A night after the York University Lions men’s volleyball team dropped a straight-sets decision to the Windsor Lancers, the two sides were back at it with the Lions looking to earn a split of the weekend and inch closer to a second straight OUA playoff berth.
It was a tale of two matches in this one, with the Lions struggling mightily in the first two sets. Over the final two, however first-year head coach Jordan Taylor’s club showed the incredible resolve it has displayed for much of the season, nearly overcoming a 2-0 deficit to force a deciding fifth set.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Windsor came out firing on its senior night, scoring the first four points and eventually taking a 9-3 first-set lead. The Lions never found their footing in the opening set, and fell 25-15 to give Windsor a 1-0 lead.
The second was much like the first, with the home side taking control. The Lions hung around early in the set, but the Lancers pulled away late thanks to a combination of strong offence and scores off Lion errors. Windsor led by as many as 11 in the set and took a 25-17 victory to go up 2-0 and put the Lions on the brink.
In that third, however, the visitors turned the tables on the Lancers, with a diverse offensive attack. Six different Lions had kills in the second, led by Richard Housen with four, as every eligible Lion on the floor joined in. That Included Alex Ko, Alexandru Ignat, Alex Dorling, Jasraj Nijjar, Sam Jansen and Housen. The Lions staged an 8-1 run to pull away late in the set, and an Ignat kill put away a 25-21 Lions win to cut the Lancer lead in half
The Lions gave up the first three points of the fourth, but eventually battled back to take a 9-8 lead. York went up 15-12 on an Ignat ace, before surrendering a 6-1 spurt to relinquish the lead, 18-16. After the Lions tied it at 18, the teams traded points, but the Lions could never grab the lead, and the Lancers scored the final two points to take the fourth 27-25 and the match 3-1.
Despite their two losses this weeknd, the Lions got some more help from the Toronto Varsity Blues, who beat the TMU Bold again on Saturday. This means a the Bold would need to win both their remaining matches (at Guelph) and have York lose to McMaster, as the Lions hold the tiebreaker over the Bold for the ninth and final OUA playoff spot
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Lions will play the final game of the regular season next weekend when they host the Marauders for the second time this season. York beat the defending Forsyth Cup titleists in an epic five-setter at Tait McKenzie Centre on Nov. 11. They will honour their lone graduate, William Deschamps, pregame. First serve is scheduled to fly at 8:00 pm.
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