It was a bit of great, mixed with a bit of mediocre this past weekend as the Royals men's volleyball team hosted two of the province's top ranked teams. Friday saw the Royals dominate the #5 OCAA ranked St. Clair Saints, playing one of their best matches of the season. Unable to keep the momentum going, Redeemer then stumbled against the #2 OCAA ranked Falcons on Saturday, struggling to a 3-1 loss.
After dispatching of the Saints 3-0 Friday night, the Royals looked to be in control as things got underway against Fanshawe Saturday afternoon. Climbing out to a 17-12 lead in the first set, the Royals closed out the first game 25-20. From there, Fanshawe was able to put some sustained pressure on Redeemer and the hosts could not respond. The Falcons held the Royals to just 12 and 13 points in the 2nd and 3rd sets. Redeemer looked to steady the match in the 4th set but ultimately fell 25-21.
It was Redeemer's first loss in their last 5 matches.
Linden Bontkes had 10 kills in the loss.
On Friday night, Redeemer played one of their most complete games of the season, defeating the Saints with set scores of 25-19, 25-12, and 25-20. The Saints entered the match having dropped just one match thus far in 2017-18, a 3-1 decision to the Sheridan Bruins.
4 Redeemer Royals hit double-figures in the match. Mitch Harris had 13,
Zacc Burke added 11, while both
Linden Bontkes and Jeff Ekeanyanwui had 10.
The Royals will now turn their attention to this upcoming weekend as they host their final two matches of the semester before heading out for a final road game on November 30th. On Friday, the Mohawk Mountaineers will make a stop at Redeemer, looking to improve on their 3-3 record. On Saturday Redeemer will host the 2-4 Conestoga Condors.