Men's Volleyball extends streak to three with win over Redeemer
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Redeemer (3-7, 3-7) | 11 | 25 | 22 | 15 | 1 |
|
Humber (5-4, 5-4) | 25 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
By: Fernando Bossoes
Humber Athletics Communications
ETOBICOKE – Humber men's volleyball (5-4, 7th West) cruised past the Redeemer Royals (3-7, 8th West) on Saturday afternoon in four sets (25-11, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15) at the Hawks' Nest. Marcus Morgan paced the way for the Hawks with a match-high 17 points, while Gabriel Mendes added ten points of his own.
Match Recap
After two weeks on the road, Humber returned to the Hawks' Nest to face the Redeemer Royals. With the Royals arriving in Etobicoke with back-to-back losses, the Hawks saw this matchup as their ideal opportunity to extend their winning streak to three and get revenge on a loss earlier in the season.
Humber would not wait to put on a show at the Hawks' Nest, pushing strong early in the game with Brazilian-born Gabriel Mendes leading the Hawks with three kills in a 12-7 run. Middle Nazyr Francis would say no to the Royals' offence, as he would jump high to block and force Redeemer to call a timeout with Humber up 16-8. After the timeout, Teyven Blackmore would set the green light up for the Hawks to take off, as he would smash an ace down the floor. Senior player Maximum Crowder would come in mid-game to lead the Hawks to a commanding set victory with four kills, 25-11.
Looking to keep up with the excellent performance of the Hawks, the Royals came out strong for the second, and the crowd would see an intense and tight match as the score read 17-17. No team could jump ahead to a comfortable lead, so coach Wayne Wilkins would call a timeout to bring the Hawks together. The Hawks struggled to keep performance after the timeout and would see the Royals jump ahead by three points. Teyven Blackmore would score, followed by Alec Loney's ace to trim the lead down to one and force Redeemer to stop the game. The Hawks would jump ahead by one point, but the Royals pushed strong, came back from behind and closed the set with a 25-23 win.
The Hawks returned for the third, knowing they had to spice up their game if they wanted something in this matchup. Fort Erie-born Marcus Morgan was all business from the end line, landing the ball twice in back-to-back aces to put the Hawks up 6-2. The set seemed to be going in the same direction as the second, but the Hawks had points in stock to jump ahead by seven, 16-9. After Redeemer called a timeout, the Royals would return strong with an 11-9 run, but the Hawks would still step one point away from closing the set. Redeemer would scare the Hawks' fans in the crowd as they would cut the lead down to two, but Nazyr Francis came out clutch, fooling the block and landing the ball to capture the set for Humber, 25-22.
The Hawks were back for the fourth set, looking to wrap up the game and extend their win streak to three. With both grabbing two kills each, a powerful start from Gabriel Mendes and Nazyr Francis would force Redeemer to call a timeout as the score read 8-2. This would not change the game scenario, as the Hawks would return stronger on a 16-13 run, being one away from winning the game. Gabriel Mendes could not stop scoring, as he would smash a hard-driven spike down the floor to drive the Hawks to their third-consecutive win, 25-15.
Nazyr Francis was named the Hawks Player of the Game, grabbing six kills, two assists and two digs.
Humber Highlights
- Humber improves to 36-20 all-time against Redeemer.
- Teyven Blackmore finished with a career-high nine digs in the win.
- Humber's three-match win streak is tied for the longest in the OCAA.
- Marcus Morgan is now tied with teammate Jake Butt for fourth place in the conference with a 0.56 SA/S average.
What's next?
Humber will be back at the Hawks' Nest to take the Niagara Knights (6-2, 2nd West) on Thursday, Nov. 30. The first serve is set for 8 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hawks Sports Network.
