The Badgers’ men’s volleyball team is prepared for the start of the regular season after defeating the Varsity Blues in five sets to finish the pre-season with a 3-1 record.
Brock started off the road game exceptionally well, going up 4-0 in the first set to open the contest. Outside hitter Kylar Code had two of his game-high 15 kills in the opening two possessions of the game, as setter Grant Reddon picked up both assists on those plays, finishing with a game-high 36 assists in the match.
The first set ended 25-23 for Brock, as the Badgers picked up 11 kills in comparison to Toronto’s five, and the Badgers continued their dominance into the second set.
In the middle of the set, Brock got hot, going on a 5-0 run forcing consecutive timeouts by the Varsity Blues. In that run, Toronto picked up two of their five attack errors in the set, giving Brock the 25-17 win to go up 2-0.
Statistically, the second set was the Badgers’ best set of the game. Brock finished the set with a hitting percentage of .333 per cent, with ten kills and only two attack errors on 24 total attempts.
However, the third set was a much different story for the visitors. The Badgers struggled to convert on their attack opportunities, committing numerous unforced errors resulting in points for Toronto.
The Varsity Blues won the third set rather easily with a score of 25-15, as Brock had an attack percentage of negative .167 given they had more errors (nine) than kills (five).
Fortunately, the sloppiness in the third set vanished in the fourth. A back-and-forth set saw both teams go on mini runs setting up a nail-biting finish to the set. With the Varsity Blues a point away from sending the game to the fifth and final set, the Badgers nearly clawed their way back before a Toronto kill earned them the 25-23 fourth set victory.
The Varsity Blues attacked extremely well in that set, registering a .348 attack percentage, their highest of the game, in comparison to Brock’s .240 attack percentage, setting up a fifth and deciding set.
In the decisive set, both teams had a share of the lead as they battled for every single point. With the Badgers up 14-13 on the brink of victory, Code pounded the ball for his 15th kill of the match to give the Badgers the 3-2 win.
The third-year business major was the star of the game for Brock, leading the team in kills (15), aces (4), blocks (4) and points (21.5).
Defensively, libero Justin Rulli-Levere was impactful for the Badgers leading the way with a game-high 18 of Brock’s 52 digs in the match.
The next match for the Badgers is a pair of regular season games next weekend on Saturday and Sunday at York University and can be streamed for free on oua.tv. For more information on the Brock Badgers men’s volleyball team, head to gobadgers.ca.