The Brock Badgers’ men’s volleyball team beat the Western Mustangs 3-1 in the OUA quarterfinals, advancing to Friday’s semi-final against Queen’s.
Kylar Code led the Badgers in kills with 22, while Sauli Lianga and Grant Reddon were the only Badgers with double-digit digs, tallying 12 and 10 digs respectively.
Reddon was influential early, picking up three of his game-high 46 assists on the opening four points of the match.
However, the Mustangs responded with a 5-0 run to take a three-point lead before Brock went on a 4-0 run of their own, highlighting the back-and-forth nature of the set. The seesaw battle continued for much of the set, until another 4-0 Badgers run led to a 20-13 lead, resulting in the 25-20 opening set victory.
In the second set, the Mustangs once again were dominant early, going up 7-2 and 15-5.
The Badgers briefly cut the Western lead to just six, 18-12, but an exhilarating Mustang attack was too dominant to overcome. The Western attack registered 10 kills in the set, including one on set point to win the second set 25-18 and tie the game at one set win apiece.
In the third, the back-and-forth battle continued, with neither team having more than a four-point lead throughout the entire set.
The Mustangs were up first, but back-to-back kills by Code and Devin Cooney – who finished with 18 kills in the match – gave Brock their first lead of the set with a slim 19-18 advantage.
Western responded with a kill of their own, but Cooney’s third kill of the set reclaimed the lead. Then, with the Badgers up 21-20, Lianga registered kills on the next four Badgers’ points – for four of his seven kills in the match – to win the set 25-20 and take a massive 2-1 set lead, one set win away from advancing to the semi-finals.
Given the importance of the fourth set, the Badgers were dominant looking to capitalize on the opportunity. Brock registered 15 kills in the set and only six attack errors leading to a .273 attacking percentage, while the Mustangs registered the worst attacking set statistically of either team, with an attacking percentage of .025.
As such, after a steady opening to the set, the Badgers took control down two, going on a massive 16-5 run and blowing the game wide open.
Code smashed four of Brock’s 55 kills in the set, including the game-winner, to win the set 25-18 and secure the 3-1 quarterfinal victory.
Next, the Badgers (3rd seed; 15-5 record) head to Kingston to battle the Queen’s Gaels (2nd seed; 15-5 record) in Friday’s semi-final action. For more information on the Brock Badgers’ men’s volleyball team, head to gobadgers.ca.
