-1 mid-game run to the win.
 
“I’m a bit disappointed,” said Sherbrooke assistant coach Mathieu Giroux. “The guys played a good first two sets but the last one the gap was getting to big and they decided to let go. That’s one of the reasons why I’m a bit disappointed.
 
“They are still a young team and now they know the gap we need to [close]. I think we can start right now to work on those things.”
 
The Vert et Or was led by Maxime-Rock Claessens Rivest with six kills while Hugo St. Pierre-Hould had 24 assists.
 
Alberta finished with 12 blocks to Sherbrooke’s two and hit at 41.8 per cent compared to 11.8 per cent.
 
STAT LEADERS
 
Alberta
Kills : Spencer Leiske (14), Jay Olmstead (8), Mitch Irvine (6)
Points: Spencer Leiske (17), Jay Olmstead (10)
Blocks: Simon Lidster (7)
Digs: Erik Mattson (10)
Service aces: Mitch Irvine (3)
Assists: Tanner Nault (27)
 
Player of the match: Spencer Leiske
 
Sherbrooke
Kills: Maxime-Rock Claessens Rivest (6), Pierre-Luc Lessard (5), Samuel Emond (5), Pierre-Marc Lussier (5)
Points: Maxime-Rock Claessens Rivest (7.5), Samuel Emond (7.5)
Blocks: Samuel Emond (2)
Digs: Pierre-Luc Lessard (5), Maxime-Rock Claessens Rivest (5)
Service aces: Maxime-Rock Claessens Rivest (1), Samuel Emond (1)
Assists: Hugo St. Pierre-Hould (24)
 
Player of the match: Pierre-Marc Lussier
 
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL: Pacific Time)
 
NOTE:  Live webcast of all matches at http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball
 
Friday, March 4
 
Quarter-final #1: Laval 3, UNB 0 (25-18, 25-14, 27-25)
Quarter-final #2: Brandon 3, McMaster 1 (25-15, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15)
Quarter-final #3: Trinity 3, Alberta 2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-11)
Quarter-final #4: Calgary 3, Sherbrooke 0 (25-12, 26-24, 25-18)
 
Saturday, March 5
 
Consolation #1: McMaster 3, UNB 1(25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 25-16) 
Consolation #2: Alberta 3, Sherbrooke 0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-9) 
18:00 Semi-final #1: Laval vs. Brandon 
20:00 Semi-final #2: Trinity Western vs. Calgary 
 
Sunday, March 6
 
12:00 5th place: McMaster vs. Alberta 
15:00 Bronze medal
18:00 Championship final  
  
-CIS-