LIONS RE-ENTER WIN COLUMN WITH SOLID VICTORY OVER WATERLOO

After a tough loss to the Waterloo Warriors on Friday, the York University Lions men’s volleyball team was back at it on Saturday evening looking to avenge that defeat in the back half of the weekend series between the two teams.

And avenge it, they did. After dropping the opening set, the Lions took the next three en route to their second victory of the season as they look to make a late push toward the postseason.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• It was yet another close first set between the two clubs, one that was tied at one, two, three, five, six and seven. Waterloo broke it open mid-set with a four-point run to stretch a one-point lead to five. They led by as many as six at 20-14 before a kill from Dennis Cota and an ace from Alex Dorling cut the deficit to four. Two late set kills from Dorling and Alex Ko made it a 24-23 lead, but the Warriors grabbed the deciding point on an ace from Daniel Nikashov to take the set 25-23 and the lead 1-0.
• The second set was all Lions early, as they scored seven of the first eight points, aided by two kills from reigning York male athlete of the week Martin Prinsloo, one from Ko and one from Dorling. Prinsloo had five of his team co-leading 12 kills on the night in the second alone, as the Lions maintained a comfortable lead throughout most of the set. Despite a late Warrior rally, an ace from Ko salted it away, 25-23 and evened the match at 1-1.
• The Lions came out like gangbusters once again in the third, taking a 7-2 lead thanks to an ace from Prinsloo, two kills from Dan Lafleur, one from Dorling and another from setter Jasraj Nijjar. The Warriors could never mount a big run in the third set to turn the tide, never scoring more than two consecutive points. On set point, it was another ace, this one courtesy of Lafleur, that gave the Lions the 25-21 victory and put them up 2-1.
• In the fourth, the Warriors took a 10-4 lead with six straight points after the set was tied 4-4. However, the visitors rallied to score eight of the next 10 points, led by three Prinsloo kills, to tie it at 12 apiece. The Lions hung around from there, taking their first lead of the set at 17-16 thanks to a Waterloo error. It was then tied at 18, 19 and 20, before York grabbed a 23-21. After Waterloo tied it at 23, the Lions finished it off, scoring the final two points – a Cota kill and a service error from the Warriors Logan Wenzel – to solidify a four-set victory over the Warriors.
• York was led by 12 kills from Prinsloo and Cota, accounting for nearly half of the team’s 49. Another big difference in this one: the service line. York had six aces, to Waterloo’s two, while Waterloo made 25 service errors, to York’s 17. The Lions were +12 on direct service points in a match where they won their three sets by a combined total of 11.

LOOKING AHEAD:

The Lions continue their road trip next weekend as they travel to Queen’s for a pair of games next Friday and Saturday night in what will be a playoff rematch from last year’s Forsyth Cup quarter-final. The Lions took that one in four sets, their first playoff win since 2015. The first serve for both games is at 8:00 pm.