By Caio Miari and Marcus Rebelo
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL RECAP
The intercity rivalry between the Centennial Colts and George Brown Huskies was in full effect at the Athletic and Wellness Centre (AWC) on Friday evening.
Despite a strong first set, the Colts ultimately fell to the Huskies in five sets (25-18, 12-25, 14-25, 25-23, 8-15).
Stella Dada led Centennial — and the match — with 12 points, while Victoria Pitters topped George Brown in scoring with 11.
Jada Bradford (6), Brianna Watson (6), and Doris Lam (5) were other scoring standouts for the Colts (2-11).
Dada and Lam were also impressive defensively, adding 14 digs each.
Overall, Centennial committed 20 serve errors - against George Brown’s 11 -, which for assistant coach Everest Fabro-Valdez was a major difference-maker in the match.
“We played hard but we just didn’t stay disciplined,” he said, post-game. “A couple serving errors and we didn’t take care of the ball.”
The fans at Progress Campus thought the Colts’ five-game home losing streak would come to an end after they dominated the first set, ultimately winning 25-18.
However, the Huskies bounced back and changed the narrative of the match.
“Our team likes to rush so we were rushing,” Fabro-Valdez said. “Once we went down by a few, we were rushing to come back. From then on when the gap grew they rushed even more.”
The visitors outscored Centennial 50-26 in the second and third sets combined, carrying the momentum into the fourth — and deciding final — set.
But momentum shifted again.
The Colts fought hard in the last period, applying a late comeback after being down 22-21.
The match gained a well-deserved fifth set.
The decisive period featured the same script and consequentially took the match down to the wire. George Brown started with a narrow 8-7 lead as the team switched sides. A couple of reception mistakes took the match out of Centennial’s hands.
Three of the Huskies’ final six points came from unforced errors by the Colts, ultimately solidifying a 15-8 set win by the visitors.
“We played hard and found that other gear but we just lacked that throughout the entire fifth set,” Fabro-Valdez said. “We lost toward the end because after a few errors we get in our head too much. We just tried to work on that from the bench and encourage them.
“Taking care of your own possession is another thing we must work on.”
With the loss, Centennial failed to win back-to-back games for the first time this season and remained winless at home, while George Brown extended its winning streak to two matches.
The Colts will try to go back to the win column as they face the Seneca Sting on the road (King Campus) Wednesday, Jan. 29 (6 p.m.).
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL RECAP
The Centennial Colts erased several deficits throughout an exciting five-set match, but ultimately fell short to the George Brown Huskies 3-2 (25-27, 25-18, 23-25, 25-23, 13-15) Friday night at the Athletic and Wellness Centre (AWC).
The intercity rivalry featured Dominik Bauer’s debut with the Colts (3-10).
“I was very nervous, I have a good coaching staff and team,” he said. “I felt like I could do a little bit better, I was a little nervous at the start, at the net, but I’m going to keep on improving and focusing on my game and hopefully we come out with some wins.”
Bauer delivered one of the most decisive points of the night, a beautiful soft touch that clipped the line with his team up 23-22 in the fourth set, but trailing in the match 2-1.
Centennial had the momentum of the game entering the fifth set, which quickly cooled down after George Brown put up a 14-8 lead in the short period.
With the game on the line, the Colts shortened the Huskies’ lead to 14-13 to put the fans on their feet. George Brown, though, would go on to win the next point and the match.
“I think every moment of that game was positive, there were no negatives in my opinion,” Bauer said. “We are hard on each other but that’s because we love each other and we’re a big family and big team. We got keep pushing and being positive, there’s no negatives on this team.”
Jordan Nnabuogor contributed with 15 points for Centennial. Timothy Ho (11) and Marvin Reid (12) were the other Colts to reach double digits.
For the Huskies (7-6), Vivek Mathimakki impressed with 29 points, while teammate Sam Delgado delivered 14.
The Colts bounced back from a 16-11 deficit in the opening set to lead 24-21. However, the Huskies rallied en route to steal Centennial’s three set points and close the period 27-25.
The home side appeared to be determined to change the match’s narrative entering the second, never squandering their early lead before closing the period 25-18.
In the third set, Centennial had an 11-7 advantage, but George Brown’s 18-12 run put the visitors in control of the action again ahead of remarkable sets in the fourth and fifth periods.
Centennial dropped to 2-4 at home this season, while George Brown snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Colts will now close out the month of January on the road against the Seneca Sting (King Campus) on Wednesday, Jan. 29 (8 p.m.).
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January is Mental Health Awareness Month, and when it comes to mental health, every action counts. Our teams Friday wore Special Bell Let’s Talk T-shirts to support the cause. The official Bell Let’s Talk day is on January 29th and we encourage everyone to use the hashtag #BellLetsTalk on social media. For every hashtag posted, the Bell Let’s Talk organization will donate 5 cents towards mental health initiatives. Help create positive change, make an impact, and end the stigma towards mental health.
We welcomed our Centennial College Alumni Association to Alumni Row to Friday’s volleyball games. If you are a Centennial College Alumni and would like to be updated on the latest events at Centennial College, including more Alumni Row events like tonight, please visit ccaa.life and subscribe to their newsletter. Centennial First, Alumni Forever.”