The UBC Okanagan men’s volleyball team couldn’t steal their second win of the season, as they were shut down on Friday night by Mount Royal. Play again on Saturday night in Calgary.
Men’s Volleyball (Canada West conference match)
Friday, November 18th, 2016
Kenyon Court, Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB
FINAL 1 2 3 SCORE UBC Okanagan (1-4) 13 19 25 0 Mount Royal (3-2) 25 25 27 3
CALGARY, AB — The UBC Okanagan Heat, playing their first road game of the season, were defeated in three sets by the Mount Royal Cougars on Friday night at Kenyon Court in Calgary, AB.
The third set showed promise for the Heat, as they pushed it to extra points, before eventually losing the set 27-25, and the match 3-0. The first two sets were more lopsided, as the Cougars took the first 25-13, and the second 25-19.
Only one player was able to earn double-digits in kills on the night, as Mount Royal’s Riley Friesen led his side with 12. For the Heat, freshmen Kyle Hinchey set the pace with eight kills in the match, and Alex Swiatlowski followed behind him with six.
The Cougars finished well ahead in both kills and hitting percentage, finished with 42 on .390 compared to the Heat’s 32 on .198.
The third set saw the two teams put up their most similar numbers of the match, with kills 16-12 in MRU’s favour, and the Cougars just edging out the hitting percentage advantage, .242 – .219. The Heat jumped out to a lead early on, 7-6, and didn’t give that lead back until the Cougars scored three straight to go up 21-20. There were ties at 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 after that, but Riley Friesen and Josh Kirkman scored back-to-back kills to give Mount Royal the victory.
The first set saw the biggest difference in score, as the Cougars took it by 12, 25-13. UBC Okanagan only scored consecutive points once in the opening frame, thanks to back-to-back kills from Devon Cote. The home team never got closer than 7-5, though, and Mount Royal put together strings of points that put the set out of reach.
The Cougars kept up their first set pace in the second, never allowing the Heat to take a lead, and taking the set 25-19. There were ties at 1-1 and 3-3, but the visitors kept the Heat at a distance for the remainder. The only three-point run by the Heat came early in the set, with a service ace from Alex Swiatlowski, after a Riley Friesen service error and a Devon Cote kill, brought the Heat within two at 11-13.
The Heat (1-4) and the Cougars (3-2) will play again Saturday night on Kenyon Court, with first serve scheduled for 5 p.m. PST.