Posted: Mar 01, 2014
Thursday, February 27
Quarter-final 1: #5 Laval 3 #4 Dalhousie 0
Quarter-final 2: #1 Alberta 3 #8 Montreal 0
Quarter-final 3: #6 Western 3 #3 Trinity Western 2
Quarter-final 4: #2 McMaster 3 #7 Calgary 1
Friday, February 28
Consolation 1: Dalhousie 3 Montreal 2
Consolation 2: Trinity Western 3 Calgary 1
Semifinal 1: Alberta 3 Laval 1
Semifinal 2: Western 3 McMaster 1
Saturday, March 1
5th: Trinity Western 3 Dalhousie 1
Bronze: McMaster 3 Laval 0
Gold: Alberta 3 Western 0
Championship website
SATURDAY
Gold Medal: Alberta 3 Western 0
Golden Bears-Mustangs Stats
CALGARY (CIS) – The Alberta Golden Bears are back on top of the CIS men's volleyball world for the first time since 2009 after a straight-sets victory over the Western Mustangs (25-19, 25-17, 25-16) Saturday night at the University of Calgary's Jack Simpson Gym.
It is the seventh national championship in school history for the Golden Bears, and the first since back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009 for the Golden Bears, who got hot at the right time after a 15-7 regular season.
Jay Olmstead, the fifth-year senior from Edmonton, picked up nine kills for Alberta, while tournament MVP Ryley Barnes led the way with a dozen to go with eight digs. Matt McCreary had an efficient day with five kills on six swings.
Tournament MVP
Ryley Barnes, Alberta
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award
Lucas Van Berkel, Trinity Western
Tournament All-Stars
Ryley Barnes, Alberta
Nicholas Del Bianco, Trinity Western
Dany Demyanenko, McMaster
Phil James, Western
Olivier Jannini, Laval
Garrett May, Western
Brett Walsh, Alberta
The Cinderella run came to an end for Western after a pair of emotional victories. Justin Scapinello was the Mustangs' player of the match after a 15-kill, five-dig performance, while Garrett May picked up 12 kills in a losing cause for Western.
Barnes was joined on the tournament all-star team by teammate Walsh, the Golden Bears' setter. May and Phil James were selected to the all-tournament team from Western, joined by McMaster's Dany Demyanenko, Laval's Olivier Jannini, and Trinity Western's Nicholas Del Bianco. Lucas Van Berkel from Trinity Western received the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award.
Alberta's win brings the Tantramar Trophy back to Canada West after a one-year absence, with schools now competing in the conference having captured the CIS title in 19 of the past 20 years. Since the last time an Ontario-based school won the trophy – Ottawa in 1968 – Western Canadian schools have captured 40 national titles, with the other six going to Quebec.
QuickFacts
- The Alberta Golden Bears win the 2014 CIS men's volleyball national championship. It is the 7th CIS title in Bears volleyball history, and the first since 2009.
Head Coach Terry Danyluk has now won 7 national titles with the U of A. One as a player (1981), five as a head coach (1997, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2014) and one as a coach when he was finishing his Masters degree (2002).
In his final CIS game as a Golden Bear, fifth-year Jay Olmstead wins Player of the Match honours. Other fifth-year players include Matt McCreary (middle), Jarron Mueller (setter), Tucker Leinweber (left side) and Mark Van Drunen (libero).
The national championship title win is the second of the season for the U of A, following Pandas rugby in the fall.
5th Place: Trinity Western 3 Dalhousie 1
Spartans-Tigers Stats
by Lindsay Franco, U of C Dinos Sports Information
CALGARY (CIS) – The Trinity Western Spartans ended their season on a high note, defeating the Dalhousie Tigers 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-15) for fifth place on the final day of the CIS men's volleyball championship.
The Spartans were led once again by rookie Blake Scheerhoorn who had a match-high 16 kills. Second-year Ryan Sclater followed that up with 14 kills of his own. Veteran Nicholas Del Bianco added 12 kills and eight digs.
For the Tigers, Kristen O'Brien was named the Player of the Match for his team-high 13 kills.
The AUS's Dalhousie Tigers will finish in sixth overall, while the Trinity Western Spartans take fifth, a step up from their sixth place finish last season.
FRIDAY
Semifinal: Alberta 3 Laval 1
Rouge et Or-Golden Bears Stats
by Ben Matchett, U of C Dinos Communications
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 semifinal Friday on 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 semifinal 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. 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.
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.
Consolation semifinal: Trinity Western 3 Calgary 1
Spartans-Dinos Stats
by Lindsay Franco, U of C Dinos Communications
CALGARY (CIS) – In a classic Canada West battle, the Trinity Western Spartans came out on top when they defeated the hosting Calgary Dinos 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-22) in the second consolation semifinal of the CIS men's volleyball championship.
Ryan Sclater picked up 11 kills and 11 digs in the match while Player of the Match, rookie Blake Scheerhoorn, led the Spartans in kills with 14. Second-team All-Canadian Nicholas Del Bianco added 10 kills for the Spartans and setter and CIS Rookie of the Year Adam Schriemer recorded a game-high 45 assists.
For the Dinos, Greg Mann ended his career with Calgary as the Player of the Match and with a game-high 19 kills.and eight digs Third-year Connor Frehlich added 10 kills for the Dinos while setter Alex Cook got the start and recorded 39 assists. Libero Darcee Froese added a team-high 10 digs.
Trinity Western will take on Dalhousie, 1 p.m. at Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
THURSDAY
Carabins-Golden Bears Stats
CALGARY (CIS) – The top-seeded Alberta Golden Bears lived up to their pre-tournament billing, making quick work of the Montréal Carabins with a 3-0 win (25-19, 25-18, 25-12) in the second quarter-final of the CIS men's volleyball championship.
In a match that took just 70 minutes to play, the Canada West champion Golden Bears dominated in all facets of the game to set up a tilt with the RSEQ champion Laval Rouge et Or in Friday night's first championship semifinal.
Alberta player of the match Matt McCreary was pleased with his team's focus despite coming into the match as the heavy favourite.
Seven Alberta kills came courtesy McCreary to go with two digs, a pair of blocks, and a trio of service aces. Teammate Ryley Barnes had an efficient night with 12 kills and just one error.
First serve between the Bears and Rouge et Or is slated for 6 p.m., live on www.CIS-SIC.tv.
Western 3 Trinity Western 2
Mustangs-Spartans Stats
CALGARY (CIS) – For the second time in as many years, the Western Mustangs ended the season of the Trinity Western Spartans in the national quarter-final, taking an epic 3-2 victory (25-21, 22-25, 19-25, 27-25, 16-14) Thursday night to advance to the semifinal round.
It's a repeat of the opening round in 2013, when the Mustangs came back from a two-sets-to-none deficit to upend the Spartans in Quebec City. This time, Western needed to overcome a 2-1 deficit and dodged two Trinity Western match point opportunities to move on to the semi-final.
Western will play in the second of two semifinals on Friday, with first serve slated for 8 p.m., live on www.CIS-SIC.tv.
The tandem of Nicholas Del Bianco and Lucas Van Berkel picked up 18 kills each for Trinity Western, while Kufske added 11 digs on the night.
After winning back-to-back national titles in 2011 and 2012, the Spartans find themselves on the consolation side of the draw for the second straight year and will face the loser of the McMaster-Calgary match-up in the consolation semi-final Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. MT.
McMaster 3 Calgary 1
Marauders-Dinos Stats
CALGARY (CIS) – A rematch of the OUA championship game and last year's all-Ontario national semi-final will decide a berth in the national championship game after the McMaster Marauders got past the hometown Calgary Dinos in the final match of Day 1 of the CIS men's volleyball championship, 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-17, 25-22).
The Marauders will meet the Western Mustangs in the late semifinal on Friday night.
Led by All-Canadian and game MVP Jori Mantha and fellow outside hitter Stephen Maar, the Marauders hit at an impressive clip from the left side, causing no end of problems for the Calgary defence. Mantha picked up 21 big kills on the night while Maar added 17, and the two combined for just seven errors.
Fifth-year Australian national teamer Greg Mann paced the Calgary offence with his 11 kills and led them defensively as well with 10 digs. Connor Frehlich, the Dinos' player of the match, put down a further nine kills, with Sean Tuff contributing seven.
The Dinos will face the Trinity Western Spartans in an all-Canada West consolation semi-final Friday afternoon, with first serve at 2:30 p.m.
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.
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
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