Men's Gold Medal Match

#1 COTR Avalanche vs. #3 Douglas Royals – Saturday February 22, 8:00pm | WATCH HERE

The final PACWEST volleyball match of the season is the men’s gold medal match between the Avalanche and Royals scheduled for Saturday in Nanaimo.

Friday afternoon, the Avalanche made school history winning a men’s semi-final for the first time.  Not only did that win secure them in their first ever gold medal match, but it also punched their ticket to the CCAA national championship tournament in Manitoba regardless of what happens on Saturday night.

Their semi-final win against the Camosun Chargers on Friday was in four sets and saw a heavy dose of the PACWEST Player of the Year Diego Policarpo who collected 29 kills. 

The Royals are back in the gold medal match for the second straight season after getting a measure of revenge on Friday night beating the VIU Mariners in five-sets at VIU.  Remember, it was last season the Mariners beat the Royals at Douglas in five sets.  Last night the Royals played a very smart match and got production from several sources, but it was Marvin Tumusiime who led the charge with over 20 kills.

In the regular season series, these teams are very familiar with one another after meeting just last weekend at COTR.  They split the two matches, the Avalanche winning in five sets before the Royals earned the sweep the next day.  When they met at Douglas in November, the Avalanche scored a pair of four-set victories, winning three of their four overall meetings.

Regardless of the outcome, both schools have earned a spot at the CCAA national championship in two weeks in Manitoba.  The winner will be the Conference champion, while the loser gets the wildcard berth.

The Avalanche have never won a PACWEST gold medal, and the Royals haven’t claimed the title since 2014, winning three silvers since.