2020 ACAC Men's Volleyball Championships - Day two recap

The Murray Chevrolet Cadillac 2020 ACAC Men's Volleyball Championships are underway at Lethbridge College!

The conference top eight teams are battling through three days of action to crown a champion. The two finalists will both advance to the CCAA championships hosted by St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B.

Quarterfinals took place on Thursday. Today is semifinal Friday, with medal games on Saturday. More information is available on the tournament website.

Here are the results from the second day of action:

(S3) SAIT Trojans 0
(S1) Lethbridge Kodiaks 3

(25-23, 25-18, 27-25)

Semifinal #2

He may be the ACAC’s all-time kills leader, but on the biggest point of the season, it was Carter Hansen’s defense that made the difference. Hansen’s block sealed the fate for the Lethbridge College Kodiaks who advance to the final of the Murray Chevrolet Cadillac ACAC Men’s Volleyball Championship with a 3-0 sweep of rival SAIT. The win came in front of a full and loud home crowd in Lethbridge’s Val Matteotti Gymnasium.

With the win, the Kodiaks clinch a berth to the CCAA national championships in Fredericton, N.B.

“It wasn't just our team on the floor tonight, every single Kodiaks athlete felt that win,” says Greg Gibos, Kodiaks head coach. “Every team was here to cheer and everyone was enjoying the moment. And it created one of the best atmospheres I think the country has probably had seen all year.”

Early on, the Trojans looked like they might send the home crowd home disappointed as they led for the majority of the first set and by as many as six points. But the Kodiaks chipped away and finally equalized the match at 20 points apiece, before going on to a 25-23 win. It was Hansen (fifth year, General Studies, Magrath) who started things off strong with seven kills and one block in the opening set, while his teammate Michael Hummel (fifth-year, General Studies, Picture Butte) contributed four kills. SAIT shared the offensive strength across their squad.

The Kodiaks rode that momentum into the second set as they took an early lead and never looked back in a 25-18 win. Twelve unforced errors by SAIT, many of them on the serve, cost them the set. The Kodiaks Quinn Buchanan (second year, General Studies, Lethbridge), a 6’3” middle hitter, had three kills and two blocks. SAIT’s Riley Grusing (third year, Civil Engineering, Calgary) led his team with three kills and two blocks.

The Kodiaks let SAIT back into the third set after Lethbridge had a five-point lead late in the game. Hansen led the Kodiaks in the third set with three kills and two blocks, including the deciding point. It was SAIT’s Jarett Noel (third year, Geographic Information Systems, Calgary) who led his team with three kills. SAIT had 13 errors and the Kodiaks had 10 to keep it interesting as the Kodiaks finally prevailed 27-25.

“We missed 25 serves, but we've beat this team when we've missed 25 serves,” said Trojans head coach Dallas Soonias. “So it's not the serves that we missed, it's that we didn't make enough of our serves in the first series. It's hard to push a team back when we're missing our first serves.”

SAIT’s Grusing has a game-high 12 kills, while Hansen had 11 to lead the Kodiaks.

“Nationals will be fun, but our mindset right now is totally on tomorrow's game,” said Hansen. “We want to win that battle to get the highest seed possible at nationals and also win a banner in this gym. I'm really excited for tomorrow.”

The Kodiaks now play in the ACAC championship game for the second-straight year, after a silver medal performance last season. They will take on the Red Deer College Kings in the championship at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Trojans will face Briercrest in the bronze medal game at 3 p.m.

Players of the game:

SAIT: Riley Grusing
Lethbridge: Carter Hansen

(S4) Briercrest Clippers 0
(S2) Red Deer Kings 3

(25-20, 25-13, 25-19)

Semifinal #1

With an emphatic final kill, Patrik Toze secured the Red Deer Kings a berth in the national championship. The big smash by Toze (fourth year, Bachelor of Kinesiology, Brisbane, Australia) finished off a straight-sets win for the Kings over the Briercrest Clippers in the first semifinal of the Murray Chevrolet Cadillac 2020 ACAC Men’s Volleyball Championships. The win returns Red Deer to the ACAC championship game for the first time in three seasons, following a run of seven-straight years playing for a title.

The victory also means the Kings qualify for the national championships in Fredericton, N.B., as the ACAC has a wildcard berth this year.

“Our maturity showed through tonight,” said Kings head coach Aaron Schulha. “We were really good from the service line and got some timely blocks and digs at the end of the first set, which allowed us to build momentum and we kind of carried that all the way through.”

The first set stayed within two points the entire way, until the very end when the Kings opened it up for a 25-20 win. ACAC Player of the Year Karym Coleman (second year, BA Business Administration, Belize City, Belize) did what he could for the Clippers, firing eight kills, but ACAC south division Rookie of the Year Carter Hills (first year, Bachelor of Education Science, Legal, AB) responded with six kills for the Kings.

In the second set, the Kings got out to an early lead and never looked back, cruising to a 25-13 win. Ben Holmes (fourth year, Bachelor of Arts, Red Deer) had two kills and one ace, while Toze added two more kills. Bryton Codd (second year, MA Leadership and Management, Belize City, Belize) led the Clippers with three kills, but a six-point tear by Red Deer near the end dashed any hopes of a Clippers comeback.

“Credit to Red Deer, I thought they blocked really well,” said Clippers head coach Nigel Mullan. “They had a good jump on it and they pass well. They were a very formidable opponent, hats off to them.”

In the third, the Kings established themselves early on and the Clippers were never able to recover, as Red Deer earned the sweep with a 25-19 win. Toze once again led the Kings with four of his team-high 12 kills. Coleman added four kills of his own, part of his game-high 16, but it was not enough to get the win.

“Our captains have done a really good job with this group,” said Schulha. “Getting second at nationals at home last year left a little chip on the shoulder of the returning guys. So we’ve worked every day to try and get back there and they've earned that, which is awesome.”

The Red Deer Kings will play for gold at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday against either Lethbridge College or SAIT. The Kings won seven-straight conference medals from 2011 to 2017, including a span of four gold medals in five years. The Clippers will play for bronze at 3 p.m.

Players of the game:

Briercrest: Karym Coleman
Red Deer: Patrik Toze

(N3) The King's Eagles 0
(N1) NAIT Ooks 3

(25-18, 29-27, 25-16)

Consolation game #1

The NAIT Ooks spooked The King’s University Eagles with a scary good defensive performance to earn a straight-sets victory in the first consolation semifinal of the Murray Chevrolet Cadillac 2020 ACAC Men’s Volleyball Championship. The win keeps the Ooks season alive and means they will be in action on Saturday.

“Our ability to stay resilient made the difference,” said Ooks head coach Greg Gulash. “It's one game that obviously we weren't wanting to play in, but when our guys go out there, they just love the sport and enjoy playing it and any chance to get they want to make the most of the opportunity.”

The first set went back-and-forth with the Ooks taking an early lead before the Eagles soared back to tie it up. But in the late going, NAIT created separation, taking advantage of 11 unforced King’s errors, along with two key blocks from Mitch Lewington (fourth year, Architectural Technology, Perth, Australia) and three kills from Spencer Fisher (fifth year, Bachelor of Applied Business Administration, Barrhead) to help them to a 25-18 win. 

In the second set, NAIT again grabbed an early lead, but the Eagles would not go away. King’s was again plagued by errors, but a great effort by outside hitter Jayden Hiebert (second year, Business, Stony Plain), who had three kills and two aces, helped the Eagles push the set to the distance. The teams traded points in the late going before NAIT eventually persevered 29-27. In the third set, NAIT’s offense opened up. Oliver McSwain (fifth year, Open Studies, Fort Smith, N.W.T.) had four kills, Fisher had three kills, one block and one tip, and Daniel Ward (second year, Personal Fitness Trainer, St. Albert) had two kills and an early block. NAIT won the last set 25-16 to sweep the match.

“We're blessed to be able to attend the championships,” said Eagles head coach Patrick Winand. “We know that only half the teams from each division can go, so we're very grateful for our spot. We soaked in the experience, we're taking every ounce of it back to Edmonton and we’re going to train that much harder for next year.”

The Eagles’ Tanner Piers (second year, Social Sciences, Edmonton) had a game-high 13 kills, while Fisher led NAIT with eight kills.

The Ooks will play in the consolation final at 1 p.m. on Saturday against Keyano College. The season has come to an end for The King’s Eagles.

Players of the game:

King’s: Jayden Hiebert
NAIT: Oliver McSwain 

(N4) Lakeland Rustlers 0
(N2) Keyano Huskies 3

(25-20, 25-23, 25-23)

Consolation game #2

The defending champions didn’t want their season to end with a whimper, so instead, the Keyano Huskies let out a growl and swept the Lakeland Rustlers to earn a spot in the consolation final of the Murray Chevrolet Cadillac 2020 ACAC Men’s Volleyball Championships.

“It's always nice to beat a north division opponent we've seen a lot,” said Huskies coach Keegan Kuhr. “They're a good team, they're a scrappy defensive team and they play around their big middles pretty well. So it's nice for our guys to come out and respond and take care of business today.”

Despite the sweep, the win didn’t come easy for the Huskies as the Rustlers made each set close. In the opening set, ACAC north division rookie of the year Joao Cunha (first year, College Prep, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) led the Huskies with three kills from the left side, along with one block and an ace. Third year middle Don Campbell (third year, Open Studies, Beauval, Sask.) chipped in with two kills, one block, an ace and a tip.

A competitive second set saw the Rustlers push the Huskies throughout, led by three kills from Matt Peck (fourth year, Business Administration, Montrose, Australia). In his return to southern Alberta, local product Cameron Visscher (third year, Education, Coaldale) led the Keyano attack with three kills in a 25-23 Huskies win.  

It was another close set in the third, but once again the Huskies found a way to close it out. Cunha led the way for Keyano with five kills, Athus Silva (first year, College Prep, Sao Paulo, Brazil) chipped in with four kills, while Trey Weinmeier (third year, University Studies, Edmonton, AB) had three kills and two aces in another 25-23 win that clinched the match and ended Lakeland’s season.

“I think they should be pretty proud of themselves as far as where they brought this program and the culture that they've changed,” said Rustlers head coach Taylor Dyer. “Almost all of them are coming back next year, so I think it's exciting. They’ve got a taste of what it feels like to play at the highest level at a conference championships, so, hopefully they're excited.”

Peck led the Rustlers with eight kills. Weinmeier had a team-high nine kills for Keyano who now face NAIT in the consolation final at 1 p.m. on Saturday.   

Players of the game:

Lakeland: Abner Jean Carlos Funez Raudales
Keyano: Trey Weinmeier