Mariners Searching For Gold
The VIU Mariners will play for PACWEST gold after beating the Douglas Royals in the semis
Story courtesy of Dan Kinvig
The Vancouver Island University Mariners are off to the PACWEST men’s volleyball title match in the wake of a three-set triumph over the Douglas Royals in semifinal action on Friday evening in Abbotsford.
Playing at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre on the campus of the University of the Fraser Valley, the top-seeded Mariners took the first set in emphatic fashion, prevailing 25-16 behind some strong play at the net from freshman middle Adam Kapteyn.
The No. 5 Royals found some traction midway through the second set. After falling behind 14-7, they responded with a 14-7 run of their own, capped by back-to-back blocks from middle Eric Sundmark to level the score 21-21. The Mariners, though, scored four of the next five points to wrap up the set.
In the third, Douglas fought to stay within striking distance as right side Reid Marriott got hot, but the Mariners fended them off 25-23 to seal the win.
The result not only sends VIU through to the gold medal match, where they’ll face the No. 3 Camosun Chargers in an all-Vancouver Island match-up (Saturday, 8 p.m., EFAC), it also guarantees them a spot at the CCAA national championships. The PACWEST had just one available berth up for grabs, with nationals host Camosun already occupying the host spot. But with the Chargers knocking off Capilano in Friday’s earlier semifinal, simply qualifying for the final is enough to punch the Mariners’ ticket.
VIU’s player of the match was left side Braydon Brouwer, who posted seven kills and eight digs. Middles Kapteyn and Doug Groenendijk gave the Mariners a balanced attack, racking up eight and six kills, respectively, and combining for six blocks. Jeff Webb had seven kills, and libero Andre DeLacerda Pires had 14 digs.
Marriott, the Royals’ player of the match, hammered a game-high 16 kills with a 27.5 per cent efficiency, and Justin Faester had nine kills while hitting 31.8 per cent. Douglas had nine blocks as a team, led by Sundmark’s three, and setter Jared Collin posted 32 assists.