Photo credit David Moll
CALGARY (CIS) – There will be a new CIS men’s volleyball champion in 2014 after the top-seeded Alberta Golden Bears defeated an old rival, the Laval Rouge et Or, in four sets in the national semi-final Friday night at the University of Calgary’s Jack Simpson Gym (25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23).
Returning to the national final for the first time since 2009, the Golden Bears will play the winner of Friday’s late semi-final between OUA rivals McMaster and Western. That 2009 match ended with Alberta’s sixth national championship in men’s volleyball – and second in a row – and the Evergreen and Gold will look to capture a seventh CIS banner Saturday night, with first serve at 6 p.m. MT live on www.CIS-SIC.tv.
Laval will play the loser of the McMaster-Western tilt for bronze – and an all-important extra berth for their conference at next year’s championship in Saskatoon – at 3 p.m. MT Saturday.
The Bears avenged their quarterfinal loss to Laval in 2013 in an entertaining, back-and-forth match with three of the four sets decided by the minimum two points.
“It was a little shaky, but we’ll take the win,” said third-year left side Ryley Barnes, who led the Golden Bears with 14 kills and was named player of the match for Alberta. “We’re really confident going in, and we feel like we can play with anyone here. It was just a good match for us.”
The Bears booked their ticket to the final with a consistent performance, hitting 25 per cent on the night and dominating play at the net with 14.5 blocks. John Goranson was in on seven of those to lead the way, while Matt McCreary was in on six blocks for the Golden Bears. Alberta forced 25 hitting errors by the Rouge et Or.
After sloppy play in the opening set, which the Bears took 25-19 – the most lopsided frame of the match – the second set featured some great volleyball with both teams hitting better than 35 per cent. It ended as the only victory of the night for Laval at 25-23, with a kill by the Rouge et Or’s player of the match Olivier Jannini putting the punctuation on it.
The final two sets were tight as well, with both ending in 25-23 scores – but the Bears found a way to win both. A block of Jannini by the tandem of Taylor Arnett and McCreary wrapped up the third set in Alberta’s favour, while Tommy Bélisle’s serve on the final point of the match went wide of the court to send the Bears to the final – one of 22 missed serves by the Rouge et Or on the evening.
Jannini’s 15-kill, eight-dig night led Laval in both categories, while Bélisle’s 13 kills augmented the Rouge et Or offence. Bruno Lortie was in on five of Laval’s seven blocks, while Olivier Bibealut-Pinard had a hand in four as well.
Jay Olmstead added 11 kills to the Alberta cause, with Goranson contributing nine. Libero Reed May had a match-high nine digs for the Bears.
The top-seeded Bears now get set to face an unfamiliar opponent for the Tantramar Trophy, but Barnes said Alberta will focus on its own side of the net.
“We just have to play our game and force the other team to play our game, and just work really hard,” said the St. Albert, Alta. product. “No matter who we play, it’s just going to be a great match either way.”
Alberta
Kills: Ryley Barnes (14), Jay Olmstead (11)
Points: Ryley Barnes (16), John Goranson, Jay Olmstead (12.5)
Blocks: John Goranson (7), Matt McCreary (6)
Digs: Reed May (9), Brett Walsh, Ryley Barnes (60
Service aces: Brett Walsh, Ryley Barnes, Jarron Mueller (1)
Player of the match: Ryley Barnes
Laval
Kills: Olivier Jannini (15), Tommy Bélisle (13)
Points: Olivier Jannini (16), Bruno Lortie (15.5)
Blocks: Bruno Lortie (5), Olivier Bibeault-Pinard (4)
Digs: Tommy Bélisle, Vincent Thibeault-Bernier (8), Bruno
Lortie (6)
Service aces: Bruno Lotrie (3), Marc-André Morency (1)
Player of the match: Olivier Jannini
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times MOUNTAIN TIME)
Thursday, February 27
12:30 Quarter-final #1: No. 5 Laval 3 No. 4 Dalhousie 0 (25-16,
25-18, 25-22)
14:30 Quarter-final #2: No. 1 Alberta 3 No. 8 Montreal 0 (25-19,
25-18, 25-12)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: No. 6 Western 3 No. 3 Trinity Western 2
(25-21, 22-25, 19-25, 27-25, 15-12)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: No. 2 McMaster 3 No. 7 Calgary 1 (24-26,
21-25, 17-25, 22-25)
Friday, February 28
12:30 Consolation #1: No. 4 Dalhousie 3 No. 8 Montreal 2 (25-17,
27-29, 16-25, 25-23, 15-13)
14:30 Consolation #2: No. 3 Trinity Western 2 vs. No. 7 Calgary 1
(19-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-22)
18:00 Semifinal #1: No. 1 Alberta 3 No. 5 Laval 1 (25-19, 23-25,
25-23, 25-23)
20:00 Semifinal #2: Western vs. McMaster (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Saturday, March 1
13:00 5th Place: No. 4 Dalhousie vs. No. 3 Trinity Western
(www.CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Bronze medal: No. 5 Laval vs. Loser SF #2 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:00 Championship final: No. 1 Alberta vs. Winner SF #2 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, 11,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 55 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
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