Cougars come out victorious in close rematch against UFV

Box Score Calgary, ALTA — The Mount Royal University men’s volleyball team finished their second matchup against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in a 3-1 win (25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 25-22) on Kenyon Court.

The Cougars came into this rematch looking to secure their second win of the season as fifth years Jovan Stepanovic and Paul Dionne earned the first two points of the night via kill and service ace, respectively. Not long after, Jonas Van Huizen responded by returning a tough kill with no response from the Cougars. However, the Cougars’ court awareness boosted their success throughout the first set as they continually made the right calls when the ball came back to their end. Grant Hill kept the Cascades on their toes as he sneakily dumped the ball over on the second touch then immediately earned an ace afterwards for the Cougars. Returning from a 12-point night, Ryan John continued to prove his abilities to be a powerful player on the court as he sent a ball right down the line. Shortly after, Hill picked up the second ace for the Cougars to draw the first Cascades timeout, 17-14. Isaac Karstad powered his way into the conversation as he stuffed a free ball right back to the Cascades. The final Cascades timeout was called after John came flying in from the back row to send a fast ball past the hands of a Cascades player.  John continued powering through the ball for another play that could not be recovered by the Cascades. Ryan Hampe’s swing managed to beat a Cougars block to keep the Cascades alive and force the Cougars to call a timeout as the set approached 23-21 for the Cougars. After both teams exchanged service errors, the Cougars took the first set 25-22.

Opening the second set, a blocking wall of Stepanovic, Hill, and Karstad forced an early timeout from the Cascades as the Cougars secured a 6-1 lead. After the timeout, Dionne quickly responded by marking the middle back row as the 7th point for the Cougars. The duo of John and Cody Hudson reminded the Cascades of the power behind each of their swings as the two were dropping the hammer to continue extending the Cougars lead. John also racked in another ace as it soared past two Cascades players in the back row to lead 11-5. Silas Van Huizen repaid Hill’s setter dump from the first set as these two met up at the net which ended in Van Huizen earning the point for the Cascades. The Cascades sparked some drive as Hampe had back-to-back plays where Hampe tapped over a free ball at the net then the next play with a well-placed block on Hudson’s attack attempt, keeping the Cascades to a 3-point deficit. J. Van Huizen continued to fight for a Cascades lead and he stunned the Cougars defense in a powerful kill, keeping the game a 1-point lead for the Cougars 19-18. In addition to making nice plays, Hill also generated momentum by getting up for a block against Tyson Ardell. A missed serve from the Cascades would send the Cougars for match point while the Cascades also took their last timeout. Dionne would dodge an attack headed outbounds to claim the second set 25-23.

After dropping the first two sets, Ardell started the third set with purpose as he claimed the first point in a quick fashion. Following right after, J. Van Huizen ended a fast paced rally by tucking a quick tip past the reach of Dionne. After an early Cougars timeout, the Cascades took a notable lead of 7-2. Compared to the previous sets, the Cougars struggled to find their footing in the first half of this set which led to the Cougars using their second timeout as they were down 8 points, 12-4 for UFV. Not long after, Stepanovic pushed through a 3-man blocking wall to generate momentum for the Cougars. This led to John powering another kill past the Cascades then Stepanovic earning another kill afterwards for the Cougars climb back to 10-14 and another timeout by the Cascades. Calum Stewart checked into the game for the very first time as a Cougars and he would immediately earn a kill. However, it would not be enough for the Cougars as the Cascades would dominantly end the set, 25-19.

The fourth set found both teams seeking to claim the lead as the game could end in four sets in favour for the Cougars or force a fifth set. The Cougars and Cascades would bounce back and forth in points as the set progressed. Stepanovic made a huge play as he stuffed J. Van Huizen’s back row attack to send the ball out of reach for the Cascades, tying up the game. Stepanovic continued to make his presence felt as he sent a serve that was shanked by the Cascades. Also, Hill joined in on the action as he racked in two back-to-back plays, a block and a kill, that led to a Cascades timeout after the Cougars gained a 3-point lead. For the rest of the game, the Cougars could taste victory as they quickly jumped to match point where Hudson sealed the game winning by returning a free ball. The final score of the third set was 25-22.

Your MVP tonight is Paul Dionne as he tallied 16 points with 14 kills, 1 ace, 4 digs, and 1 block.

The Cougars will head to Saskatchewan for a weekend matchup against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies with the first game on Friday, November 1 at 6:30 p.m. CST.