Oh you know it's tournament time. While the ladies and the fellas will both be in action tomorrow and Saturday, today it was the gentlemen's turn to hog the spotlights.
Much as I'd like to be, I am not free to simply laze around at home and watch volleyball whenever I'd like, so I wasn't able to see the first match of the day, between the Dalhousie Tigers and the defending national champion Laval Rouge et Or. I was expecting a tight match, a possible five-setter, and I don't think I was alone in that expectation. Laval surprised a bit by winning a three-set sweep.
That left the first match of the day I was able to see, the top seeds Alberta against the number eight seeds Montreal, to start right on time.
After a few sideouts to open things, the Golden Bears took their first lead of the match at 3-2 on a tenacious play from Ryley Barnes on the left side, putting the kill away on his third swing of the rally. The Carabins gamely maintained the sideout pattern, and took the lead back at 5-4 with a back row attack called against Alberta setter Brett Walsh. Godefroy Veyron-Trudel claimed another on serve to stake the Quebecers to a 6-4 lead before the Golden Bears sided out. Bad Carabin passing on the next rally led to what should have been an easy chance for the Alberta left side Jay Olmstead, but he was unable to put the ball away and Montreal got the point back in transition. A kill from John Goranson up the middle brought the score even again at 9-all.
At 10-all, it looked like Trudel might have beaten the double block on the left side, by "tooling" it and out (I hate that word, "tooling"), but evidently the ball was ruled to have hit him on the way out, and the Golden Bears again took a 1-point lead. Just as quickly, a double block up the middle on the Carabin side gave them the 1-point lead once more. Montreal reached 15 first at 15-13 with a hit just long from Matt McCreary. I thought maybe we'd see a timeout there from the Golden Bears, but they didn't. Alberta setter Walsh went straight back to McCreary on the next rally, and was rewarded as the latter smashed his kill off the block and out. 15-14 was then, really, the first real protracted rally of the match, going to the Golden Bears with Olmstead on the left side. A Carabin sideout made it 16-15 at the technical timeout.
Walsh got the ball rolling right after the timeout with a dump kill on 2 to tie the score, but moments later Montreal's Samuel Landry scored on a markedly similar swing to keep his side in the marginal lead. The Golden Bears took just their third lead of the set serving at 17-all, with a good misdirection set from Walsh giving Barnes an easy shot from the right pin. On 18-17, McCreary scored the first service ace of the match, edging Alberta to a 19-17 lead. That prompted Montreal's first timeout.
McCreary got another ace out of the timeout, as Alyson Francillon completely flubbed the two-hand overhand pass. And got summarily yanked. Montreal quickly expended their second timeout of the set when Alberta's lead reached 21-17. The Golden Bears kept up the pressure, as another ace brought the lead to five, and Francillon subbed back into the match (as his replacement didn't fare any better at passing than he had). 22-17 was finally something of a rally, but it still went to the boys in green and gold, with Barnes powering through the block on the left pin for the kill. An off-time little knuckleball of a shot from Francillon finally sided the Carabins out, but the damage was done. Swapped service errors made it set point for the Golden Bears on reception at 24-19. The Carabins nearly got an ace to draw them closer, but a sprawling dig/pass from Olmstead kept the ball up. Eventually, Trudel hit long to make it a 25-19 final for Alberta.
Set 2 started off with a nice cut shot from Barnes on the left side, beating an otherwise well-formed double block. It touched off a sideout string, just as we had at the outset of set 2. A hit into the antenna from Francilon broke the string to give Alberta the firs two-point lead of the set at 5-3. After the next rally, Montreal's Mikaël Dagenais, one of their better players, fell to the ground clutching his leg in obvious pain. He had to be helped off the court, and trainers tended to him on the sideline as play resumed. The Carabins drew even at 5's by rejecting Kevin Proudfoot on the 5-4 rally, but just as quickly McCreary's kill on 6-5 Alberta re-established the Golden Bears' lead. That sent McCreary back to serve, which was the rotation in which the Golden Bears surged so well. On 7-5, Proudfoot got his point back with a vicious kill right up the middle, and at 8-5, that prompted the Carabins to call timeout.
McCreary's service run continued after the timeout, as he hit his serve at about three-quarters speed to keep it in play. It still befuddled the Montreal passers, leading eventually to another strong kill for Proudfoot. The lead for the Golden Bears reached 10-5 before a service error finally sided the Carabins out. McCreary then hit a beauty from the back row to get the point right back, touching off another sideout string. The Carabins peeled one back on 13-8 by blocking Proudfoot again. They got most of their sideouts from the right arm of Landry, and on his serve at 14-10, he elicited an overpass, leading to another Carabin service point. A miscommunication between two Alberta passers — in beach, we'd call it 'hubby-wifing it' gave Landry an ace to make it 14-12. It went sideout after sideout from there to the technical timeout at 16-13 Golden Bears.
The Carabins took back another service point shortly after the timeout to draw within 16-15. Upon the Golden Bears' sideout, they turned to a serving sub Jarron Mueller, taking the place of Walsh and thus taking over setting responsibilities while he was on the floor. This sub proved to be a good move, as he served the Golden Bears to 20 before the Carabins expended their second timeout. A service ace made it 20-15, and Montreal called time.
It was no use, as the Golden Bears soon extended their lead to six. McCreary rotated to serve at 23-17 and just missed wide, with his jump-float looking to befuddle the Carabin back row again. A big kill up the middle from Taylor Arnett brought about set point at 24-18, and the Golden Bears needed just the one shot at it, finishing the set at a 25-18 final.
Webcast cameras caught Dagenais hobbling on crutches on the sideline during the abbreviated intermission.
The first rally of set 3 was one of the longest of the match, with Barnes eventually finding the floor to get the Golden Bears on the board first. It was the beginning of a big start for Alberta in set 2. When McCreary rotated to serve for the Golden Bears, they asserted the same advantage they did in earlier sets. Barnes showed he has pretty much every shot in his arsenal, keeping the shorthanded Carabins guessng on the front line. Only at 6-1 were Montreal able to sideout. At 6-3 on their own serve, Francilon got a number of chances to terminate the rally, getting soft-blocked time and time again. Finally he did put the ball away, drawing the Carabins a point closer. Alberta just as quickly rattled off three of their own to re-take the five-point lead, with Montreal's ball-handling just not up to snuff against the serves and hits coming from the other side. Montreal took their first timeout of the third set at 10-5.
The run continued for the Golden Bears after the timeout, as the Carabins just were not able to execute anything. At 13-5, they made the classic what-the-hell move, swapping setters. When Mathieu Poirier entered, the Carabins immediately sided out. Coincidence? Yeah, probably. Just moments later, a big smash from Proudfoot up the middle got the sideout back. At this point, it was now the Golden Bears who looked to be playing footloose and fancy-free, surging to a 16-7 lead at the technical timeout.
At 17-8, Montreal undid the setter swap, putting Matthew Coffey back into the ematch. Two rallies later, Montreal got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, as they thought they had the kill on the right side with Trudel, but Golden Bear libero Reed May came up with a waffle dig to keep the ball alive. The ball then fell in harmlessly on the Montreal side. As if they needed it, that play bouyed the Golden Bears, who ran ahead 20-9 at the Carabins' second timeout. It went sideout after sideout to 24-12 and match point Golden Bears. Alberta turned to a serving sub Arran Chambers to serve match point. He didn't finish it super stylishly — no ace or anything — but he did finish it right there for a 25-12 final.
So this was pretty normal service — a convincing win for the solidly better team. There was then a break in the action before the second session of the day.
I slept through most of the second session's first match, between Trinity Western and Western (give me a break — I'd had about 45 minutes sleep in the previous 36 hours, so a break in the action was sure to put to me to snooze). I joined back deep in the fourth set, with Trinity Western up 2-1. But the Spartans weren't able to close it out despite getting a match point chance at 24-23, and it went to a fifth set decider.
And in that fifth set, both sides seemed a little tentative, as if playing not to lose rather than to win. The Spartans got another match point opportunity at 14-13, but couldn't capitalise on that one, either. The Mustangs got a match point at 15-14, and sealed the deal with a service ace. He probably should have been called for a foot fault, though, as it appeared he stepped over the end line on his serve. No such call, and Western advanced to the championship semifinals to face the winner of the nightcap between McMaster and the host Calgary Dinos.
I found it interesting that the PA voice for the night treated this like a normal home match for the Dinos. It makes perfect sense to me, and it's what I'd naturally do as a PA announcer in that situation, but it's specifically disallowed in the NCAA postseason.
The Dinos came out strong to begin the match, buoyed by the home atmosphere (and excellent crowd turnout). After the Marauders took a quick 3-1 lead, Calgary then ran off five straight on Connor Frehlich's serve to go ahead by three themselves. The main option for the home team was definitely Frehlich, hitting with ferocity from any position on the court, including a sick back-row kill to side out on 8-5. Danny Demyanenko responded for McMaster to draw them back to within a point on 8-7, swinging with authority from the middle on the other side of the net. He was denied from bringing the score even on a nice double block led by towering Calgary middle blocker Ivan Kartev, whose strip of red kinesio-tape on the back of his neck startled me the first time I saw it (thinking it was a rash or something). The Dinos edging ahead to 11-8 prompted the Marauders to call time.
Calgary kept the ball rolling after the timeout, extending their lead to four at 12-8 before McMaster could sideout. Jori Mantha peeled one back at 12-10, and then a sideout pattern ensued, taking us to the technical timeout at 16-13 Calgary. The automatic timeout slowed the Dinos' roll a little — or more to the point, it was a good rotation for the Marauders — as they rattled off four straight to take their first lead since very early on.Demyanenko's picture-perfect quick hit up the middle prompted the Dinos to call time, as the home fans fell a bit quiet.
The Dinos got out of that rough rotation right after the timeout, and then inched ahead again on 18-17. The points then were exchanged evenly again through to 20-all and beyond. Calgary kept feeding the big man, Kartev, while he was front-row, and he delivered. Calgary reached set point first at 24-23, and Kartev was well in position for the block to make it set 1 for the home team, but the Marauders made it throught the block. The Dinos got another chance at 25-24, with Kartev on serve, and the big man exploited a gap in the Marauder passing line for an ace to give set 1 to Calgary after all.
The Marauders took three of the first four to start set 2, and then an intense rally ensued on 3-1. Sprawling defence from the Dinos, a great save setter Jackson Maris, was met with racuous cheers from the home fans, but ultimately it was for naught, as Tyson Alexander's service run continued to extend their lead to 4-1. Calgary fought back to draw within a point on 6-5, the last point of that run kind of a messy one as both sides failed to get off what you'd call an in-system play. The clean-shaven (or simply unshaven) Frehlich ended it for the Dinos. Kills from Demyanenko put McMaster back ahead three on 8-5. On 8-6, one of the Dino defenders deftly used a kick-save to keep a ball alive, but evidently his teammates didn't take notice, as it was 4 hits before going over and point to the Marauders. I always love seeing those kick-saves in volleyball. When the Marauders increased their lead to 11-7, Calgary called time.
Mantha's ninth kill of the match kept the good times rolling for McMaster, increasing their lead to 12-7 after the timeout. The Dinos drew a point back on 13-10 when the Marauders absolutely shanked their pass, giving Maris a service ace. McMaster served aggressively when they were on, safe in the knowledge that, with their solid lead, a missed serve here and there wouldn't break the bank. A Calgary service error brough us to the technical timeout with McMaster up 16-12.
McMaster successfully kept Calgary at arms-length for the remainder of the set, despite their top man Greg Mann (top Mann?) coming alive a bit in set 2. After no kills in set 1, he paced the offence for the Dinos in the second frame, notching four. Calgary closed to within two at 22-20 following a really good serve by Jeremy Guenter that got the Marauder passer on his back heels as he did get the up, but got little oomph behind it. And the trickle-down — bad pass leads to trap set leads to weak hit, leads to opportunity for the other side. The Marauders called time there, and kept the even exchange going afterward. They reached set point at 24-21 following a right-side kill from Stephen Maar, and Demyanenko converted up the middle after the Dinos' timeout to make it a set apiece.
With this being for all intents and purposes a true home match for Calgary, I thought maybe they'd take a full intermission here, but the teams remained on the court and just peppered for a few minutes.
For the third straight set, McMaster took three of the first four (and eventually five of the first six). The rally ending 3-1 was one of those Christmas-morning type hits for a hulking front-row middle, as the overpass sailed right to Alexander. He later got the block to make it 5-1, which prompted an early timeout from the Dinos. Another well-formed Marauder block extended the lead to 8-3, as the by-rights superior team, after having weathered the early storm, set to asserting themselves. A hit into the net from Calgary's Andrew Visser, who had several nice kills earlier in those boring little sideout strings I tend not to describe in detail, made it 10-4 McMaster.
Rather than burn their second timeout that early, the Dinos turned to a sub to slow the momentum. The Dinos got out of that difficult rotation and then went on a run of their own, closing to within three at 11-8 following a nice kill from the back row off the hand of Keith West. It went point-for-point from there to the technical timeout at 16-12 McMaster.
After the technical, the set strongly swung the way of the Marauders, with Maar's back-to-back points (a kill and a block) giving them a likely unassailable six-point lead at 18-12. That prompted the Dinos' final timeout of the set. Alexander's service run extended through 19 and 20-12 before Calgary managed to sideout. West powered through the block on that rally like it wasn't even there, understandably energising the understandably inexpressive home crowd for a moment. Kartev got Calgary repeated sideouts while he was front-row, but the deficit was too much to overcome. The Marauders served for the set at 24-17 and converted there, on an emphatic double block led by Mantha against Mann, for a 25-17 final.
In set 4, it was the Dinos who started off hot, claiming five of the first six. Kills from Visser and Mann finished off that run, prompting McMaster to call time down by four. The timeout gave McMaster a chance to get their you-know-what together. You know what I mean. Their block. Wait, what did you think I meant? Back-to-back blocks got McMaster back to within two on 5-3. Then they made it back within a point first at 6-5. Whereas Calgary were pretty much done for in set 3 when they fell behind 5-1 early, McMaster weren't. Another block for the Marauders, from Alexander against Sean Tuff gave them their first lead of the set at 8-7, and Calgary called time.
The wheels kind of fell off the bus for the Dinos a little after the timeout, as bad passing, one of which gave Jayson McCarthy an ace, staked the Marauders to a three-point lead at 10-7. Calgary came back within a point on 12-11 when the Marauders were called for a centre line violation, but a hitting error from Mann quickly gave the point right back at 14-11. The technical timeout came with McMaster in the drivers' seat, at 16-12.
The Marauder lead got as big as five, at 19-14 on Mantha's impressive 20th kill of the night. Calgary came back to within 20-17, prompting a McMaster timeout. The Marauders reached match point at 24-19. Despite some really dodgy passing on their reception there, the Dinos staved that one off and lived to fight another point. They closed to within 24-21 on the next rally, and some people in the crowd started making a little noise again. With another match point saved, bringing the score to 24-22, McMaster called time.
The Dinos ran out of magic there, as Mantha's 21st kill of the night was the last play of the match, making for a 25-22 final.
Full Day One results
(5) Laval d. (4) Dalhousie (25-16, 25-18, 25-22)
(1) Alberta d. (8) Montreal (25-19, 25-18, 25-12)
(6) Western d. (3) Trinity Western (25-21, 22-25, 19-25, 27-25, 16-14)
(2) McMaster d. (7) Calgary (24-26, 25-21, 25-17, 25-22)
Tomorrow's slate
Consolation bracket:
(4) Dalhousie vs (8) Montreal
(3) Trinity Western vs (7) Calgary
Championship bracket:
(1) Alberta vs (5) Laval
(2) McMaster vs (6) Western
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