Friday January 17 @ George Brown
The men's volleyball team got off to a shaky start on their Toronto road trip and lost their 2nd match in a row, falling to the George Brown Huskies in 4 sets. Things look promising for the Wolves as they quickly got out to a 14-7 lead in the first set. 4th year outside Liam Arnold-Paquette is quickly rounding into form since returning for the second half of the season, and put on a show in the first set with several highlight real kills, including a thunderous swing to make it 22-12. The Wolves rode that momentum to finish off the set 25-13.
The next three sets were a different story as the Huskies were able to put up solid blocks and were carried offensively by OCAA kills and points leader Yaroslav Scidritskiy and took the next 3 sets 25-20, 25-22, and 25,23. The Wolves tried several different lineups to try to find a spark, but they ultimately couldn't find their rhythm offensively. Karl Rawlins had another efficient night, finishing the match with 10 kills on .533 efficiency and 2 blocks.
Saturday January 18 @ Centennial
The Wolves were in tough in their second match of their road trip as they took on the #4 ranked team in the OCAA Centennial Colts. It did not look good for the Wolves as they dropped the first 2 sets and put themselves in a deep hole in the 3rd when the Colts took a commanding 14-6 lead. Wolves coach Jelle Kooijman once again decided to make some line-up changes by putting in 2nd year setter Derron Dinh, and 2nd year right side Victor Landry. Mateo Nunez-Kruus got one of his five stuff blocks on the very next play, and then went on a strong serving run that forced the Colts into several unforced errors to close the gap to 14-11. This seemed to be the spark the Wolves needed as they dialed in on their serve and pass game allowing their offence to find some consistency and they took the set 25-21.
With the new line-up the Wolves had new found energy in the 4th and controlled the majority of the set. With strong serving and blocking, the Wolves were able to get their transition offense firing on all cylinders, lead by 3rd year middle Karl Rawlins, and took the set 25-19. The 5th and deciding set went back and forward until it was tied at 6-6. After a costly service error by the Colts, Nunez-Kruus came up big with another clutch block to give the Wolves the 8-6 lead. The Wolves were able to side-out from there and never relinquished the lead, taking the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
It was a complete team effort in the victory as there were several standouts. Rawlins finished with 9 kills, 1 ace and 5 blocks for 15 points, Mahmoud Abdelaziz had 9 kills, and 5 blocks for 14 points, Arnold-Paquette had 12 kills and 2 aces for 14 points, and Nunez-Kruus had 6 kills and 5 blocks for 11 points. Victor Landry added 5 kills, 1 ace and 2 blocks, while Derron Dinh finished with 23 assists in 3 sets.
Looking Ahead
The Wolves now sit at 6-8 on the season and sit in 7th place in the OCAA East Division. This weekend is a massive home-stand for the Wolves as they will be looking to claw their way up the standings with the playoffs quickly approaching. On Friday January 24th, they will play the Sececa Sting, who currently sit 1 game behind them in the standings and beat the Wolves in their first meeting this season. On Saturday January 25th, the Wolves take on the Georgian Grizzlies, who are currently the #1 seed in the East, and #2 ranked team in the OCAA.