Friday, January 7 vs. Guelph
Guelph 3, Waterloo 0 (25-16, 25-22, 26-24)
The Waterloo Warriors opened 2011 with a straight set loss to the Guelph Gryphons on Friday, January 7 at the PAC Gymnasium. With the win the Gryphons moved to 8-3 on the season tied for second place while the Warriors dropped to 3-8 and sit in eight place in the OUA.
The black and gold struggled throughout the first set trying to get the Christmas holiday kinks out and lost the first set by a score of 25-16.
With Guelph keeping the petal to the metal, the Warriors were forced to elevate their game and increase their presence at the net. They did so, but Guelph was too overpowering as they took the second and third sets by scores of 25-22 and 26-24.
Leading the charge for the Gryphons was outside hitter Winston Rosser of Whitby, Ont., who had 10 kills and one block on the evening. Middle James Stamler (North Bay, Ont.) also had a solid game putting down eight kills while adding three blocks.
Rookie outside hitter Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo, Ont.) of the Warriors led all players with 12 kills. Setter Scott Thomson (St. Marys, Ont.) had 32 assists in the game.
The Warriors look for redemption tomorrow evening as they face the no. 10 McMaster Marauders who are tied for second with the Gryphons.
Saturday, January 8 vs. McMaster
Waterloo 3, McMaster 1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-22)
The Warriors showed they can compete with the top teams in the OUA as they defeated the no. 10 McMaster Marauders on Saturday evening at the PAC gym in Waterloo. The Warriors, who just came off a straight set loss to the Guelph Gryphons did not sit back as they went after the Marauders early and often.
McMaster narrowly won the first set 25-23 but the Warriors bounced back to win three straight (20, 21, 22) en route to their fourth victory of the season. The victory was big for the black and gold to keep their playoff hopes alive as they now sit tied for eighth spot in the OUA, four points behind Laurier for the final playoff spot.
A familiar name led the way for Waterloo as Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo, Ont.) had 16 kills and one block. Middle Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines, Ont.) and outside hitter Aleks Poldma (Toronto, Ont.) each added 11 kills and a combined 13 blocks. Scott Thomson (St. Marys/) was on his game once again with 48 assists.
For the Marauders a pair of middle's Tyler Santoni (Kingston, Ont.) and Michael Sjonnesen (Cambridge, Ont.) had 11 kills each. Setter Austin Campion-Smith (Bowmanville, Ont.) had 47 assists in the loss.
The Warriors next action is a pair of games in Kingston as they face the Queen's Gaels and RMC Paladins on January 15 and 16.
