Two teams moving in opposite directions was the theme of last night's volleyball games for the Redeemer Royals. The Royals traveled to Niagara College's Welland Campus for 2 crucial games and came out with a split decision on Wednesday night. The Lady Royals took their match 3-1 while the Men's team were swept 3-0 by the Knights.
The Women's team has now won 4 in a row and 7 of their last 8 matches while the Men's team has dropped 3 of their last 5. The Men's team continues to struggle on the road going 5-4 in the 2013-2014 season.
The Redeemer Men's team opened up the game on Wednesday night strong and held a lead late in both the 1st and 2nd sets. The night looked like it could easily extend into a grueling 4 or 5 set match. However the strong attack of the Knights proved to be too much for Redeemer as they were unable to close out either game losing their leads in both games.
Redeemer dropped both the 1st and 2nd games 25-22.
Deflated, Redeemer fell behind early in the 3rd set as Niagara took control of the match. Defeated the Royals struggled to keep pace and for the second time this season, lost to the Knights. The score of the third game was 25-13.
Kevin Semplonius had a team-high 10 points for Redeemer.
Used to being one of the top teams in the difficult West division, the Royals have struggled to win matches this season against the top teams in the league recording 2 losses to Humber, 2 losses to Niagara, and 1 loss to Fanshawe.
Despite a difficult stretch of games for the Men's team, the group still sits comfortably in a playoff spot with a 9-6 record. Redeemer occupies 5th place in the West and has an 8 point cushion over the 7th place Sheridan Bruins. The Royals will have to be careful during their final 3 league games of the season as each loss puts them into a position where they will have to face a more difficult opponent in an OCAA crossover match. Similarly, each win could provide a better playoff fate.
Whatever the road may be to the 2014 OCAA Men's Volleyball Championships, the Royals can not be counted out, having done well in the past embracing the underdog role. The Royals finished the 2010-2011 season with an 8-10 record, won their playoff crossover match, entered the Championships seeded 8th, and won their first ever Division I silver medal.
The Redeemer Royals Women's team ran their record to 11-4 with their win against the Knights and now sit 1 win away from recording their
highest win total in program history.
Usually taking the backseat to the Men's teams success, the Women's team is receiving much of the attention in 2013-2014. The Lady Royals boast a home record of 5-1 and with their win on Wednesday night, sit in 3rd place in the OCAA West. The Royals are 4 points behind 2nd place Fanshawe. Redeemer hosts Fanshawe College on February 8th.
After dropping the first set on Wednesday night, the Royals stormed back to take the next 3 sets in dominating fashion. Game scores were 23-25, 25-11, 25-14, and 25-19.
Curtiss Straatsma led the Royals in scoring with 18 points but it was the teams defense that was most impressive against the Knights. The Royals dominated at the net with 14 blocks (to Niagara's 4) and recorded 52 digs as a team.
Charlene De Vries and Jocelyn Klompmaker each added 10 points in the win for Redeemer.
The Royals return to action on February 5th for 2 crucial games against the Mohawk Mountaineers. The battle of the mountain takes place at Redeemer with games at 6pm and 8pm. The Royals swept the Mountaineers before Christmas at Mohawk.
