Shaking off a heartbreaking five-set loss on Friday night, the Brock Badgers men’s volleyball team were up to the task in the rematch.
In four sets, the Badgers dispatched the host and nationally ranked Windsor Lancers 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 18-25, 25-17) in Windsor on Saturday, Jan. 20.
Outside hitters Kyler Code and KJ Robinson tied for a game-high 17 kills, with the former finishing with 20.5 points. Not far behind was Devin Cooney, who had 16 kills of his own. Starting setter Grant Reddon earned a season-high 53 assists, while Code led the team with nine digs.
A Robinson service ace helped the Badgers establish their first lead of the initial set at 7-6. Windsor erased a three-point advantage by going on a run of their own to even things back up at 13. A touch call on the block of Windsor resulted in Brock earning a three-point lead at 18-15. The Badgers avoided a late-set comeback from the Lancers, keeping their multi-point advantage for the 25-22 first-set victory.
Windsor took a two-point advantage at 10-8 to open the frame. Brock flipped the momentum around as they earned a two-point lead on kills from Liam Strong and Cooney at 17-15. The Lancers got to 20 first from a service ace, but the Badgers eventually took the lead at 24-23, causing a timeout. The point after, Cooney ripped a kill off a Windsor defender’s outstretched hand for the tight 25-23 set win..
The Badgers tied things up at nine after both sides had to scramble on a long rally that was punctuated by a Robinson kill off the block. The Lancers took control from that point, however, going out on a 10-4 run to get to 20-14. They did not look back, taking the third set 25-18.
A small run from the Badgers capped off by a Reddon two-hand flush and Cooney block allowed them to take a lead at 13-11 in the fourth. A Lancers’ timeout followed, which didn’t stop the Badgers’ momentum, as the home side had to call one again at 17-14. Strong attacking from Robinson and Code led to the Badgers defeating the Lancers in the fourth set 25-17.
Next up, the Badgers (11-3) return to Bob Davis Gymnasium to take on the Western Mustangs (9-3) on Friday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. You can purchase your tickets at https://brocku.universitytickets.com. The game can also be seen on OUA.tv.