Courtesy of Laval University sports information office / Photo credit Yan Doublet

QUEBEC CITY (CIS) – The fourth-seeded Alberta Golden Bears defeated conference rivals, the No. 2 Trinity Western Spartans, in four sets of 25-14, 25-21, 22-25 and 25-18 Sunday afternoon to take fifth place at the CIS men’s volleyball championship at PEPS Stadium in Quebec City.

The Bears, six-time national champions, improve from their sixth position obtained at last year’s tournament. For the Spartans, who came in as two-time defending champions, it marks the first time they fail to reach the podium in eight CIS tournament appearances, over a span of 10 years.

“We had a gentlemen’s agreement with Trinity Western to play a golden set, so we played with our starting six for one game and then we let the young guys play. Both our young players and older ones responded very well,” said Alberta’s head coach Terry Danyluk.
“We wanted to give the younger guys an experience at this level. And for the older ones, it was a matter of playing one good game and see which team is better in one set,” Danyluk added.

“We are happy with the result even though we lost. It’s an awesome environment and we wanted all of our athletes to have this experience. Not always are you in a spot where both teams are looking to do the same thing. I was very pleased with the way we played,” commented TWU’s head coach Ben Josephson.

Both teams had trouble finding their rhythm to start the match. Attack and service errors marked the first portion of the set. The Bears came out front 16-12 at the technical pause and seemed to be the first to get into their game. The Albertans produced nine of the following 11 points to take the first round 25-14.

The second frame was a lot tighter. Neither the Bobcats nor the Spartans could take a real advantage, and at the technical break, Alberta held on to a slim lead at 16-14. With the score 20-20, the Albertans exploded for four unanswered points and we able to take the set 25-21 to make it 2-0 in favour of the Canada West bronze medallists.

Trinity Western did not give up though. They kept answering to the numerous Alberta strikes. Up 16-14 at the break, the Bears added a point but then saw the Spartans complete one of the best sequences of the tournament so far. The two-time defending champions scored no less than eight consecutive points with CIS first team All-Canadian Nick Del Bianco (Langley, BC) at the serve. In command at 22-17, TWU had the necessary cushion to close the set 25-22 and force a fourth one.

The Bears started the fourth set in force, scoring the first four points. The Spartans quickly bounced back to level the score at 6-6 with a service ace from Scott Plocktis (Kelowna, BC). The Albertans managed to take another four-point lead at the break at 16-12 and kept on going, creating gaps of seven and nine points at 20-13 and 23-14 respectively. TWU saved three match points at 24-15, but couldn’t hold it any longer, a service error giving Alberta the win at 25-18.

Left side hitter Ryley Barnes (St. Paul, AB) was named player of the match for the winners, while Ryan Sclater (Port Coquitlam, BC) received the same honour for the Spartans.

Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball/index

STAT LEADERS

Alberta
Kills: Ryley Barnes (13), Kevin Proudfoot (11)
Points: Ryley Barnes (14), Kevin Proudfoot (13)
Blocks: Jarron Mueller, John Goranson (1.5)
Digs: Ryley Barnes (13)
Service aces: Kevin Proudfoot, Jarron Mueller, Tristan Aubry (1)
Player of the match: Ryley Barnes

Trinity Western
Kills: Nicholas Del Bianco (12), Ryan Sclater (10)
Points: Nicholas Del Bianco (13.5), Ryan Sclater (10.5)
Blocks: Derek Thiessen, Branden Schmidt, Micah JansenVanDoorn (2)
Digs: Tyler Koslowsky (9)
Service aces: Nicholas Del Bianco, Bradley Kufske, Scott Plocktis (1)
Player of the match: Ryan Sclater

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Friday, March 1
12:30 Quarter-final #1: McMaster 3, UNB 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-14)
14:30 Quarter-final #2: Western 3, Trinity Western 2 (26-28, 23-25, 31-29, 27-25, 15-9)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: Brandon 3, Montreal 1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-20)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: Laval 3, Alberta 1 (15-25, 25-22, 25-21, 27-25)

Saturday, March 2
12:30 Consolation #1: Trinity Western 3, UNB 2 (19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 15-12)
14:30 Consolation #2: Alberta 3, Montreal 0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-19)
18:00 Semifinal #1: McMaster 3, Western 0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-21)
20:00 Semifinal #2: Laval 3, Brandon 2 (21-25, 26-24, 24-26, 25-23, 15-13)

Sunday, March 3
11:00 5th place: Alberta 3, Trinity Western 1 (25-14, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18)
13:00 Bronze medal: Western vs. Brandon (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
16:30 Championship final: Laval vs. McMaster (www.CIS-SIC.tv)

-CIS-