The Brock Badgers men’s volleyball team kept their undefeated record at home this season in tact with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 24-26, 25-17) win over the Western Mustangs on Friday, Jan. 26.
This was the Badgers 12th win of the season (7-0 at home) as they are currently second in the province and only a half of a game behind the league-leading Guelph Gryphons.
Devin Cooney was a dominant force for the Badgers all night. The Kanata, Ont native had 15 kills, two service aces and one block assist to total 17.5 points and provided the momentum when the Badgers needed it most. Kyler Code was not far behind with 15 points off of 11 kills, two service aces and two blocks. Senior setter Grant Reddon delivered 41 assists, while Cooney led the defence with a season-high 10 digs.
The first set was intense as Western held a multiple point lead for the first half, but KJ Robinson and Liam Strong turned the tide for the Badgers. Robinson came off the bench and immediately had a block and a kill. Strong followed that up with a huge service ace that gave the Badgers the lead and momentum at 16-15. Code closed out the set with a huge spike to give the Badgers the 25-23 win in the opening frame.
The teams remained very evenly matched in the second set with neither side being able to build a lead of more than two points for the majority of it. That is until first-year defensive specialist Adam Shapcott was called upon to serve with the Badgers holding a 18-16 lead. Shapcott’s elite serving helped the Badgers rattle off three straight points to secure a comfortable lead. Brock won the second set 25-21.
The Mustangs did not go down without a fight though as they came out with a lot of energy in the third set. The visitors held the lead for the majority of the frame. Brock was able to tie it at 24-24 after a terrific comeback led by kills from Cooney, Code and Robinson, but Western took the final two points and won the third set 26-24.
In the fourth set, the Badgers came in with a chip on their shoulder as they quickly established a comfortable lead with the help of Cooney’s attacking. Western was never able to get close enough to scare the Badgers the rest of the way as they cruised to victory in the fourth set 25-17.
Next up, the Badgers (12-3) return home right away when they host the Western Mustangs (9-4) on Saturday, Jan. 27 with the game set to get going at 8 p.m. You can purchase your tickets at https://brocku.universitytickets.com/ or catch the game live on OUA.tv.