SASKATOON (CIS) – Third-year outside hitter Ryan Sclater powered the Canada West-silver medalist Trinity Western University Spartans to a straight set 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-19) victory over the Quebec-champion Universite Laval Rouge et Or Thursday night at the 2015 CIS Men's Volleyball Championship.
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball/index
Trinity Western will face the Ontario champion and No. 1 seed McMaster Marauders in the second of two semifinal matches Friday night in the University of Saskatchewan Physical Activity Complex, with the first serve set for 8 p.m. (CST).
Sclater recorded a match-high 11 kills and six digs in the win. Named the player of the match for the Spartans, he also added two service aces and one block assist. CIS MVP Nicholas Del bianco added another 10 kills for Trinity Western.
Olivier Jannini led the Rouge et Or with nine kills, while Vincente Ignacio Parraguirre Villalobos added another seven. Bruno Lortie led Laval with seven digs.
"It was a good match for us," said Spartans head coach Ben Josephson. "The guys executed what we were trying to do tactically. We wanted to dictate the emotion of the match and I thought the guys did a good job of that."
Trinity Western jumped out to a large lead to start the match with an 8-2 lead. In the run, Del bianco tallied two kills. Service errors seemed to be a problem for both teams with eight in the set. Laval couldn't recover from the early lead the Spartans built, losing 25-14.
The Spartans once again jumped to an early lead in the second set taking a 10-1 lead and not looking back to win 25-14.
Laval was able to stay closer with the Spartans in the deciding third match. Bruno Lortie tied the set at 12 with an attack Trinity Western couldn't dig. A Blake Sheerhoorn kill and a Laval ball handling error on the next play gave the Spartans a 14-12 lead. The Rouge et Or player of the match Jannini pulled his team within one but trading service errors, Trinity Western stayed ahead 15-14. Scheerhoorn rallied his team and a kill started a six point run. The Rouge et Or couldn't recover from the large lead garnered by the Spartans. Trinity Western took the match with the 25-19 win.
Laval head coach Pascal Clement was disappointed with the loss.
"I would like to congratulate the Trinity Western team," he said. "This was one of the worst performances our team has had. I hope the returning players can learn from the hardships."
Laval will drop to the consolation semifinal to face the host-Saskatchewan Huskies, who lost in three sets to McMaster.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball/2015/championship
Trinity Western
Kills: Ryan Sclater (11), Nicholas Del bianco (10)
Points: Ryan Sclater (13.5)
Blocks: Blake Scheerhoorn, Daniel Grant (5)
Digs: Ryan Sclater (6)
Service aces: Adam Schriemer, Ryan Sclater (2)
Player of the match: Ryan Sclater
Laval
Kills: Olivier Jannini (9)
Points: Olivier Jannini (9.5)
Blocks: Bruno Lortie (1)
Digs: Bruno Lortie (1)
Service aces: None
Player of the match: Olivier Jannini
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times CENTRAL TIME)
Thursday, February 26
13:00 Quarter-final #1: Dalhousie 3, York 2 (25-23, 25-19, 25-27, 16-25, 15-13)
15:00 Quarter-final #2: Alberta 3, Waterloo 0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-22)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: Trinity Western 3, Laval 0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-19)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: No 8 Saskatchewan vs. No. 1 McMaster (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Friday, February 27
13:00 Consolation #1: No. 7 York vs. No. 6 Waterloo (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Consolation #2: No. 4 Laval vs. No. 8 Saskatchewan (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:00 Semifinal #1: No. 3 Alberta vs. No. 2 Dalhousie (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
20:00 Semifinal #2: No. 5 Trinity Western vs. No. 1 McMaster (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Saturday, February 28
14:00 5th place (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
16:00 Bronze medal (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
19:00 Championship final (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
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