Capilano captures first CCAA crown

Gold Medal Match: Capilano Blues 3, Humber Hawks 0

For the first time in school history, the Capilano Blues took home gold at the CCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship, defeating the Humber College Hawks 3-0. 

The last time the Blues reached the national finals was back in 2005, when the tournament was also hosted by the St. Thomas Tommies. 

“Before we left one of our longtime gym staff members mentioned to us that Cap had only been to the national final twice in school history and they lost both times,” said third-year outside hitter Jacob Hopkins. “So, getting through yesterday and then getting today we just wanted to put one down in school history.”

Coming into the match the Hawks hadn’t lost a set since Nov. 23, when they dropped the opening set to the Conestoga Condors. 

“It was a little intimidating coming into it,” said fifth-year outside hitter, Ben Friesen about the matchup with Humber. “They are a bunch of big guys; very skilled volleyball players with a lot of power behind their hits. At the same time, we knew our strengths and played to them and adjusted to theirs.”

Capilano jumped out to an early lead of 13-7 before Hawks head coach, Wayne Wilkins, called a timeout to try and settle his team. The Blues fought through that, taking the first set 25-15.

It was much of the same in the second with Capilano laying it all on the line, with Hopkins diving into the front row of seats to keep a ball alive before getting back into the play to finish with the kill. The Blues would take the second set 25-18. 

“It was a bad day to have a bad day,” said Wilkins after the match. “They did to us what we have done to other teams all year. They put an immense amount of pressure on us and we didn’t pass the ball and they did.”

The Blues would finish off the match with a 25-19 third set victory to secure their first Gold Medal. 

Hopkins was named a second team All-Star, while Friesen was named to the first All-Star team. Also joining the first All-Star team was former Hawk, Rafael Hilario. Simon Friesen of Capilano was named Tournament MVP. 

Bronze Medal Match: Volontaires de Sherbrooke 3, Lethbridge Kodiaks 2

The Volontaires de Sherbrooke defeated the Lethbridge Kodiaks in a five-set thriller to earn CCAA bronze – their first CCAA medal since 1996.  

“We gave everything to play the best game we can,” said Julien Vanier of the Volontaires. 

Sherbrooke was the first to jump on the board in the first set, but it was the Kodiaks who claimed the early lead. Soon after the Kodiaks took control of the first set and Carter Hanson finalized their win with a kill, ending the set with a score of 25-17. 

Like the previous set, the Volontaires started off strong. However, the Kodiaks fought back and forced the score up to 30-28 to win their second set of the match. 

Looking for redemption from their previous two sets, the Volontaires managed to lead for the majority of the third. Raphael Clement-Dorval secured the set for Sherbrooke with a solid kill, ending in a score of 25-20.

In the fourth set, the Volontaires trailed the Kodiaks up until the last few points, where they evened the match at two sets apiece with a 25-23 score. 

With one set between the teams and a bronze medal, both made game saving digs, and blocks. In the end it was the Volontaires who ended out on top, with a score of 18-16. 

Tony Albizzati led the Kodiaks with 12 kills and 10 digs and Michael Hummel added 12 kills and 11 digs. Jeremie Doyon led the Volontaires with 18 kills and 15 digs while Julien Vanier had 11 kills.

Match 10: Lethbridge Kodiaks 3, Red Deer Kings 2

In the second bronze medal semi-final, the Lethbridge Kodiaks avenged their ACAC Championship final loss by defeating the Red Deer Kings in five sets. 

Both teams started off the first set strong, setting the pace for the rest of the match. For the Kings it was Patrik Toze who led the set with six kills. While on the other side of the net it was Tony Albizzati with four kills. 

Throughout the set, the Kings and Kodiaks matched each other's pace, leaving little room for either to drastically pull ahead. At the end of the set it was the Kodiaks who managed to take it 25-23.

In the second set the Kings found themselves taking the lead over the Kodiaks. The Kings managed to pull away from the Kodiaks, which propelled them into winning the set 25-16.

At the start of the third, Carter Hansen put the Kodiaks on the board with an ace, and from there the Kodiaks kept up their lead over the Kings. An attack error was what got the Kodiaks the set, by a score of 25-21. 

The Kodiaks kept up their momentum early in the fourth, but the Kings soon changed that and took over the Kodiaks lead. The Kings declared the fourth set, 25-18, forcing the match into a fifth.

In the final set both teams battled hard for the win, however it was the Kings who came out victorious and took the set 15-13.

The Kodiaks move on to face the Volontaires for CCAA bronze. 

“It’s going to be another redemption game against those guys,” said Kodiaks player Quinn Buchanan. “We’ve played them before, so we know what we have to do to beat them.”   

Match 9: Volontaires de Sherbrooke 3, St. Thomas Tommies 1

In the first bronze medal semi-final of the day, the Volontaires de Sherbrooke ended the St. Thomas Tommies season with a four-set victory. 

In the first set, Julian Vanier of the Volontaires got the first point of the match, which set the pace for the remainder of the set. 

With an attempt to jump ahead of the Volontaires, the Tommies kept up an impressive rally, but it was Volontaires’ Jeremie Doyon who got the kill and pushed the Volontaires ahead 20 - 15. The Tommies were unable to get their footing in the first set and fell short to Volontaires 25-19.

“We tried to have good serves and we had to play our game,” said Volontaires setter Jonathon Portelance on his team’s play. 

Tommies’ Garret Dickson opened the second set with a kill, and though this set looked promising for the Tommies, les Volontaires snatched up the lead once again. The Volontaires took control of the second set thanks to set saving blocks and digs on their way to a 25-11 victory.

In the third set the Tommies looked to redeem themselves from their previous two sets, while the Volontaires looked to secure their win. 

Dallas Melnick of the Tommies gave his team a swift lead over the Volontaires. From there the Tommies brought the heat in the set and racked the score up to 8-2. 

The Tommies continued to dominate in the third set leaving little room for error. They took the set over the Volontaires with a score of 25-19.

The fourth set both teams came out firing. The Tommies trailed behind the Volontaires hot on their heels. Though in the end Volontaires Doyon got the final point and Volontaires won the set, 25-20.

Though the Tommies were unable to make it to the bronze medal match, head coach Henri Mallet spoke highly of his team. “I think it was a great season,” said Mallet. “I think there’s still room to grow, and I’m excited about what the future holds for the program.”