The Lancer men's volleyball team split their opening weekend of 2019 with a 3-0 loss to McMaster and a 3-1 win over Brock this weekend on the road.
 
SATURDAY @ McMASTER
In the first set the Lancers started out strong, with a kill from Brad Gyemi to start things off and give them a slight lead to start the game. McMaster's Craig Ireland made quick work of the Lancers lead, however, and put the Marauders out in front positioning them to take the set 25-14.
 
The Lancers started the second set in forgettable fashion, committing a host of service errors. Despite the tough start the blue and gold fought back to make a set out of it, tying the set at 11. The Lancers and Marauders held tough matching each other on each of the points. The Lancers errors reared their head again as they faltered late and lost the set 29-27, going down 2-0 in the match.
 
The third set started in strong fashion for the visitors as they worked their way out to a 3-0 lead before the Marauders began to claw back. The Lancers stayed in front until the Marauders tied the set up at 13. What ensued was a McMaster run that showed entirely why they are ranked nationally, opening a large lead and taking the set 25-19 and beating the Lancers 3-0.
 
McMaster's Craig Ireland and Matt Passalent each had 10 kills to lead all scorers. The Lancers were led by Pierce Johnson and his nine kills. Roland Bouchard was the best defensive player on the court with 10 digs. McMaster was paced by Connor Santoni with eight digs. The Marauders were the far more efficient side scoring double the kill percentage of the Lancers .211 to .100 per cent.
 
SUNDAY @ BROCK
The Lancers started hot against the Badgers jumping out to an early lead. Brad Gyemi was the best offensive Lancer on the floor in the first set. The Badgers fired back but at the technical timeout Windsor held a slim 16-15 lead. The Badgers however, made a late push to steal the set and put themselves up 1-0 in the match, 25-22.
 
The Lancers came out on fire in the early going of the second set as well, again jumping out to an early lead. Again, at the technical timeout the Lancers held a slim two-point lead. In this set however, the Lancers managed to hold on, going on an impressive run to close out the set 25-18 to tie the match up.
 
In the third Windsor once again had a hot start. Their offensive production throughout the set including a nice ace by Nolan Langley. The Lancers also worked hard on the defensive end, taking the set by a comfortable 25-17 margin.
 
The fourth set was mostly blue and gold the whole way. The Lancers played their best set of volleyball of their last six sets. Brad Gyemi was unstoppable down the stretch as he and the blue and gold took the set 25-16 to win the match 3-1.
 
UP NEXT
The blue and gold are off until January 27th when they host the Trent Excalibur at 3:00pm at the St. Denis Centre. Tickets for the game can be purchased at www.goLancers.ca/tickets and the game can also be seen live at www.oua.tv.