Box Score

The Waterloo Warriors men's volleyball team was fell 3-1 to a York Lions squad who look poised to have an exceptional season. Service errors were the Achilles heel for the Warriors in an eventual 4-set loss to the Lions (21-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-27). The game was hosted at RIM Park.

Service errors stymied any momentum Waterloo was able to generate in this contest and ultimately cost them the match. The Warriors committed 17 services errors on the evening which was a huge contributor to the loss.

In the first set, Waterloo would take an early 7-4 lead off a sound offence run by Nikola Dimitrijevic (Mississauga), but York would counter with the next 5 points to take a 9-7 lead. Warriors would lose 6 of the next 7 points before head coach Chris Lawson was forced into a timeout down 15-8.

York's defence continued to stand tall as they continued to dig almost every ball thrown at them. York would take a 20-16 lead before Waterloo would call another timeout. The black and gold would fight back to make it close but would eventually drop the first set 25-21.

In set #2, both side's defence was hard to come by and offence was running rampant. Nikola Sandic had many attacking options in his repertoire for the Lions and this seemed to confuse the Warriors defence. York held a 13-12 lead midway through the second set and would exchange points throughout. Zachary Doherty (Goderich) would serve into the net at 23-19 and the Warriors would eventually drop the set 25-20.

In the third set, Waterloo looked determined and poised to force a fourth set. Service errors continued to haunt the black and gold but a consistent offence led to many points. At the technical timeout, York led 16-15 but Waterloo would come out energized and eventually take the 3^rd set 25-21 to force a 4^th.

In the 4^th set, the teams fought hard to establish the momentum but it seemed to sway often. York had a 16-13 lead at the technical timeout and did not seem likely to let the lead slip. Waterloo tied the game at 19-19 but would drop the next 2 points to go down 21-19. The match would go into extended points but Waterloo would eventually drop the 4^th set 27-25 to lose the match.

The match was very competitive and saw two largely even times battle it out. Waterloo's service errors were certainly a deciding factor in the match in an otherwise strong showing from the Warriors.

Warriors' standout Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) had a solid night for the black and gold scoring 16 kills, 3 digs and 2 block assists in the loss while 2^nd year Jordan McConkey (Stratford) stepped up large and delivered 15 kills, 1 dig and 2 block assists. Nikola Dimitrijevic (Mississauga) had 48 assists in the match along with a service ace and 6 digs.

For the Lions, 5^th year Ray Szeto was a beast, compiling 18 kills, 6 digs and 2 block assists while newcomer Josh Henderson had 17 kills and 12 digs in the contest. Setter Nikola Sandic had a marvelous game with 44 assists and 2 kills on the evening.

The Warriors will be back in action tomorrow night as they play host to the 0-1 Nipissing Lakers at 8pm at RIM Park.