Friday November 14th vs. Durham Lords
The men's volleyball team overcame some early adversity and remained undefeated after sweeping the Lords 3-0 in Oshawa.
The match opened with early adversity as first-year left side Kyle Butler exited with an injury on the opening point, forcing the Wolves to adjust quickly. Durham took advantage and built an 8–3 lead, but Algonquin gradually found rhythm behind strong serving and timely attacking. Trailing 19–15 late in the set, the Wolves mounted a come-back with contributions from multiple players, highlighted by an ace from Butler's replacement, Lucas Kelly, to tie the set at 20. Durham faltered with back-to-back hitting errors at 23–23, allowing Algonquin to steal the set 25–23.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Durham jumping ahead early before the Wolves methodically battled back. With the score tied 21–21, Connor Finnie delivered a key cross-court kill to spark an Algonquin run .Gavin Hassell then delivered an ace, which was then followed by a perfectly placed roll shot to the pot by Barber that caught the Lords flat footed to give the Wolves set point. Connor Finnie then scored off the block from the right side to give the Wolves the 25-23 set win.
With all the momentum on their side, the Wolves controlled the third set from the very beginning by quickly getting a 5-0 lead. The Wolves never relinquished the lead, and after a big kill from Ethan Fisher, the Wolves took the set 25-16, and the match 3-0.
Connor Finnie once again led the way for the Wolves with 13 kills and 1 block for 14 points. Nick Gauthier Barber added 9 kills of his own while also adding an ace. Gavin Hassell had a big night as he dished out 31 assists, while also getting 2 aces and a block.
Saturday November 15th vs St. Lawrence Surge
Coming off a good team win, the Wolves were looking to remain undefeated as they took on the 0-4 St. Lawrence Surge. Despite the Surge coming out strong, they were not matched for the Wolves high-flying offense, and Algonquin completed their second straight 3-0 sweep to move to 5-0 on the season.
The Wolves were taking on the Surge for the first time, as this is the first season St. Lawrence has had an OCAA volleyball team since the 1997-1998 season. The unfamiliarity didn't seem to affect Wolves, who quickly took a 10-6 lead, capped off by a huge Nick Gauthier Barber kill. Algonquin would smother the Surge, and never let them back into the set, another big swing from Barber gave the Wolves the dominant 25-17 win.
The Wolves didn't slow down at all in the second set, as they once again came out of the gate strong and jumped out to a 10-6 lead. The Surge were able to fight back and cut the lead to two, but the Wolves stepped up their net-front presence, and were able to slow down their offense, and allowed Algonquin's transition offense take over. Lucas Kelly, and Nick Gauthier Barber were both able to score to help extend their lead to 20-13. After a big block from Oliver Goebel, and a Surge attack error, the Wolves took the set 25-15.
The third set was controlled from start to finish by the Wolves, most notable by Connor Finnie, who scored 5 of his 9 kills in the set. Matao Nunez Kruus ended the game with a big block to give the Wolves the set 25-21, and the match 3-0. With the win, Algonquin is now tied for first in the OCAA East with a 5-0 record. Connor Finnie continues to dominate on the outside as he added 9 kills, 3 aces and 3 blocks for 15 points. Gavin Hassell added another 28 assists and added 3 more aces, and now leads the OCAA in aces per set.
The Wolves return to the ARC for their final home game of the semester when they host the George Brown Huskies on Saturday November 22nd.