 |  |
5TH PLACE CIS championship: Bears win consolation final, finish fifth
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McMaster () | 22 | 23 | 25 | 18 | 1 | |
| Alberta () | 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 3 |
| McMaster | Alberta |
|---|---|
|
K:
Shayne Petrusma - 12
B: Tyler Santoni - 8 D: Joshua Lichty - 7 SA: Jori Mantha - 2 |
K:
Jay Olmstead - 16
B: Simon Lidster - 4 D: Erik Mattson - 13 SA: Mitch Irvine - 4 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | McMaster | Alberta |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .212 | .297 |
| Blocks | 13.0 | 9.0 |
| Digs | 27 | 35 |
| Aces | 5 | 7 |
Photo credit Scott Stewart
LANGLEY, B.C. (CIS) – Playing in the consolation final of
the CIS men’s volleyball championship for the first time
since 2001, the fifth-seeded Alberta Golden Bears knocked off the
No. 6 McMaster Marauders in four sets (25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18),
Sunday afternoon, at the Langley Events Centre.
Championship website (including complete stats): http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball
Despite de disappointment of falling short of the national podium
for the first time in 10 years, the Bears mustered enough of an
effort Sunday to finish the season in fifth place in the
country.
Alberta got off to a quick start in the opening set and, despite a
third set blip, was the better side throughout much of the contest.
Leading the way for the winning side were Jay Olmstead, who had a
team-high 16 kills, Spencer Leiske (15 kills) and Mitch Irvine (13
kills, 4 service aces).
“Today was really hard to play,” said Alberta coach
Terry Danyluk. “We were probably still a little emotional
from Friday night. I sensed that a lot of the older players just
wanted to get it over with. I didn’t think we played our best
volleyball but we played good enough to win.
“Based on our expectations going into this season and this
tournament and the way it unravelled for us, it was very hard for
them to come out and be loose and fancy-free because a lot of them
were thinking about their last experience as a CIS player and it
wasn’t the match they wanted to play.”
In the opening set, the Golden Bears really took off thanks to a
massive serving and attacking effort from Irvine, who finished the
set with six kills and three aces. The Bears led for the majority
of the set and wrapped things up at 25-22.
In the second set, McMaster’s Tyler Santoni got the first two
points of the set, via a block and a service ace. McMaster managed
to maintain that lead and possessed as much as a 16-12 advantage at
the second technical timeout.
But Alberta came racing back.
Hoping to end the match in three quick sets, Alberta went on a 6-2
run after the second break to tie the game 18-18. From there, the
Golden Bears kept pushing their agenda and, with eight kills in the
set from Leiske, Alberta helped itself to a 25-23 win.
An out of rotation call on McMaster’s Austin Campion-Smith
turned the set late towards Alberta
and the Golden Bears made good on the setter’s mistake by
finishing the set shortly thereafter.
“He made a freshman mistake and I need to deal with
that,” said McMaster coach Dave Preston. “But
he’s played outstanding this weekend considering everything
that has been on him and the responsibilities he’s has to
carry.”
After that though, the third set provided some intrigue.
With Alberta hitting just 14.8 per cent compared to
McMaster’s 29.6 per cent in the set and the Marauders
out-blocking the generally strong big men from Alberta five to two,
the Marauders received a well-earned 25-22 win.
The Golden Bears were up 16-15 at the second timeout but it was
McMaster coming through late with a 10 of the final 16 points.
In the fourth, and what would be final, set, Alberta showed why
they have been so highly ranked all year. They didn’t allow
McMaster to make a single team block and cranked up their hitting
percentage to 41.7 per cent en route to a convincing seven-point
win at 25-18.
“Any time you get to play a program like Alberta, it’s
a good opportunity for us but the parameters around that match were
very difficult for us,” Preston said. “I thought we did
a pretty good job. The first three sets were very close.”
The Marauders were led by Tyler Santoni, who had five kills and
eight blocks, Shayne Petrusma, who had 12 kills, and Kevin Stevens,
who had 11 kills.
McMaster finishes the tournament in sixth place, two spots below
its fourth place finish in its last national tournament appearance
in 2009.
STAT LEADERS
Alberta
Kills : Jay Olmstead (16), Spencer Leiske (15), Mitch Irvine
(13)
Points: Mitch Irvine (18.5), Spencer Leiske (18), Jay Olmstead
(17)
Blocks: Simon Lidster (4)
Digs: Erik Mattson (13)
Service aces: Mitch Irvine (4)
Assists: Tanner Nault (47)
Player of the match: Jay Olmstead
McMaster
Kills: Shayne Petrusma (12), Kevin Stevens (11), Tyson Alexander
(6)
Points: Shayne Petrusma (14.5)
Blocks: Tyler Santoni (8)
Digs: Joshua Lichty (7)
Service aces: Jori Mantha (2)
Assists: Austin Campion-Smith (43)
Player of the match: Tyler Santoni
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)
Semifinal #1: Brandon 3, Laval 0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-23)
Semifinal #2: Trinity Western 3, Calgary 2 (25-17, 18-25, 25-23,
20-25, 15-9)
Sunday, March 6
5th place: Alberta 3, McMaster 1 (25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18)
15:00 Bronze medal: Laval vs. Calgary
18:00 Championship final: Brandon vs. Trinity Western
-CIS-
