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CIS semi-final #2: Defending champ Bears off to eighth straight title match
Courtesy of U of Alberta sports information
EDMONTON (CIS) - The No. 1-seeded and defending national champion
Alberta Golden Bears are heading to their eighth straight CIS men's
volleyball final following a straight-set semi-final victory
(25-20, 25-14, 25-22) over the No. 4 Brandon Bobcats, Saturday
night, at the U of A's main gym.
Championship website:
www.cisport.ca/e/championships/m_volleyball/2009
The Bears will face the No. 2 Laval Rouge et Or in Sunday's
gold-medal affair at 6 p.m. Mountain Time in a battle of the only
teams in the country who went undefeated in conference play this
year - both at 18-0 - and are still unbeaten in the post-season.
Alberta and Laval have never met for CIS gold in the past.
Laval, the last team from outside Canada West to play in the CIS
final (2001) and to win the Tantramar Trophy (1994), also advanced
in straight sets Saturday sweeping No. 3 McMaster in the early
semi.
The Bears have claimed CIS gold five times (2008, 2005, 2002,
1997, 1981) and the Rouge et Or three (1994, 1992, 1990).
The gold-medal match will be televised live on Shaw TV locally and
on Star Choice satellite providers. Fans can also catch the action
online by going to www.ssncanada.ca, as SSN Canada (Sports
Streaming Network) is webcasting the tournament and picking up the
TV feed from Edmonton.
McMaster and Brandon will play for bronze Sunday at 3 p.m. The
Marauders were playing in the national semi-finals for the first
time, while the Bobcats are making their first appearance at the
CIS tournament since joining CIS in 2005-06.
On Saturday night, the Bears were led by 2008-09 CIS player of the
year Joel Schmuland, a 6-foot-7 right-side hitter who concussed the
Bobcat court with 13 kills and two aces and a 39% attack rating,
while also adding a team-high five blocks. Schmuland finished the
regular season ranked third in Canada West points (4.79/set), third
in aces (0.38/set), sixth in kills (3.93/set) and 10th in hitting
percentage (.355).
Alberta middles Ben Saxton, Justin Merta and Spencer Leiske, all
third-year Golden Bears, were key in the win as well, hitting
eight, four and five kills respectively. All three did not hit
below 40% in the regular season and on Saturday, Leiske was tops at
57%.
Setter Mike DeRocco had 29 assists and two aces, both bouncing off
the net and into open court.
"Those guys, Justin, Ben and Spencer?they aren't a secret to
anyone who knows us," said U of A head coach Terry Danyluk, who was
named CIS coach of the year for a record-tying fifth time this
season. "They've been great all season long and have been operating
at a high efficiency for us and when they do, and when you combine
that with what Joel brings, in terms of big plays, and it all comes
together for us."
First-team all-Canadian left side Paul Sanderson and Kevin Miller
each had 12 kills to pace the 'Cats, while Canada West all-star
Joel Small had five and a 36% attack rating. Fifth-year setter
Andrew Korol had 30 assists and four digs.
Brandon struggled at the net, registering six blocks to Alberta's
18, while the Bears also dominated the service line, spinning seven
aces to Brandon's two.
The Bears took the opening two sets handily, but, like their
quarterfinal match against the No.8 UNB Varsity Reds, had a little
trouble closing out their opponents.
After cruising to set wins of 25-20 and 25-14, Alberta found
themselves in a different position?trailing by three points at
18-15 in the third set. Sanderson, Brandon's "Thunder from Down
Under", was a force in the third, pounding five kills, while Miller
added four.
"It always was going to be a huge task to beat a team like
Alberta, especially in their home gym," said Russ Paddock, the
fourth-year Brandon head coach. "We believed we had a shot at them
and with a break here or there, maybe we could have extended the
game, but they serve so well and played so well on their side of
the court that it was going to take a huge effort on our part to
derail them."
After a Danyluk timeout, Alberta was back into it, tying the set
at 18-18 thanks to a Schmuland kill off the Bobcat block and then
jumped in front, 19-18, thanks to a tipped Saxton kill. DeRocco
spun his second ace of the match, giving the Bears a 22-20 lead,
and with 2,715 fans standing on their feet, Alberta booked their
place in the gold medal match when Merta and Gourlay blocked a
Miller attack and it fell onto the Brandon floor.
"I thought we played very consistently tonight and that's what
it's going to take to beat Laval tomorrow," said Danyluk. "It's a
great opportunity for the teams that were ranked No.1 and No.2 all
season long. That doesn't happen very often and hopefully both
teams bring their best game in what will be a fantastic match for
the league and the fans."
STATS LEADERS
Alberta
Kills: Joel Schmuland (13), Ben Saxton (8), Spencer Leiske (5)
Blocks: Joel Schmuland (5)
Digs: Tim Gourlay (7)
Assists: Mike DeRocco (29)
Player of the match: Ben Saxton
Brandon
Kills: Paul Sanderson (12), Kevin Miller (12), Joel Small (5)
Blocks: Dan Ashfield (3)
Digs: Cameron Blewett (7)
Assists: Andrew Korol (30)
Player of the match: Andrew Korol
