LANGLEY, B.C. (CIS) – the Varsity Reds had their chances but were unable to capitalize as they lost to McMaster 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 25-16) in the first consolation game of the CIS men’s volleyball championship, at the Langley Events Centre.

 

Unfortunately for the AUS champion V-Reds, the loss signals the end of their tournament.

 

Head Coach Dan McMorran, said: “We came out a little bit better today. In the first couple of sets, we decided to wait a little bit until they had 16-12 and 17-11 leads, even in the set we won, before we realized a sense of urgency. It was a better performance. It still wasn’t the execution we wanted today but the guys came out better.”

 

The opening set saw McMaster start the much stronger of the two teams as they raced out to a 5-0 lead and set the tone for the rest of the set. UNB battled hard but lost the set 25-23 to the Marauders.

 

In the second set, the game was dictated by McMaster in the early going as they took a lead into the opening break. But with McMaster up 22-17, the Varsity Reds finally got rolling. And did they ever.

 

With Jacob Kilpatrick leading the charge from the serving line, UNB went on a game-turning run that saw them score eight of the next nine points to take the set 25-23.

 

“We went on a nice 8-1 run,” McMorran said. “We served a little tougher. We made a couple of exceptional plays defensively and our block, which has been one of our strengths all season, was finally getting into some synchronicity there so we were able battle and win a close one.”  

 

With momentum back on the side of UNB, the Varsity Reds looked primed to build upon their second set rally in the third frame. Quickly UNB took a 3-1 lead in the third set, but their advantage was short-lived.

 

The Marauders tied it up with two straight points and, like the first two sets, once again took the lead by the first technical timeout. McMaster went on to win the set 25-16.

 

The fourth set was a mirror image of the third set as McMaster took a lead early and quickly pushed the game out of reach and eventually a 25-16 win.

 

The Varsity Reds were led by Julio Fernandez, who had 11 kills and eight digs, and Jacob Kilpatrick, who had eight kills, three aces and five blocks.

 

 

Kills: Julio Fernandez (11), Jacob Kilpatrick (8), John Sheehan (6), Tyler Veenhuis (6)

Points: Jacob Kilpatrick (14), Julio Fernandez (13)

Blocks: John Sheehan (6), Jacob Kilpatrick (5)

Digs: Kyle Blanchard (12)

Service aces: Jacob Kilpatrick (3)

Assists: Stephane Fontaine (33)

 

Player of the match: Julio Fernandez