The Badgers’ men’s volleyball team is back in the win column after picking up back-to-back victories against the Trent Excalibur to close the first half of the schedule with a 6-2 record.
In the first game of the weekend matchup, the Badgers got off to a hot start early, delighting the many kids in attendance during the annual School Day Game.
Thanks to strong net play, the Badgers got a sizeable lead early and never looked back. Devin Cooney, a second-year outside hitter, had five of Brock’s 13 kills in the set to propel the Badgers to a dominant 25-16 opening set victory.
However, the Excalibur responded in the second.
With the set tied at four, Trent went on a 5-1 run to blow the set open, never giving up the lead. The Excalibur earned their lead in large part to 11 kills – their most in any set in the match – while registering a game-high attacking percentage of .429 per cent.
The visitors took the second set 25-20, which set up a crucial third set.
Both teams exchanged spurts of positive play in the third while not letting their opponent take control of the set.
The Badgers were on the front foot early with a 5-2 lead, but the Excalibur quickly responded with three of their nine kills in the set plus a Brock error to go up 6-5, as there were nine lead changes in the set.
With Brock down 20-17, Cooney smashed one of his game-high 17 kills to swing momentum in the Badgers’ favour. The Badgers closed the set on an 8-3 run to win the third 25-23 and go within one set of their fifth win of the season.
Given the importance of the fourth set in determining the outcome of the match, both teams brought their A-game, resulting in a back-and-forth opening to the set. Neither team had a lead larger than a singular point until the Excalibur handed Brock the win at the tail end of the set.
With the set levelled at 20, Trent committed four attack errors on the final five points of the game, gifting the Badgers the 25-20 victory to win the weekend opener 3-1.
The Excalibur continued gift-giving at the beginning of the first set of Saturday’s game when Brock’s first three points were from Trent’s service and attacking errors. The Excalibur committed five attacking errors in the set – their most in any set – which paired with Sauli Lianga smashing down three of Brock’s nine kills in the set to give the Badgers the 25-17 first set win.
The second set featured much of the same Badger dominance, especially midway through the set.
With the Excalibur up 6-4, the Badgers went on an 11-1 run to go up 15-7.
On that momentum-swinging run, the Badgers got contributions from everyone on the floor. Cooney had four of his game-high 13 kills during that run, while Kylar Code contributed with one of his 10 kills and Grant Reddon earned on a block.
The Badgers won the second set 25-18 and were a set away from sweeping the Excalibur.
In the third, the Badgers did not take their foot off the gas pedal, eagerly looking for their sixth win of the season.
Brock registered 15 kills in the set – the most in any set in the match – as Adrian Gaspar, Lianga and Reddon all factored into the match defensively. Gaspar led all players with a game-high six digs, while Lianga and Reddon both had five apiece.
The Badgers took the third set 25-20, winning their second consecutive game against the Trent Excalibur and head into the winter break on a two-game winning streak.
Next up for the Badgers is an exhibition game in Amherst, NY on Jan. 4th against Daemen University, before returning to OUA action with a pair of home games against the RMC Paladins on Jan. 6th and 7th. For more information about the Badgers’ men’s volleyball team, head to gobadgers.ca.