Game 13: GOLD FINAL
Red Deer Kings 3, Titans de Limoilou 2
In a clash of the top seeded teams and a rematch of last year’s National Final, the #2 seeded Red Deer Kings repeated as National Champions, defeating the #1 seeded Titans de Limoilou in a five set thriller by scores of 25-21, 25-18, 24-26, 24-26 and 15-
As expected, the first set was tight from the opening point. Two back row kills by Nicolas Fortin had Limoilou with an early lead but Red Deer’s Regan Fathers came right back and tied the game on the kill from the right side. Brian Grenier had a pair of kills down the line to put the Kings back up by one but after another kill by Fortin, the game was once again tied. Back and forth the teams sided out until a three point run by the Kings had them up 21-18. Red Deer would close out the set and win 25-21.
In the second, Limoilou jumped out and had the early advantage but again the Kings responded with four straight points to take the lead. The Kings continued to pile it on and led 9-3 before a kill by Fortin settled down the Titans. Fathers was unstoppable for the Kings whether attacking from the front or back row. The Kings were leading by seven, 16-9, but Limoilou wouldn’t give in, scoring the next three points to close the gap to four. Nicholas Tremblay was doing everything he could to pull the Titans back into the match but the Kings took the second set 25-18 and took a commanding 2-0 sets lead.
Teams traded points early in the third, with neither team willing to back down. No team led by more than two until, with the game tied at 10, middle blocker Daimyn Biletsky put up three consecutive blocks to give Limoilou the advantage. Tremblay had an incredible backrow kill that electrified the gym and had the Titans leading 20-16 late in the third set. But the Kings stormed back with a pair of blocks to tie the game at 20. Back and forth the teams went but a kill by Tremblay followed by a Kings error gave Limoilou the set 26-24.
In the fourth, the game was tied at six when a kill by Ty Moorman had the Kings bench explode in excitement. Red Deer took that excitement and went on a 5-2 run to lead by three. The lead remained intact until setter Ludavic Martin turned on a two ball and crushed it to bring Limoilou within one. With the score 23-22 in favour of the Kings, setter Martin dumped a ball into the pocket to tie the game. Then, with the score tied at 24, a block followed by a middle kill by Etienne Belzile gave Limoilou the fourth set victory.
Kings middle Adam Turlejski started the fifth set with a kill and a block to give Red Deer the lead. With the score 5-3 for the Kings, an ace by Turlejski had all the momentum in Red Deer’s favour. The Kings had a commanding lead of 8-3 but Limoilou stormed back to close the gap to just one, 9-8, after an ace by Tremblay. Some of the best kills of the tournament took place in the final five points of the match. In the end, the Kings held on and won the final set 15-12.
Red Deer’s Player of the Game: Ty Moorman – 11 points (10 kills, 1 block)
Limoilou’s Player of the Game: Nicolas Fortin – 18 kills
Game 12: BRONZE FINAL
Medicine Hat Rattlers 3, Fanshawe Falcons 2
In the bronze medal final, the #5 seeded Medicine Hat Rattlers won a thrilling five set match over the #7 seeded Fanshawe Falcons 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 25-23 and 21-19.
The Rattlers jumped out to a two point lead early after some tough serves by Victor Pereira and Isak Helland-Hansen. Fanshawe tied the game and then took the lead 9-8 after James Jackson won a joust at the net. Two points later, setter Sebastian Lethbridge won a joust of his own and gave the Falcons their first two point lead. With Zach Frank serving, the Rattlers retook the lead after a huge block by Joel Kotyk. Medicine Hat started to pull away and after falling behind by as many as six, the Falcons could not recover. The Rattlers would take the first set by a score of 25-20.
In the second, neither team gave up any ground early, going point for point. Outside hitters Helland-Hansen and Jackson seemed unstoppable. The Falcons were the first team to have a two point lead at 7-5 after a Medicine Hat hitting error. The Rattlers came back to take a one point lead after a pair of kills by Alfred Dalevik. Back and forth the teams went again until the Falcons finally took the first three point lead of the set after a block by David AuCoin. Missed serves by the Falcons kept the Rattlers in the game but down the stretch Jackson could not be stopped on the outside. After a hitting error by the Rattlers, Fanshawe would take the second set 25-22.
Just like the second set, no team led by more than two until an ace by AuCoin put the Falcons up 9-7 in the third. The Rattlers scored three of the next four points including another big block by Kotyk to take the lead. With the game tied again, a kill by Andre Foreman put the Falcons back on top. Both teams’ offenses were clicking and siding out on every point. With the score 22-21 for Fanshawe, Foreman scored again off the block and pulled the Falcons ahead by two. With set point on the line, another missed serve by the Rattlers gave the Falcons the win 25-23.
In the fourth, kills by Dalevik started the Rattlers off on the right foot, as they led 4-2 early on. The Falcons battled back and tied the game at 10 on a beautiful dump by Lethbridge. A huge kill by Brodie Dolter in the middle had the Rattlers back in the lead by one but the Falcons scored four straight including another ace by Otten to take a three point lead. Medicine Hat clawed back and tied the game at 20 and then Dalevik put up a massive block to give the Rattlers the lead. With Medicine Hat leading 24-23, Fanshawe hit the ball just out the side of the court and the Rattlers would win the set, tying the match at two games apiece.
In the fifth set, with the score 3-2 for the Rattlers, back-to-back blocks by Zach Frank gave Medicine Hat the three point lead. Fanshawe cut the lead to just one on a kill by Otten on the outside. Halfway through the set, the Rattlers held the one point advantage 8-7. Helland-Hansen was big down the stretch with a pair of kills to push the lead to four, 13-9. The Falcons stormed back with three consecutive kills by Jackson to tie the game at 13. Fanshawe showed plenty of character, avoiding three straight Rattlers chances at match point, until a ball handling error on Medicine Hat gave Fanshawe the one point lead 18-17. The Rattlers were able to take the lead back and a hitting error by the Falcons on the final point sealed it as the Rattlers would win a thrilling fifth set 21-19 and capture the CCAA Bronze Medal in front of a raucous and full Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre.
Medicine Hat’s Player of the Game: Brodie Dolter – 15 points (14 kills, 1 block)
Fanshawe’s Player of the Game: Sebastian Lethbridge – 58 assists, 8 points (7 kills, 1 block), 9 digs
Game 11: Mohawk Mountaineers 3, Holland Hurricanes 2
In Game 11 of the Championship, the #3 ranked Mohawk Mountaineers came back from being down two sets to none to win 3-2 over the #8 Holland Hurricanes (21-25, 19-25, 25-18, 26-24, 15-7).
The Hurricanes came out fired up in the first set and led early 5-3. Brett Butler had a pair of kills from the right side to extend Holland’s lead to six. The Hurricanes were leading 18-10 before the Mountaineers started to mount their comeback. Mohawk would slowly close in on Holland but the Hurricanes would finish the set with an ace by Butler to win 25-21.
In the second, Holland again took an early 5-3 lead. With the Hurricanes leading 11-9 after a point by Holland, the Mohawk Head Coach was disqualified from the match. Holland continued to play strong, getting big blocks at the net by both Jeff MacDonald and Colton Collins. Again, an ace for Holland for the final point of the set gave the Hurricanes the 25-19 win.
Mohawk looked to have something to prove in the third set. Three straight blocks by the Mountaineers had Mohawk ahead 11-7. Holland kept the game close and were within two, 18-16, but a kill by setter Chris Spack had the Mountaineers energized again. Mohawk would finish the game on a 7-2 run to take the third set 25-18.
In a tight fourth set, neither team was able to establish any type of lead. Halfway through the set, the score was tied at 16. Big kills on both sides of the net by Holland’s Gordan Veitch and Mohawk’s Nathan Delguidice kept their teams in the game. With Mohawk leading 24-23, a long rally ended in a hitting error by the Mountaineers and the game was once again tied. After a kill by Mohawk, a huge stuff block ended the set and Mohawk won 26-24.
Mohawk jumped out to quick lead in the fifth set. A number of hitting errors down the stretch by the Hurricanes gave free points to the Mountaineers. Mohawk pulled away and won the set 15-7 to come back and win the match three sets to two.
Mohawk’s Player of the Game: Chris Spack – 56 assists, 6 points (3 kills, 2 aces, 1 block)
Holland’s Player of the Game: Brent Butler – 20 points (16 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks)
Game 10: Medicine Hat Rattlers 3, VIU Mariners 0
In the second bronze semi-final of the day, the #5 seeded Medicine Hat Rattlers won in three straight sets over the #6 seeded VIU Mariners 25-23, 25-20 and 25-20.
VIU’s Zach Grigg started the first set with a pair of aces to open the scoring. The Mariners were in the lead early but the Rattlers stormed back with five straight and took a 7-5 lead including two kills up the middle by Brodie Dolter. VIU battled back and after tying the game at 16, scored three straight to take their largest lead of the set. But the Rattlers bounced right back and the game was once again tied. Medicine Hat and VIU went back and forth until the Rattlers Alfred Dalevik put up a big solo block to give them the 24-23 lead. On the next point, Joel Kotyk scored from the right side to give the Rattlers the first set victory 25-23.
In the second, VIU jumped out to a 5-0 lead. At one point, the Rattlers closed the gap to two but the Mariners continued to push and extended their lead to six after two kills by All-Canadian Braydon Brouwer. Medicine Hat once again battled back and took the lead, 17-16, after a service ace by Kotyk. A huge kill from the outside from Player of the Year Isak Helland-Hansen pushed the Rattlers lead to five as Medicine Hat would take the set 25-20 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Back-to-back aces by Helland-Hansen had the Rattlers start the third set up 3-0. The Mariners would chip away and tie the game at 11 but a massive stuff block by Dolter stopped any momentum VIU had. After trailing by four, the Mariners once again came back to tie the game but could not take the lead. An ace on the final point of the set by Helland-Hansen gave the Rattlers the 25-20 win.
Medicine Hat’s Player of the Game: Isak Helland-Hansen – 15 points (11 kills, 3 aces, 1 block), 6 digs
VIU’s Player of the Game: Braydon Brouwer – 14 points (12 kills, 2 aces), 8 digs
Game 9: Fanshawe Falcons 3, Camosun Chargers 0
In the first bronze semi-final of the final day, the host #7 seeded Fanshawe Falcons continued to roll and upset the #4 Camosun Chargers in three straight sets 25-21, 25-23 and 25-20.
In a tight first set, no team led by more than one until the Chargers took a two point lead at 12-10 after a kill by Savana Walkingbear. A kill by middle David AuCoin sparked the Falcons. Tough serving by Sam Otten helped Fanshawe take the lead 14-13. In a back and forth affair, Fanshawe finally took a two point lead after a kill on the outside by Andre Foreman. Otten had his second ace of the match at 23-20 as the Falcons would go on to take the first set 25-21.
The Chargers scored first in the second but Fanshawe quickly responded and took a 6-3 lead again behind some fantastic serving by Otten. After falling behind by four, the Chargers came back to tie the game after a kill by Walkingbear but a nice dump by setter Sebastian Lethbridge into the pocket had the Falcons back in the lead. Fanshawe extended their lead back to three but a kill followed by an ace by Haakon Ostrem had Camosun right back to within one, 18-17. However, that is as close as they would get as Fanshawe would take the second set 25-23.
In the third, Fanshawe again jumped out to a 6-3 lead. The Falcons continued to push and extended their lead to six after back-to-back kills by James Jackson. Lethbridge was doing a fantastic job spreading out the ball on the offensive end with four different Falcons all over 8 points in the match. Camosun’s Walkingbear was not ready to have his season end though and after a pair of kills from the outside, had his team within four but a missed serve by Camosun gave Fanshawe the win 25-20.
Fanshawe’s Player of the Game: James Jackson – 17 kills, 1 block
Camosun’s Player of the Game: Douglass Waterdown – 6 kills, 4 digs
More Information:
Box Scores – http://ccaa.ca/sports/mvball/championship/schedule/mvb2017
Awards - http://ccaa.ca/sports/mvball/championship/awards/index
Photos – https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccaasportsacsc/albums/72157678128493111
Archived Broadcasts – http://www.falconstv.ca/ccaa-mens-volleyball-championship/