Alberta claims U SPORTS gold in five set thriller

KINGSTON, Ont. - No. 1 Sherbrooke Vert et Or and the No. 2 Alberta Golden Bears faced off in the 2023-2024 U SPORTS Men's Volleyball championship match. The Golden Bears emerged victorious in the five-set battle (25-16, 24-26, 22-25, 25-19, 15-13)

CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: https://usports.ca/en/championships/volleyball/m

BOX SCORE:   https://usports.ca/en/championships/volleyball/m/schedule-results

The first set belonged to the Bears—they had a commanding performance and claimed a 25-16 win. The following two sets however, belonged to Sherbrooke and their aggressive offense.

Heading into the fourth, Alberta reset and took the next two sets, and the gold medal.

"I'm just so happy for these guys. They're an incredible group. This season I've just loved being a part of this team as a coach. Just amazing guys, volleyball players, on and off the court," Alberta's Head Coach Brock Davidiuk said in a post-game interview.

The Vert et Or accrued 51 kills in the loss, 15 of which belonged to Yoan David.

Isaac Heslinga led in points for the Golden Bears and received Tournament MVP. The outside accrued 32.5 points from 28 kills, five blocks, and two service aces.

Liam Espedido also had a stand-out performance for the Bears, earning Player of the Match. The outside bagged 17 kills with a hitting percentage of .438.

"Liam Espedido, the way he played was really important for us," Davidick remarked. "Everybody knows that Isaac is a big player but we knew we couldn't win a championship with just one guy like that so a lot of kudos has to go to our setter, because he knew that everyone would be paying attention to Isaac and the way he used Espedido tonight allowed us to just edge out Sherbrooke."

In the win, Alberta recorded a hitting percentage of .312 to Sherbrooke's .187. They also led in blocks with 13.5.

"We played together. We really fought back and fought back together. We had each other's backs through the thick and thin and that's what won us the game. Our culture and our togetherness," Espedido said.

MIKASA PLAYERS OF THE GAME:

• Sherbrooke: Johnathan Portelance
• Alberta: Liam Espedido

U SPORTS Men's Volleyball Championship Tournament Awards

Tournament MVP

• Isaac Heslinga

Tournament All-Stars

• Liam Espedido, Alberta
• Isaac Heslinga, Alberta
• Zachary Moisan, Sherbrooke
• Jonathan Portelance, Sherbrooke
• Jacob Sargent, Alberta
• Erik Siksna, Queen's
• James Vincett, UBC

STAT LEADERS

Sherbrooke

• Kills: Yoan David (15)
• Points: Yoan David (22.5)
• Blocks: Yoan David (7)
• Digs: Johnathan Portelance (10)
• Service aces: Yoan David (3)  

Alberta

• Kills: Isaac Heslinga (28)
• Points: Isaac Heslinga (32.5)
• Blocks: Billy Johnstone (8)
• Digs: Isaac Heslinga (10)
• Service aces: Liam Espedido, Isaac Heslinga (2)