On November 10, the St. Clair Saints defeated the Redeemer Royals men's volleyball team 3-1 in Windsor, Ont. At that time, the Royals had a record of 1-2. Since that time, Redeemer has knocked out 11 straight wins for a 12-2 record. The Saints almost ended what they started back in November, but a resilient Royals team fought back from being down 2-1, to win 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in front of the home crowd.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan on Saturday as the Royals won the first set 25-20. The next two sets however, saw the Saints win in extra points 30-28 and 26-24 to put the Royals on their heels. Unforced errors kept St. Clair in the match as Redeemer seemed unable to keep the ball in play. The Saints were able to capitalize on Redeemer's mistakes and led by outside hitter Tom Charbonneau (15 kills), St. Clair found them in a position to win the game as they did in the first semester.
However, even despite the poor play by the men's team, the Royals showed their resiliency and continued to scrap out points. Second-year setter Jake Klassen (Surrey, B.C.) was able to spread out the offence and the Royals found a way to keep themselves in the match. Three players had double-digit kills for Redeemer as the Royals battled hard taking the fourth set 25-22 and the fifth set 15-11. Like they have all season, once again Redeemer proved that even not playing at their best, they have the ability to find a way to win.
The 'Klassen to Klomps' combination was once again too strong for the opponents as David Klomps (Surrey, B.C.) finished with 22 kills and 24 total points. Aaron Vanderlugt (Burlington, Ont.) had 14 points and Eric Heidbuurt (Waterdown, Ont.) had 12.
Redeemer head coach Wayne Harris had high praise for his starting setter as one of the reasons the Royals record is what it is. "Jake runs our offence with startling efficiency", said Harris. "He is at 60 percent side-out efficiency against the top team in the OCAA West. He continues to confound opposing blockers, generating one-on-one hitting opportunities for our guys. He also defends position one very, very well."
Klassen and the Royals also picked up a win on Friday night against the Fanshawe Falcons. Game scores were 25-17, 25-23, and 25-22 as the Royals swept their opponent 3-0.
Calvin Fast (St. Catharines, Ont.) and David Klomps each had 11 points while Eric Heidbuurt had a game-high 15 points for Redeemer. Libero Jesse Dykxhoorn (Holland Marsh, Ont.) also had a strong match both on Friday and Saturday as he led both teams, both nights in digs.
With the two wins, the Royals continue to sit in first place in the OCAA West.
Redeemer will now turn their attention to arguably their biggest match of the season as they travel to Niagara College on Friday to square off against the second place Knights. Niagara is pushing for a first place finish of their own as they currently sit at 11-3. The Knights are on a six-game win streak and have not lost since November 30 when they were defeated at Redeemer by the Royals 3-2.
Game time on Friday is 8 p.m.
Source: Redeemer University College