Friday, October 22 @ Ryerson
Ryerson 3, Waterloo 1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-22, 25-17)
A trio of Ram veterans, Luka Milosevic, Chris McLaughlin and Roman Kabanov combined for 31 kills and eight blocks as the Warriors opened their season with a a 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-22, 25-17) loss to the Ryerson Rams at Kerr Hall Gym on Friday night.
The teams traded points in the early going of the first set, with the Warriors up 8-7 at the first technical. A couple of kills by Milosevic and Brett Penrose put the Rams up by three leading into the second break. Milosevic added two more kills, while McLaughlin made a crucial block to spread the advantage to four points. Ryerson would cruise from there to a 25-20 first set victory.
Waterloo came out strong in the second, jumping to a five-point spread at 16-11 after the Rams committed a couple of unforced errors. Although Ryerson fought back, a couple of ball handling errors off of serves and free volleys made the deficit too large to recover from and they would drop the second set 25-20.
Tyler Motherwell (Scarborough, Ont.) continued Waterloo's streak in the third, as the Scarborough, Ont. native recorded a block and an ace to put the Warriors up 7-4. However, Milosevic and McLaughlin quickly answered for the Rams, tallying two kills apiece to even the match at 11-11. The play got tighter at that point, with neither side able to build momentum. With the Rams leading 23-22, Milosevic had another kill to open the door for the set win, and a timely block from Kabonov sealed the third game for Ryerson.
The fourth set was then dominated by Kabonov and Milosevic. The fourth-year Kabonov spurred Ryerson with a kill and an ace to give Ryerson an early advantage in the fourth. Milosevic then followed his game-high 14th kill with a block, and the Rams would lead by three at the second technical 16-13. The lead would increase to six, and the two veterans would finish off the match with a block each, resulting in a 25-17 set win and 3-1 victory.
McLaughlin finished the contest with 10 kills, while rookie setter Aleksa Miladinovic added three aces and 29 assists in his first OUA game as a Ram. First year Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo) led Waterloo with 14 kills in a losing cause, while Milosevic was named player of the game for Ryerson.
Saturday, October 23 @ York
Waterloo 3, York 1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 25-15)
The Warriors moved to 1-1 on the season as they defeated the York Lions 3-1 on Saturday evening (Oct. 23) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Warriors battled back from a five point deficit to win the first set 25-22.
The see-saw battle continued in the second set as the Lions took an early 8-1 lead but following a timeout by head coach Chris Lawson and the Warriors, they found new energy and battled themselves back into the set. The Lions would eventually find their power game stealing the momentum back from Waterloo taking the second set 25-21.
The Warriors had a great start to the third set, striking hard and often with their power forwards, and continued the strong play through to the end to winning the set 25-21.
The black and gold would not look back in the fourth wrapping up the match with solid efforts from the middle in Tyler Motherwell (Scarborough, Ont.) and outside hitter Aleks Poldma (Toronto). Waterloo easily took the fourth and final seet 25-15 for the 3-1 victory.
York's Humaña-Paredes and Waterloo'sFiodar Kazhamiaka (for the second straight match) were recognized as the players of the game.
Waterloo's biggest advantage during the game was their height at the net. This allowed the Warriors to block York's power shots and pick up their first victory of the season.
The Warriors (1-1) continue their four game road trip as they face the Guelph Gryphons and McMaster Marauders next weekend with Friday and Saturday evening games.
