Men's Volleyball Recap - Week 13

FRIDAY

COTR Avalanche 3
Douglas Royals 2

The top seeded Avalanche clinched the first-place seed on Friday night with an exciting five-set thriller over the visiting Royals.

Coming off a bye week and a four-match losing streak, the Avalanche came out of the gate quickly to tally a 25-22 victory.  However, that momentum was short lived as the Royals bounced back with a 25-22 win of their own tying the match.

The Royals continued to build confidence in the third set and took control of the match with a 25-23 victory. 

In the fourth, the Avalanche kept their composure and evened the match with a 25-18 win to force a fifth and deciding set.  Both teams showed great heart before the Avalanche took advantage needing extra points to clinch the match and the top seed winning 16-14. 

As the #1 seed heading into next week’s playoffs, the Avalanche will face the fourth seeded team which will either be these same Royals or the Camosun Chargers.  That will be determined on Saturday.

VIU Mariners 3
Capilano Blues 1

The Mariners clinched the second seed on Friday night with a four-set win over the hometown Blues.

In the first set, the Mariners collected a 25-19 win before the Blues came right back to even the match with a 25-18 victory.   The momentum began to shift in the third when the Mariners needed a few extra points to take control of the match with a 26-24 win before finishing off the Blues 25-14 for their 13^th win of the campaign.

The rematch is set for Saturday at Capilano.

CBC Bearcats 3
Camosun Chargers 1

The hometown Bearcats came out of the gate strong and took the first set over the Chargers 31-29 in an extremely exciting opening set.  They then continued their hot play, winning the second set 25-20 and had the Chargers on their heels.

In the third set, the Bearcats were looking to finish off the match with a three-set sweep, but the Chargers showed they were not going down without a fight.  The Chargers stayed composed and won the third set 27-25 to extend the match.  However, they ran into the buzzsaw that is the Bearcats who came right back with a 25-21 dub to capture their fifth win of the season.

The rematch and regular season finale for both schools is scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

SATURDAY

Douglas Royals 3
COTR Avalanche 0

Prior to the start of this match on Saturday, the Royals knew that with a win, they would clinch the third seed in the standings.  The Avalanche on the other hand had nothing to play for as far as playoff positioning, knowing that they had clinched the top seed on Friday night.

The Royals came out flying, winning the first set 25-17 and kept rolling.  In the second set they won 25-23 and then a third set 27-25 to sweep the match and clinch the third seed in the standings.

Next weekend the third seeded Royals will meet the second seeded VIU Mariners in Nanaimo in a PACWEST semi-final and the #1 seed Avalanche face the fourth seeded Camosun Chargers in the other semi.

VIU Mariners 3
Capilano Blues 0

The Mariners ended the regular season with a three-set sweep over the Blues and are playing with confidence heading into the championship tournament, which they will also host.

On Saturday the Mariners cruised to a three-set sweep winning 25-13, 25-19 and 25-19 solidifying why they deserve to be the second seed.  They won three in a row and 11 of their last 12 down the stretch and will be a very tough opponent next weekend.  As the second seed, they will meet the #3 seeded Douglas Royals in a semi-final.

The Blues on the other hand miss the postseason again this year finishing with a 4-16 record, dropping their last three matches.  They are a very young team that despite their record did take strides this season as they look to come back stronger next year.

CBC Bearcats 3
Camosun Chargers 0

The regular season came to a close on Saturday for the Bearcats despite a three-set sweep over the visiting Chargers.

They opened the match with a 26-24 win and never really looked back.  They won the second set 25-16, then their ended their season with a 25-20 victory.

Saturday’s win was the Bearcats third straight to close their regular season schedule, giving them positive momentum heading into the offseason as they look to build towards the future.

The Chargers will limp into the PACWEST playoffs after getting swept this weekend, winning just one set in the weekend doubleheader.   They will end the season as the fourth seed and will play the top seeded COTR Avalanche in Friday’s semi-final.  The winner will automatically qualify for the CCAA championship tournament in Manitoba as the PACWEST will receive two berths; a champion and a wildcard.