The Badgers’ men’s volleyball team was defeated 3-1 by the Queen’s Gaels – the nation’s fifth-ranked team – in the OUA semi-final, setting up a pivotal third-place match on Saturday against the Guelph Gryphons with a spot in the U SPORTS Championship on the line.
Kylar Code led the Badgers in kills with 21, tallying a game-high 23 points, while Grant Reddon led the team in both assists (42) and digs (12).
Both Code and Reddon were influential early, leading the Badgers to an early 8-4 lead. However, the Gaels responded with three consecutive points, leading to back-and-forth action midway through the set.
With the set level at 13, Devin Cooney smashed one of his 10 kills in the match, starting a 6-1 Brock run, giving the visitors a 19-14 lead. But the home side was relentless, storming back on an 11-5 run to take the lead, 25-24.
Facing set point, Cooney and Code – the Badgers’ leaders in kills this season with 247 and 178, respectively – bashed back-to-back kills, Brock’s 13th and 14th kills in the set, to re-take the lead, claiming set point of their own. On set point, the Gaels committed their ninth attacking error of the set, the most by either team in any set, gifting the Badgers the 27-25 first set victory, pushing them one step closer to the Forsyth Cup final.
Eager to avenge their opening set debacle, Queen’s started the second set with a bang, exploding to a 5-1 lead before extending their advantage to 15-9 midway through the set.
The Badgers briefly fought back but were unable to withstand the tumultuous Gaels attack. Queen’s hit extremely well in the second, registering 13 kills and only one attacking error on 26 total attempts for a .462 hitting percentage – the highest by either team in any set – leading to the 25-17 set win.
With the match tied at one set win apiece, the third set was critical as both teams brought their A-game. The teams combined for 31 kills in the set, 16 for Brock and 15 for Queen’s, and only seven attacking errors.
The Gaels went up early, but the Badgers quickly responded as the teams traded points for much of the set. With the set tied at 22, two straight kills by Liam Strong and Code gave the Badgers set point, itching closer to the OUA Championship and a spot in the U SPORTS Final 8.
However, the narrative swiftly changed after a Brock service error and a Queen’s ace – an area they dominated, tallying 13 aces compared to Brock’s five – gave the Gaels set point, nearing the third set victory.
On set point, the Gaels committed a service error, before a Badgers’ service error on the next point gave the one-point advantage right back. With Queen’s up 26-25, the fifth Brock attacking error of the set handed them the 27-25 set win to take a commanding 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set began with more back-and-forth action as neither team held larger than a two-point lead until the Gaels blew the set open. Up 11-10, Queen’s went on an 11-4 run to take a 22-14 lead, three points away from their first Forsyth Cup appearance since the 2019-20 season.
But the Badgers were keen on not letting that happen. Brock rallied for four consecutive points to pull within four points of the Gaels.
Yet, on match point, the Gaels registered their 52nd kill of the match to win 3-1 and eliminate Brock from Forsyth Cup contention.
Next, the Badgers (3rd seed; 15-5 record) host the Guelph Gryphons (4th seed; 15-5 record) in the OUA Bronze Medal Match on March 9th, with the final berth in the U SPORTS Volleyball Championships up for grabs. For more information on the Brock Badgers’ men’s volleyball team, head to gobadgers.ca.