#2 VIU Mariners vs. #3 Camosun Chargers – Friday February 23, 3:00pm | WATCH HERE
Like in the women’s bracket, the men’s side opens on Friday at the PACWEST volleyball championship tournament when the Mariners meet the Chargers in an island rivalry, playoff edition.
During the regular season the rivalry was alive and well as three of the four meetings between these two schools went to a decisive fifth set and many believe this semi-final will be the same.
Both teams have been here before and several players on both rosters have played in multiple big matches just like this one.
The Mariners enter the playoffs winning four in a row, all on their home floor. Funny enough, their last loss was at Camosun in early February. They were so good at home during the regular season but are .500 on the road. Since they are the higher seed, they are the home team, but obviously this match is on the road. They lost both matches this season at Douglas, home the championship tournament.
After winning six straight, the Chargers dropped their last two matches of the season, which were at Douglas and will look to get back on the winning side in a hurry during this semi-final. They struggled away from PISE this year finishing 4-6 and were 0-2 at Douglas.
In the seasonal series both teams held serve on their home floor, defeating the other in back-to-back matches but they were all close. As mentioned, three of their four meetings were pushed to a fifth set.
These two schools seem to meet often in the playoffs but usually it’s playing for gold. In the last six Conference title matches, these two have met five times. The only time they didn’t was in 2020 when the Chargers fell to the Capilano Blues.
The Chargers have appeared in eight straight gold medal matches and have won six times. The last time the gold medal match didn’t feature one of these schools was in 2014.
The winner of this semi-final plays for PACWEST gold. The Chargers will host the CCAA national championship tournament regardless of what happens at Douglas this weekend.
Head-to-head
Records: Mariners 14-6 – Chargers 12-8
Sets Won: Mariners 49 – Chargers 40
Sets Lost Mariners 31 – Chargers 33
Seasonal Series:
November 10th @ VIU – Mariners win in five sets: 25-21, 26-24, 16-25, 23-25, 17-15
November 11th @ VIU – Mariners win in five sets: 25-22, 25-16, 22-25, 22-25, 16-14
February 2nd @ Camosun – Chargers win in four sets: 18-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22
February 3rd @ Camosun – Chargers win in five sets: 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 17-25, 15-8
