Lancers share sweeping results with Blues

The Windsor Lancer men’s volleyball team hit the 401 this weekend up to Toronto to close out the remaining portion of the 2023-24 OUA regular season on the road against the Toronto Varsity Blues. 
 
On Friday the Varsity Blues suffered a loss at the hand of the Lancers 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, and 25-21) who swept the hosts while visiting the provincial capital. 
 
Meanwhile on Saturday, Toronto was able to bounce back with a sweeping victory of their own against the Lancers with a revenge victory of 3-0 (23-25, 16-25, and 20-25) serving the Lancers a loss for Windsor to end off the regular season on a losing note.
 
FRIDAY STATS
Darian Koskie and Gustavo Siqueira led the Lancers with 8 kills on Friday in the victory sharing the team lead. 
 
Kaden Reid also chipped in with 7 kills and 1 service ace in the offensive winning cause over the Varsity Blues. 
 
Markus Law-Heese had 33 assists in the sweeping road victory over Toronto.
 
On the other side of the court, the Varsity Blues were led offensively by Jayden Talsma who had 14 kills in the loss to the Lancers. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED ON FRIDAY
In a rematch affair between these two squads who have been known to be equally matched and not unfamiliar with shared split results which are well reflected with their extensive recent history with one another that dates back to last year, the opening set on the weekend was certainly no exception.
 
Each side traded opportunities early to lead then tie then fall behind to one another before late in the set the Lancers found their way through the tight tunnel of a set to close out on top 25-23 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The second set emulated the first set with a near identical repeated result all throughout the set which the Lancers again found themselves able to finish off the set ahead 25-23 to take a 2-0 lead on Toronto.
 
The third set did not deviate with the same flow throughout the beginning portion of the set however it did begin to slightly change momentum more in favour of the Lancers towards the latter part of the set where Windsor found themselves ahead by as high as five points.  That spread would allow them the cushion needed to close out with a comfortable four-point span to ice the cake and sweep the Varsity Blues with a 25-21 third set win and 3-0 match win on Friday night at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport at the University of Toronto’s downtown campus.
 
SATURDAY STATS
Kaden Reid led the Lancers offensively with 11 kills in the follow up loss to the Blues. 
 
Chase Bridges had 8 kills while Joshua Timukas had 7 kills.  Each player also recorded a service ace.
 
Lancer setter Noah Mastronardi dished out 34 assists in the sweeping loss to Toronto. 
 
The Blues were led offensively by Jayden Talsma who racked up 18 kills in helping his team win at home to close out season against the Lancers on a winning note.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY
The Lancers coaching staff opted to showcase some of the depth in their lineup with several reserve players receiving well deserved starts against the Varsity Blues following the 3-0 win from the night before. 
 
With notable players for the blue and gold having the night off, the Lancers arsenal that was active for the match went up against the Varsity Blues veterans who came prepared for the task of splitting the weekend at home. 
 
The first set was competitive for both sides which again added to the theme of both teams being evenly matched with a commendable effort generated from each team dawning deep blue in their uniforms before the Varsity Blues found themselves on top 25-23 to round out the first set and grab a 1-0 match lead. 
 
The second set saw another closely contested tilt before Toronto started to go on a run against the Lancers who found themselves down by a five-point gap.  The Varsity Blues enhanced their play even further down the stretch which elevated them over the Lancers with a 25-16 second set win to go up 2-0 in the match on the verge of a reverse result from the night before.
 
The Lancers opened the scoring of the third set before Toronto responded with a commendable counterattack which kept them still in the hunt throughout the set.  Points were traded and leads exchanged but, in the end, the Varsity Blues valiantly were able to rely on their veteran line up to pull off the sweep with a respectable 25-20 third set win and 3-0 victory over the blue and gold who dropped the rematch in Toronto to close the 2023-24 OUA regular season with a 13-7 overall record on the campaign. 
 
UP NEXT
With that the 2023-24 OUA regular season has officially come to an end for the Lancers.  The blue and gold boys remain in the hunt for the post-season with playoff information to be updated in the near future when determined. 
 
Last season the Lancers men’s volleyball program achieved their first silver medal after appearing in the 2023 Forsyth Cup OUA championship finals for the first time ever which was highest finish in the program’s history to date and earned a return appearance to the 2023 U SPORTS National Championships in Hamilton. 
 
The Lancers will look to follow up in the 2024 Forsyth Cup playoffs stay tuned for more information to be released soon!