Jordan Taylor is no stranger to winning.
The first-year York University Lions men’s volleyball head coach put up a 26-9 record in his two seasons as head coach of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC).
His current team was 0-2 on the young season after dropping both matches on opening weekend against the Brock Badgers, including a tough five-set loss in the season opener. Next up on the schedule: none other than the defending Forsyth Cup champion and No. 3 nationally-ranked McMaster Marauders.
“We knew we were up against one of the top programs in the country and premier programs in the OUA, so we saw it as a really cool opportunity to practice championship habits against a championship team,” Taylor said of his team’s mindset pre-game. “I’m a big believer that championship teams practice those championship habits every day; it doesn’t matter whether it’s practice, a match, in video or in workouts. Those habits have to be repeatable and you can’t just turn it on in certain moments, so that was the message coming in.
That message was heard loud and clear by the Lions, as they opened up a quick 8-5 lead in the first. It was near the end of the set, though, when, down 20-17, they brought in third-year middle Jordan Gazzola and second-year setter Aidan Labossiere. That, Taylor said, is what set the tone for a first-set victory.
“They were phenomenal, and that helped us go on a bit of a run,” said the Sherwood Park, Alta. native. “A lot of what we’ve preached is us working together. No one’s as good as the sum of their parts, so to show our confidence in Aidan and Jordan was a statement to that team value.”
The second set saw the Marauders take an 11-8 lead before the Lions tied it at 11. From there, though, McMaster built a 20-16 lead before ultimately taking the set 25-20. Taylor said the first set implanted a confidence in the team that never wavered despite the second-set loss.
“Winning that first set, you could see in the players’ demeanours that there was a pretty strong sense of belief,” he said. “It didn’t matter what the set scores were or the match score was, there was a lot of belief in the group.
“McMaster’s been a championship program and has been for the last 20 years,” Taylor continued. “So we knew we were going to see their best and we did in the second set, but we were pretty happy with our performance.”
The Lions came out like gangbusters in the third set, scoring eight of the first nine points en route to a 25-12 victory. From Taylor’s perspective, the most impressive aspect of the third set was seeing his team take skills learned on the practice court and bring them into the match.
“As a coach, there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing your players buy into what you’re preaching,” he said. “It’s a kudos to all the guys for them to have trust in their coaching staff. They executed the game plan to perfection, and it was on full display in the third set.”
With the Lions one set away from upsetting the third-ranked team in the country, the fourth set brought a unique set of circumstances for Taylor’s Lions. As veteran teams often do with their backs against the wall, the Marauders bounced back and took a 12-4 fourth-set lead. York made wholesale changes which allowed some young players, namely Daniel Lafleur, Alexandru Ignat and Noah Halladay, among others, to gain some valuable experience against a top-tier opponent.
“We knew it was probably going to a fifth set, so we wanted our top guys to re-fuel, but also reward our young guys who have trained well in practice and give them the experience of playing against a McMaster,” Taylor said. “The first three sets, the guys on the bench were phenomenal in supporting the guys on the floor and equally a part of those sets, and we told our veteran guys, ‘you have to support those guys the same way they supported you,’ and I thought they showed a lot of faith in the younger guys. I felt that was key to have all 20 guys and coaches on the same page going into a critical fifth set.
Taylor’s message to his group heading into the deciding set was simple, and one he repeats prior to any fifth set.
“You don’t get to play in many fifth sets, so to some extent you just have to live in the moment,” he said. “It’s a pretty special part of our sport to get to play in a fifth set, a race to 15 with every point so critical, so we really wanted to relish that opportunity.”
Relish it, they did. The Lions built leads of 2-0 and 6-3, only to see McMaster rally to tie each time. From 6-6, it was essentially back and forth up to 13-12, before Alex Ko tied it with a kill and, two points later, won it with a smash of an ace, giving York its first win over McMaster since 2015.
Taylor says this result is a testament to this group’s identity as a scrappy, competitive team.
“I think it says a lot about our compete level and a lot about what expect of ourselves,” he said. “We’re a competitive group that plays with a lot of edge, a lot of tenacity and a lot of grit. We knew it in our own locker room, but now we’ve shown the rest of the country that it doesn’t matter who’s on the floor for us, we’re going to be a tough out.”
On a personal level, Taylor says his first OUA win – especially how and against whom it came – is a moment he won’t soon forget.
“It was a special moment,” he admitted.” I get a lot of self-worth when I see athletes playing their hearts out and having trust in the process. I saw a lot of that trust from a group I haven’t coached before, so it was a very rewarding experience to see our athletes have some success and see them buy into the full picture of what we’re trying to create not just this year, but for the foreseeable future.
“To see them take that first step was huge, and it’s a night I’ll remember for a long time.”
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