Posted: Feb 13, 2014
SATURDAY
Alberta 3 Calgary 0
(Golden Bears win series 2-0)
Dinos-Golden Bears Stats
by Paul Cartledge, Golden Bears & Pandas Athletics
EDMONTON – Continuing his veteran offensive leadership, senior left side Jay Olmstead propelled the Alberta Golden Bears to a straight-sets win (25-23, 25-13, 25-18) over the Calgary Dinos, also sweeping Calgary in a best-of-three quarter-final series, Saturday at Saville Community Sports Centre.
The current Canada West Male 1st Star of the Week spun 11 kills, totaling 24 kills in six sets on the weekend, and added an ace while sophomore setter Brett Walsh recorded 26 assists.
Fifth-year outside hitter Greg Mann had a team-high eight kills for the Dinos, third-year setter Jackson Maris netting a game-high 27 assists.
With the victory, Alberta advances to the Canada West Final Four next weekend at Trinity Western University, hosted by the Spartans. The Dinos will wait for the conference champion and the runner-up at the CIS Championships, hosted by Calgary from February 28 to March 2.
Golden Bears & Pandas Athletics
Thompson Rivers 3 Saskatchewan 2
(WolfPack win series 2-1)
Huskies-WolfPack Stats
by Nicole Betker, Huskies Sports Information
SASKATOON - The Thompson Rivers WolfPack secured a spot in the Canada West Final Four after a 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-18, 22-20) victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies Saturday night in Match 3 of a quarter-final series in Kamloops, B.C.
Brad Gunter and Casey Knight led the WolfPack to the victory recording 14 kills each. Colin Carson led the team with 16 of the 60 WolfPack digs.
Bryan Fraser led the Huskies in his final CIS match with 15 kills, while fellow outside hitters Paul Thomson and Jordan Nowakowski each tallied 12. Fraser also led Saskatchewan in digs with 10.
TRU will open the Trinity Western Spartans-hosted conference final four with a match against the Alberta Golden Bears. The Spartans will host the Brandon Bobcats in the other match. The winners of the two semifinal matches will earn berths to the CIS Championship hosted by the University of Calgary February 27-March 1.
Saskatchewan will host the 2015 CIS Men's Volleyball Championship February 26-28, 2015 at the PAC.
TRU WolfPack
FRIDAY
Alberta 3 Calgary 0
(Golden Bears lead series 1-0)
Dinos-Golden Bears Stats
by Paul Cartledge, U of Alberta Sports Information
EDMONTON – In a tight match between provincial opponents, the Alberta Golden Bears edged out the Calgary Dinos in a 3-0 victory (25-23, 26-24, 25-23), taking game one of the best-of-three quarter-final playoff series, Friday afternoon at Saville Community Sports Centre.
Senior left side Jay Olmstead had a team-high 13 kills while third-year left side Ryley Barnes spun a dozen and added two aces. Third-year middle John Goranson cracked the double-digit barrier with 11 kills.
Team kill leader Greg Mann continued his offensive prowess in the post-season with a game-high 14 kills while fourth-year middle Sean Tuff added 10. Third-year setter Jackson Maris put up 38 assists on the scoresheet.
Match 2 of the best-of-three weekend series goes Saturday at 2 p.m. MT while game three, if necessary, goes Sunday at 2 p.m.
Golden Bears & Pandas Athletics
Brandon 3 UBC 2
(Bobcats win series 2-0)
Bobcats-Thunderbirds Stats
by Lee Dorner, UB Sports Information Assistant
VANCOUVER – The Brandon Bobcats took down the UBC Thunderbirds in another five-set thriller at War Memorial Gym on Friday night (20-25, 26-24, 20-25, 25-15, 21-19) to get through to the Canada West Final Four.
Frank Jones led that blocking effort for Brandon, with a whopping six solo blocks to go with three assists. Brandon had 14 blocks in total. Steigmeier also had a solo block and four assists.
Brandon now moves on to the Canada West Final Four, while the Thunderbirds see their season come to an end. The Final Four goes next week at Trinity Western.
UBC Athletics
Saskatchewan 3 Thompson Rivers 0
(series tied 1-1)
Huskies-WolfPack Stats
by Nicole Betker, Huskies Sports Information
SASKATOON- The Saskatchewan Huskies rebounded with a 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 25-15) win over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Friday in Match 2 of a Canada West quarter-final.
With the win, Saskatchewan forces a third and deciding match in the best-of-three series in Kamloops, B.C.
In the win, five Saskatchewan players had six kills or more. Fourth-year outside hitter Paul Thomson led the way with nine, followed by Jordan Nowakowski with another eight from the other side of the court.
Brad Gunter and Casey Knight each tallied seven kills for Thompson Rivers in the loss. Daniel Eikeland Rod and Jacob Tricarcico added another five each. Colin Carson tallied a team-high seven digs.
First serve in Match 3 of the series is Saturday night at 7 p.m. local time and can be watched on canadawest.tv. The winner of the series moves on to the Canada West Final Four next weekend hosted by the Trinity Western Spartans.
TRU WolfPack
THURSDAY
Brandon 3 UBC 2
(first match of series)
Bobcats-Thunderbirds Stats
by Lee Dorner, UBC Sports Information
VANCOUVER – Sebastien Steigmeier led the Brandon Bobcats back from a 2-0 deficit to upset the UBC Thunderbirds in Match 1 of their best-of-three quarter-final 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-22, 15-9) on Thursday night at War Memorial Gym.
The first half of the fifth set was an intense battle full of long rallies, producing a 7-7 tie before Steigmeier sent the teams to break with his 27th kill of the match. But that was the start of an 8-2 run for the Bobcats to close out the match, with Sam Tuivai getting three big points, including an ace for the match-winner, during that stretch.
Ben Chow's huge night was overshadowed by the loss and Steigmeier's performance, but his 24 kills on 49 attacks cannot be overlooked. He also racked up 11 of those just in sets four and five, staying sharp even when the game was turning in Brandon's favour. He also had five aces at the service line and one solo block.
The T-Birds face a must-win situation on Friday night at 7p.m. when they play game two at War Memorial Gym. If UBC wins, game three will go Saturday at 2 p.m. The winner of the series advances to the Canada West Final Four at Trinity Western next week.
GoThunderbirds.ca
Thompson Rivers 3 Saskatchewan 0
(WolfPack lead series 1-0)
Huskies-WolfPack Stats
by Nicole Betker, Huskies Sports information
SASKATOON - With a 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 30-28) decision over the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack to a 1-0 lead in a Canada West quarter-final series on Thursday in Kamloops, B.C.
Fourth-year outside hitter Paul Thomson led Saskatchewan in the loss with 11 kills. Jordan Nowakowski and Bryan Fraser each added another seven. Fraser also added a match-high 11 digs.
Gunter, who returned to the WolfPack lineup after missing five matches with an injury, led TRU with an impressive 20 kills. Casey Knight added another 10 kills, while Matt Krueger and Colin Carson each recorded 11 digs.
Match 2 of the best-of-three series is scheduled for Friday night at 7 p.m. Local time. Match 3, if necessary, goes Saturday at 7 p.m. Local time. Both matches can be viewed on canadawest.tv
TRU Athletics
About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, winning 100 CIS national titles over the last 10 seasons. Comprised of 17 schools from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada West produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games. canadawest.org / canadawest.tv / @cwuaa on Twitter
A proud member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).