Men’s volleyball face Avalanche challenge
By Davie Wong, Sports Editor
For the men’s volleyball team, the bye week was a chance for the small team to build back their strength and continue to work on their basics. After a nice 2–0 week against the Bearcats, some R&R was nice, but they came back into the season against a closely-trailing College of the Rockies squad.
Knowing that a loss would tie the two teams in the standings, the guys got off to a hot start. However, the Avalanche snapped back a couple of times during the first set. Using their momentum, the Royals were able to close out the game with a, 25–21 set win. The second set saw the College of the Rockies squad find their form and crash back into the game with a huge showing. They overcame the momentum of the game, bounced back into the game with a 25–22 set win.
From there, the Royals turned the knob on their performance and brought it to the next level. They never let the Avalanche control the ball for more than a few points, and absolutely locked them down in the third set. The Royals would go on to take the set 25–14.The fourth set was a continuation of the third where the Royals just ran over the Avalanche, finishing the game with a 25–16 set win, and a final score of 3–1.
The next day, the Avalanche came back to avenge their loss. It was a thrilling start to the game as both teams traded sets to start the match. The Royals took the first set 25–16, while the Avalanche took the second 25–16. The third set was much closer as the game began to ramp up. However, the Royals managed to grab the set win, taking it 25–21.
The Avalanche would not be beaten so easily, though. They battled their way through the fourth set fighting to stay in the game, and eventually were able to come out on top with a 25–22 win to force a fifth and final set. It wasn’t a smooth start for the Royals like they hoped, and they fell behind early. But the Royals are fighters, and they clawed their way back in the set. With the game down to game point, and the Royals still far behind, it would take a massive effort for the home team to come back. And a massive effort it was, as the Royals came just one point away from tying the game at 14. However, in the most anti-dramatic way, the Royals lost to a floundered ball that the ref happened to miss, which resulted in the Avalanche scoring the game-winning point.
The series split keeps the Royals in the middle of the table, tied for fourth/fifth place with the Capilano Blues. Camosun sits ahead of them by four wins, and the College of the Rockies sit below them, trailing by one win.
