Showing posts with label Joren Zeeman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joren Zeeman. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Campus Corner: Zeeman named All-Canadian
A quick note that Queen's men's volleyball outside hitter Joren Zeeman was selected as a second-team All-Canadian tonight. Zeeman was named the CIS Rookie of the Year last season and was even better this year; he was the primary weapon in the Gaels' arsenal and led them to the OUA Final. He'll be one to watch in the years to come. I have the full list of All-Canadians and award winners over at The CIS Blog with some more detailed analysis.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Upcoming live blog of Queen's-McMaster volleyball
I’ll be live-blogging Game II of the OUA men’s volleyball finals tonight between Queen’s and McMaster. The game starts at 7. It’s also going to be webcast on SSN Canada. McMaster won Round I pretty handily [myself, Queen’s Journal] on Tuesday, so it will be interesting to see if the Gaels can bounce back and force a third match on Saturday. McMaster’s only lost one match at home (regular-season and playoffs) in the past two seasons, though, so it’s not going to be easy. The key players and aspects to watch are detailed below.
For Queen’s:
Joren Zeeman: When Zeeman’s hot, he’s almost unstoppable. He was the CIS rookie of the year last year and earned Queen’s lone OUA first-team all-star nod this season. He led the team with 209 kills this year. He also had 16 kills in their win over Waterloo Saturday and another 19 kills on 36 attempts against McMaster Tuesday. Queen’s is likely to go to him early and often.
Jeff DeMeza: DeMeza brings five years of experience to the table and can be a great hitter. He finished the regular season with 195 kills, second only to Zeeman on the Gaels. McMaster shut him down pretty effectively Tuesday, so you can bet he’ll be looking for a bounce-back game. It’s the fifth year in a row that he’ll be going up against McMaster in the playoffs, so he’s used to this rivalry.
Dan Rosenbaum: Rosenbaum is one of the largest changes to the team this year, as he’s stepped into the shoes of graduated All-Canadian setter Devon Miller. He’s handled the pressure very effectively so far, but this will be the highest-pressure match he’ll have started in. It will be interesting to see how he responds.
Michael Amoroso: Amoroso’s done a very good job in the middle in his two years with Queen’s so far. He only started part of the time last year thanks to the presence of fifth-year middle hitters Chris Vandyk and Nick Gralewicz, but was very effective when he hit the court. This year, he’s taken it to another level and has become quite the offensive threat. He’s dealing with a banged-up ankle, though, so he won’t be at full strength.
Stu Hamilton: One of the keys to success against McMaster is keeping the ball in play; they’re very strong defensively, so they’re likely to get two to three attack opportunities per point. For Queen’s to stay with them, their defensive game will have to be impeccable, and Hamilton is a big part of that. He was selected as the OUA Libero of the Year last season, and has played well this year despite some injuries. His defence may be crucial.
The serving game: The Gaels have focused on a high-risk, high-reward aggressive serving strategy all year. When it works, it works very well; they pick up a few aces and get the other team off-balance on several other opportunities. When it doesn’t work, though, they commit a lot of errors and wind up in big trouble. Tuesday’s game was a case in point; they served well for the first set and only committed one error, but then committed nine errors over the next three sets.
Effective blocking: Another area that was lacking on Tuesday was the Gaels’ blocking game. McMaster ran several effective deception plays to isolate their hitters one-on-one against Queen’s blockers, and they generally worked. Queen’s will have to watch for unexpected hitters coming out of the back row and deceptive setting strategies.
For McMaster:
Jeremy Groenveld: Groenveld was a one-man wrecking crew for the Marauders on Tuesday, recording 22 kills on 36 attempts and adding 11 digs and three blocks. He was one of the Marauders’ three players selected to the OUA first all-star team and has been a crucial presence for them all year, leading the team with 164 kills. He’ll need to have a big game for them to have success.
Nathan Groenveld: Last year’s OUA MVP also had another strong season for the Marauders, racking up 132 kills and 35 blocks from the middle hitter spot, and was also selected to the first all-star team. He was pretty quiet on Tuesday, though, so it will be interesting to see if they go to him more tonight.
Peter Hrkal: Left-side hitter Hrkal was McMaster’s third player named to the first all-star team. He’s had a good season and has played a more prominent role for the team this year thanks to the graduation of Parish Offer, putting up 151 kills and 18 blocks. He’ll be another one to watch.
Ryan Hudson: McMaster’s fourth-year setter proved to be a master of illusion on Tuesday, executing some great deceptive plays to isolate his hitters against solo blocks. His success or failure at that may prove crucial tonight.
Tyler Santoni: The 6’8’’ Santoni doesn’t get a ton of attention for his play in the middle thanks to sharing a court with Nathan Groenveld, but he’s proven very effective over his three years with the Marauders. He had a solid game Tuesday and provides another strong attacking option.
Josh Lichty: The younger brother of Queen’s captain Luke Lichty cracked McMaster’s starting lineup last year in his rookie season, never an easy feat. He’s improved his play even more this year, putting up 112 kills on the season, and has become another dangerous attacking option.
The crowd: McMaster is famed for having tough crowds, especially when it gets to this point of the year. If the crowd’s anything like the one they had last season for the finals, it’s going to be an intimidating environment for the Gaels. This is still a pretty young Queen’s team, so we’ll have to see how they respond to that pressure.
For Queen’s:
Joren Zeeman: When Zeeman’s hot, he’s almost unstoppable. He was the CIS rookie of the year last year and earned Queen’s lone OUA first-team all-star nod this season. He led the team with 209 kills this year. He also had 16 kills in their win over Waterloo Saturday and another 19 kills on 36 attempts against McMaster Tuesday. Queen’s is likely to go to him early and often.
Jeff DeMeza: DeMeza brings five years of experience to the table and can be a great hitter. He finished the regular season with 195 kills, second only to Zeeman on the Gaels. McMaster shut him down pretty effectively Tuesday, so you can bet he’ll be looking for a bounce-back game. It’s the fifth year in a row that he’ll be going up against McMaster in the playoffs, so he’s used to this rivalry.
Dan Rosenbaum: Rosenbaum is one of the largest changes to the team this year, as he’s stepped into the shoes of graduated All-Canadian setter Devon Miller. He’s handled the pressure very effectively so far, but this will be the highest-pressure match he’ll have started in. It will be interesting to see how he responds.
Michael Amoroso: Amoroso’s done a very good job in the middle in his two years with Queen’s so far. He only started part of the time last year thanks to the presence of fifth-year middle hitters Chris Vandyk and Nick Gralewicz, but was very effective when he hit the court. This year, he’s taken it to another level and has become quite the offensive threat. He’s dealing with a banged-up ankle, though, so he won’t be at full strength.
Stu Hamilton: One of the keys to success against McMaster is keeping the ball in play; they’re very strong defensively, so they’re likely to get two to three attack opportunities per point. For Queen’s to stay with them, their defensive game will have to be impeccable, and Hamilton is a big part of that. He was selected as the OUA Libero of the Year last season, and has played well this year despite some injuries. His defence may be crucial.
The serving game: The Gaels have focused on a high-risk, high-reward aggressive serving strategy all year. When it works, it works very well; they pick up a few aces and get the other team off-balance on several other opportunities. When it doesn’t work, though, they commit a lot of errors and wind up in big trouble. Tuesday’s game was a case in point; they served well for the first set and only committed one error, but then committed nine errors over the next three sets.
Effective blocking: Another area that was lacking on Tuesday was the Gaels’ blocking game. McMaster ran several effective deception plays to isolate their hitters one-on-one against Queen’s blockers, and they generally worked. Queen’s will have to watch for unexpected hitters coming out of the back row and deceptive setting strategies.
For McMaster:
Jeremy Groenveld: Groenveld was a one-man wrecking crew for the Marauders on Tuesday, recording 22 kills on 36 attempts and adding 11 digs and three blocks. He was one of the Marauders’ three players selected to the OUA first all-star team and has been a crucial presence for them all year, leading the team with 164 kills. He’ll need to have a big game for them to have success.
Nathan Groenveld: Last year’s OUA MVP also had another strong season for the Marauders, racking up 132 kills and 35 blocks from the middle hitter spot, and was also selected to the first all-star team. He was pretty quiet on Tuesday, though, so it will be interesting to see if they go to him more tonight.
Peter Hrkal: Left-side hitter Hrkal was McMaster’s third player named to the first all-star team. He’s had a good season and has played a more prominent role for the team this year thanks to the graduation of Parish Offer, putting up 151 kills and 18 blocks. He’ll be another one to watch.
Ryan Hudson: McMaster’s fourth-year setter proved to be a master of illusion on Tuesday, executing some great deceptive plays to isolate his hitters against solo blocks. His success or failure at that may prove crucial tonight.
Tyler Santoni: The 6’8’’ Santoni doesn’t get a ton of attention for his play in the middle thanks to sharing a court with Nathan Groenveld, but he’s proven very effective over his three years with the Marauders. He had a solid game Tuesday and provides another strong attacking option.
Josh Lichty: The younger brother of Queen’s captain Luke Lichty cracked McMaster’s starting lineup last year in his rookie season, never an easy feat. He’s improved his play even more this year, putting up 112 kills on the season, and has become another dangerous attacking option.
The crowd: McMaster is famed for having tough crowds, especially when it gets to this point of the year. If the crowd’s anything like the one they had last season for the finals, it’s going to be an intimidating environment for the Gaels. This is still a pretty young Queen’s team, so we’ll have to see how they respond to that pressure.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
DeGroot named OUA libero of the year and other volleyball notes
Continuing in the vein of "high school classmates who are more successful than me", it was announced yesterday that my former high school volleyball teammate Gabe DeGroot earned the OUA libero of the year award [Guelph Mercury]. That's very impressive, as he's a CIS rookie. Before going to Guelph, Gabe was playing at King's College out in Edmonton (where other former Fraser Valley Christian players Joel VanHuizen and David Triemstra are still on the team). I ran into him earlier this year before a Gaels-Gryphons game and he said he was recruited by Guelph head coach Cal Wigston for his play in the college league; goes to show that you can find some quality talent in unconventional places. More impressive still is how well Gabe's adjusted to playing libero; I'm not sure where he was playing at King's, but he was primarily a setter with our high school team. It's great to see him come in and make an immediate impact in OUA volleyball, and according to Tony Saxon of the Guelph Mercury, it sounds like he'll be back next year.
That should be a very solid Gryphons team coming back next season. They did well this year before running into McMaster in the semi-finals, and they have an OUA All-Rookie team player in Winston Rosser and a second-team player in Kevin Stewart [Guelph Athletics]. It also goes to show the increasing parity [myself, Queen's Journal] in the OUA, which was further demonstrated this past week by Waterloo's upset of Western in the quarterfinals and narrow loss to Queen's in the semis. It's going to be a Queen's-McMaster clash in the finals yet again, but the other teams are getting closer, and that's a good thing for the state of volleyball in this province.
By the way, that final's going to be quite the battle, starting tonight at 7 p.m. here in Kingston. McMaster went 17-3 this year, while Queen's was 16-4. On the individual front, the Marauders have three OUA All-Stars [OUA release] (Jeremy Groenveld, Peter Hrkal and Nathan Groenveld), while the Gaels have two (Joren Zeeman and Jeff DeMeza]; all three of McMaster's players made the first team, while Zeeman was selected as a first-team all star and DeMeza was chosen for the second team. I'll be at tonight's game and should be able to put up a few thoughts after the game; I'm also hoping to go to Hamilton for the second and third (if needed) matches to provide coverage on those.
That should be a very solid Gryphons team coming back next season. They did well this year before running into McMaster in the semi-finals, and they have an OUA All-Rookie team player in Winston Rosser and a second-team player in Kevin Stewart [Guelph Athletics]. It also goes to show the increasing parity [myself, Queen's Journal] in the OUA, which was further demonstrated this past week by Waterloo's upset of Western in the quarterfinals and narrow loss to Queen's in the semis. It's going to be a Queen's-McMaster clash in the finals yet again, but the other teams are getting closer, and that's a good thing for the state of volleyball in this province.
By the way, that final's going to be quite the battle, starting tonight at 7 p.m. here in Kingston. McMaster went 17-3 this year, while Queen's was 16-4. On the individual front, the Marauders have three OUA All-Stars [OUA release] (Jeremy Groenveld, Peter Hrkal and Nathan Groenveld), while the Gaels have two (Joren Zeeman and Jeff DeMeza]; all three of McMaster's players made the first team, while Zeeman was selected as a first-team all star and DeMeza was chosen for the second team. I'll be at tonight's game and should be able to put up a few thoughts after the game; I'm also hoping to go to Hamilton for the second and third (if needed) matches to provide coverage on those.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Campus Corner: Amoroso and Zeeman named to National Junior Team
Photo: Mike Amoroso prepares to serve at the OUA finals in Hamilton (Andrew Bucholtz photo).
Some interesting news on the volleyball front. After a four-day selection camp that wrapped up Wednesday, Gaels' right-side hitter Joren Zeeman and middle hitter Mike Amoroso were both named to the Canadian Junior National Team. Both were able to crack the Queen's starting lineup as rookies this year and played major roles in the team's OUA silver medals. Zeeman finished fourth in OUA competition in points per game (3.95) and sixth in kills per game (3.30). He also recorded 17 service aces, thirteenth amongst OUA athletes and third on the Gaels behind veterans Jeff DeMeza and Devon Miller, and he earned the Alfie Pierce Trophy as Queen's top male rookie and was named the OUA rookie of the year in men's volleyball. Amoroso led the Gaels' hitters with a 0.430 kill percentage, which was the 13th-best recorded in OUA competition. He had an excellent year, and managed to earn his way into the regular starting lineup after the Christmas break, no easy feat considering that the Gaels had a pair of fifth-year veterans (Chris Vandyk and Nick Gralewicz) at middle as well.
This is a pretty significant honour for both guys. As the Volleyball Canada press release states, "The purpose of the Junior National Team Program to identify, select and train a group of young athletes who have future Senior National Team potential and offer them the opportunity to train and represent Canada in international competition at an earlier age." Thus, both Zeeman and Amoroso could eventually crack the full national team and have the opportunity to represent Canada at world championships or the Olympics.
Here's the full lineup of athletes selected:
LEFT SIDE:
Josh Lichty – St. Catherines, ON
Marc Howatson - Victoria, BC
Jason DeRocco - Winnipeg, MB
Gord Perrin - Creston, BC
Frederic Mondou - Longeuil, QC
RIGHT SIDE:
Joren Zeeman - Cambridge, ON
MIDDLE:
Mike Amoroso - Toronto, ON
Graham Vigrass - Calgary, AB
Rudy Verhoeff - Calgary, AB
Stéfan Savoie - Winnipeg, MB (alternate)
SETTERS:
Ciaran McGovern - Grand Prairie, AB
Jay Blankeneau - Edmonton, AB
LIBERO:
Pierre-Alexis Lapointe – La Malbaie, QC
Ryan Munt - Winnipeg, MB (alternate)
Head Coach: Chris Green – Winnipeg, MB
Assistant Coaches: Paul Armbruster – Lethbridge, AB
Luke Harris – St. John’s, NL
It's an impressive group. Four members of the CIS All-Rookie Team cracked the lineup: Zeeman, McMaster's Josh Lichty (brother of Queen's Luke Lichty), Thompson Rivers' Gord Perrin and Calgary's Ciaran McGovern. Amoroso will be competing with Calgary's Graham Vigrass and Trinity Western's Rudy Verhoeff at the middle position, while Thompson Rivers' Stefan Savoie will serve as an alternate. Zeeman is the only natural right-side hitter, meaning that one or more of the left-side hitters will likely be transferred to that side as a backup for him, but he should get a lot of the minutes there.
The main focus of this summer's program will be the 2008 NORCECA Junior Continental Championship, which takes place June 28 – July 6 El Salvador. The team will train together in Winnipeg until then.
Related:
-Volleyball Canada press release
-Queen's press release
Friday, February 08, 2008
Campus Corner: Men's volleyball wins in straight sets
Well, that was a surprise and a half: in what I had expected to be a protracted and hard-fought five-set duel between two 13-5 teams, the Gaels instead beat the Guelph Gryphons in straight sets Friday. The Gaels looked quite dominant at times, but I think it was more due to poor play from the Gryphons than a truly outstanding match on their part, as they never seemed to quite hit that top level they're very
capable of.
The first set was actually very close, but didn't produce a great clash due to sloppy play from both sides. By my count, Queen's committed five service errors in the set, while Guelph added six more: there were also far too many net violations, passing mistakes and hits out of bounds for both sides. The Gryphons took a 20-17 lead, but then let Queen's come back to tie, and the Gaels eventually claimed the set
27-25 off an odd play: outside hitter Joren Zeeman went up for a kill (at the middle position, of all places), and slammed the ball right into the Gryphon block, but it came off the block, bounced off his head, recrossed the net and fell for the crucial set-clinching point. He could be a soccer player with moves like that.
The second and third sets were a different story, though. Queen's play improved, while Guelph's dropped even lower. The teams were tied at 8 early on in the second frame, but Queen's went on a run and never looked back, winning 25-17 and 25-18 in the last two sets.
As an aside: OUA needs to work on their statistics and scores, as Neate discussed on The CIS Blog a while back. In the third set, one of Guelph's points wasn't counted on either the official flip chart or the big scoreboard, and the final score was given as 25-18. It's not like it was a reversed ruling or something that I didn't notice, either: one of the points in my (detailed) notes simply was not counted. Thus, I'm pretty confident the real score should have been 25-19, but I'll have to report 25-18 in my Journal piece on Tuesday, which grinds my gears a bit. In this case, it doesn't matter, as Queen's already wins the
tie-breaker against Guelph for playoff seeding (the teams split their head-to-head games, the first tie-breaker, so OUA turns to sets for and against between the teams, where the Gaels triumph 5-3). As far as I understand, the next tie-breaker would have been points for and against between the teams, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that a silly error like this could hurt a team's playoff seeding, which is all the more reason to get it right.
There were some interesting moments during the match, but one of the best came when a honest-to-goodness bat came out of the rafters and started buzzing the players. The bat then proceeded to circle the court and the gym for the next two minutes, which forced the referee to put the game on hold and also led to some hilarious scenes of the Gaels trying to shoo the bat away by waving sweatshirts and such. It reminded me of last year's fake Journal published by Golden Words which included a great send-up of our sports coverage entitled "Gaels Smoke Out Ravens at Jock Harty". In a normal issue, that would be the headline for a story about a Queen's hockey victory over Carleton: there, it was instead a fake story about a group of orientation week leaders ("Gaels") helping University personnel clear out some ravens that were roosting in the rafters.
According to libero Stu Hamilton (who's still recovering from a flu which later developed into pneumonia, and thus saw limited court time tonight), bats have buzzed the Gaels at practice before, but never during a game. Head coach Brenda Willis also said she's seen the bat before during an international volleyball competition at Queen's, where it apparently forced a similar stoppage in play. This new athletic centre is sounding better and better all the time...
The play of the game goes to the Gaels' fifth-year All-Canadian setter Devon Miller (who, by the way, was facing a vastly less experienced counterpart, Guelph rookie starting setter Jon Waito). Queen's was pretty much running away with the second set, and held a 23-15 lead when Miller made an all-out dive and just snuck his palm under a hit from Guelph, popping the ball up in the air. Zeeman delivered a capable set, and Niko Rukavina smacked down a left-side kill to give the Gaels the point. The play didn't mean a great deal in the long run, as the Gaels would almost assuredly have won the set and the match even if they'd conceded that point. What it did show, though, was Miller's hustle and determination: a good reason why an undersized guy like him has consistently been an All-Canadian. He's not only one of the best pure setters in Canada, but also brings a strong defensive and blocking game largely due to his fantastic work ethic and never-say-die attitude. That attitude translates as well, especially when it's one of the team's stars who holds it, and in my mind at least, it's a good reason the Gaels have last year's OUA Championship banner on the wall.
This was a nice turnaround for the Gaels after a disturbing weekend loss to Laurier in just four sets (which perhaps can be blamed on my unfortunately predictive blog post last Saturday night, which said "Queen's should have a pretty easy time of it against 4-14 Laurier ... but you never know when an upset will strike"). Hopefully, tonight's win will give the team some momentum to take into tonight's clash with the 19-0 McMaster Marauders. As Hamilton also pointed out, it's not just Mac that's vying for a perfect record: the Gaels are 9-0 at home this year, so one stretch of perfection is about to end tomorrow: all that remains to be determined is which one it will be.
capable of.
The first set was actually very close, but didn't produce a great clash due to sloppy play from both sides. By my count, Queen's committed five service errors in the set, while Guelph added six more: there were also far too many net violations, passing mistakes and hits out of bounds for both sides. The Gryphons took a 20-17 lead, but then let Queen's come back to tie, and the Gaels eventually claimed the set
27-25 off an odd play: outside hitter Joren Zeeman went up for a kill (at the middle position, of all places), and slammed the ball right into the Gryphon block, but it came off the block, bounced off his head, recrossed the net and fell for the crucial set-clinching point. He could be a soccer player with moves like that.
The second and third sets were a different story, though. Queen's play improved, while Guelph's dropped even lower. The teams were tied at 8 early on in the second frame, but Queen's went on a run and never looked back, winning 25-17 and 25-18 in the last two sets.
As an aside: OUA needs to work on their statistics and scores, as Neate discussed on The CIS Blog a while back. In the third set, one of Guelph's points wasn't counted on either the official flip chart or the big scoreboard, and the final score was given as 25-18. It's not like it was a reversed ruling or something that I didn't notice, either: one of the points in my (detailed) notes simply was not counted. Thus, I'm pretty confident the real score should have been 25-19, but I'll have to report 25-18 in my Journal piece on Tuesday, which grinds my gears a bit. In this case, it doesn't matter, as Queen's already wins the
tie-breaker against Guelph for playoff seeding (the teams split their head-to-head games, the first tie-breaker, so OUA turns to sets for and against between the teams, where the Gaels triumph 5-3). As far as I understand, the next tie-breaker would have been points for and against between the teams, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that a silly error like this could hurt a team's playoff seeding, which is all the more reason to get it right.
There were some interesting moments during the match, but one of the best came when a honest-to-goodness bat came out of the rafters and started buzzing the players. The bat then proceeded to circle the court and the gym for the next two minutes, which forced the referee to put the game on hold and also led to some hilarious scenes of the Gaels trying to shoo the bat away by waving sweatshirts and such. It reminded me of last year's fake Journal published by Golden Words which included a great send-up of our sports coverage entitled "Gaels Smoke Out Ravens at Jock Harty". In a normal issue, that would be the headline for a story about a Queen's hockey victory over Carleton: there, it was instead a fake story about a group of orientation week leaders ("Gaels") helping University personnel clear out some ravens that were roosting in the rafters.
According to libero Stu Hamilton (who's still recovering from a flu which later developed into pneumonia, and thus saw limited court time tonight), bats have buzzed the Gaels at practice before, but never during a game. Head coach Brenda Willis also said she's seen the bat before during an international volleyball competition at Queen's, where it apparently forced a similar stoppage in play. This new athletic centre is sounding better and better all the time...
The play of the game goes to the Gaels' fifth-year All-Canadian setter Devon Miller (who, by the way, was facing a vastly less experienced counterpart, Guelph rookie starting setter Jon Waito). Queen's was pretty much running away with the second set, and held a 23-15 lead when Miller made an all-out dive and just snuck his palm under a hit from Guelph, popping the ball up in the air. Zeeman delivered a capable set, and Niko Rukavina smacked down a left-side kill to give the Gaels the point. The play didn't mean a great deal in the long run, as the Gaels would almost assuredly have won the set and the match even if they'd conceded that point. What it did show, though, was Miller's hustle and determination: a good reason why an undersized guy like him has consistently been an All-Canadian. He's not only one of the best pure setters in Canada, but also brings a strong defensive and blocking game largely due to his fantastic work ethic and never-say-die attitude. That attitude translates as well, especially when it's one of the team's stars who holds it, and in my mind at least, it's a good reason the Gaels have last year's OUA Championship banner on the wall.
This was a nice turnaround for the Gaels after a disturbing weekend loss to Laurier in just four sets (which perhaps can be blamed on my unfortunately predictive blog post last Saturday night, which said "Queen's should have a pretty easy time of it against 4-14 Laurier ... but you never know when an upset will strike"). Hopefully, tonight's win will give the team some momentum to take into tonight's clash with the 19-0 McMaster Marauders. As Hamilton also pointed out, it's not just Mac that's vying for a perfect record: the Gaels are 9-0 at home this year, so one stretch of perfection is about to end tomorrow: all that remains to be determined is which one it will be.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Campus Corner: Thoughts from out of town
Some musings on the Gaels' away games this weekend:
Men's volleyball
The Gaels rode a 16-kill performance from rookie outside hitter Joren Zeeman to a decisive four-set victory over the Waterloo Warriors yesterday night. Middle hitter Nick Gralewicz also had a strong game, recording seven kills on only eight attempts for a .875 kill percentage. Interestingly enough, All-Canadian setter Devon Miller led the Gaels with 12 digs, as libero Stu Hamilton didn't play. I don't know the reason yet, but I'll definitely ask head coach Brenda Willis on Monday, as I'm writing about this game for Tuesday's Journal. It could be injury or illness, or maybe even just a coaching decision to give him some rest: the team's fans will surely be hoping it's the latter, as Stu's a key part of the Gaels' success.
The 20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 victory vaults Queen's past the Guelph Gryphons (who lost in four to 11-5 Western yesterday)into second place in the OUA. These results mean there's a bit of a crunch at the top of the standings at the moment: McMaster's still undefeated at 17-0 (they beat Windsor in straight sets tonight), but you then have Queen's at 13-4, Guelph at 12-5, Western at 11-5 (with a game in hand), and Waterloo at 10-8. The sixth and final playoff spot should go to either 8-9 York or 8-8 Ryerson, as 5-11 Windsor and 5-12 Toronto are too far away to make a challenge. Queen's should have a pretty easy time of it against 4-14 Laurier tomorrow night (the game was rescheduled from Friday due to the crazy weather), but you never know when an upset will strike.
Speaking of upsets, tomorrow's most interesting clash is in Hamilton between Western and McMaster. Western's a very good team: they took Queen's to five sets in a hard-fought battle a couple weeks ago, so they should be able to at least make it interesting against Mac.
Women's volleyball
The women's team fell to 5-11 after yesterday's four-set loss to the Waterloo Warriors, who were 12-4 going into the match. The Gaels made it interesting in the middle sets, winning the second 25-19 and losing the third by the same score, but were never really in the first or fourth set and dropped them both 25-15. Middle hitter Christiane Taylor led the Gaels with a game-high 13 kills, more than double the best of anyone else on the team. Lorna Button had a strong passing game, leading the team with 12 digs. Interestingly, backup setter Jenna Willis played four games and recorded 24 assists, while starting setter Ellen Gray only put up four assists in three games. Again, without being at the game, I don't know yet if this was due to injury, illness or poor performance, but we should have more details in Tuesday's paper.
The women face another tough test tomorrow, as they take on 10-7 Laurier, who are coming off a straight-set demolition of the Royal Military College Paladins (who still haven't even won a set, by the way). They're still in the fight for the fourth and final OUA East playoff berth with 5-12 Ryerson and 4-12 Lakehead, but it will likely down to the wire. Ryerson plays league-leading Toronto (15-2) tomorrow, so they should lose that one, but you never know what will happen between Lakehead and York: after all, the Gaels knocked off the Lions last weekend. Next weekend, Queen's plays two critical matches in Thunder Bay against Lakehead, while Ryerson takes on York.
One final note here: as further proof of the OUA's statistical incompetence, which has already been extensively written about, they now refer to Gaels' middle hitter Colleen Ogilvie as "K" in the game summary. Maybe she's decided to change to just an initial, but she hasn't told me yet, so it's chalked up to another OUA glitch for the moment.
Men's hockey
A painful 6-5 loss to Ryerson Saturday afternoon means the Gaels likely won't win the division. However, they still could crack the playoffs with a good effort in Wednesday's Carr-Harris Cup game against RMC. I'll be there, watching with interest: until then, see Neate's blog for more details on the possible permutations.
Women's hockey
The women's team lost 4-0 to Toronto Saturday, and were supposedly outshot 39-12. If that stat's correct (and as earlier mentioned, I don't have much faith in OUA stats), it doesn't matter if you have the CIS Athlete of the Week in the net, you're still toast.
Men's volleyball
The Gaels rode a 16-kill performance from rookie outside hitter Joren Zeeman to a decisive four-set victory over the Waterloo Warriors yesterday night. Middle hitter Nick Gralewicz also had a strong game, recording seven kills on only eight attempts for a .875 kill percentage. Interestingly enough, All-Canadian setter Devon Miller led the Gaels with 12 digs, as libero Stu Hamilton didn't play. I don't know the reason yet, but I'll definitely ask head coach Brenda Willis on Monday, as I'm writing about this game for Tuesday's Journal. It could be injury or illness, or maybe even just a coaching decision to give him some rest: the team's fans will surely be hoping it's the latter, as Stu's a key part of the Gaels' success.
The 20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 victory vaults Queen's past the Guelph Gryphons (who lost in four to 11-5 Western yesterday)into second place in the OUA. These results mean there's a bit of a crunch at the top of the standings at the moment: McMaster's still undefeated at 17-0 (they beat Windsor in straight sets tonight), but you then have Queen's at 13-4, Guelph at 12-5, Western at 11-5 (with a game in hand), and Waterloo at 10-8. The sixth and final playoff spot should go to either 8-9 York or 8-8 Ryerson, as 5-11 Windsor and 5-12 Toronto are too far away to make a challenge. Queen's should have a pretty easy time of it against 4-14 Laurier tomorrow night (the game was rescheduled from Friday due to the crazy weather), but you never know when an upset will strike.
Speaking of upsets, tomorrow's most interesting clash is in Hamilton between Western and McMaster. Western's a very good team: they took Queen's to five sets in a hard-fought battle a couple weeks ago, so they should be able to at least make it interesting against Mac.
Women's volleyball
The women's team fell to 5-11 after yesterday's four-set loss to the Waterloo Warriors, who were 12-4 going into the match. The Gaels made it interesting in the middle sets, winning the second 25-19 and losing the third by the same score, but were never really in the first or fourth set and dropped them both 25-15. Middle hitter Christiane Taylor led the Gaels with a game-high 13 kills, more than double the best of anyone else on the team. Lorna Button had a strong passing game, leading the team with 12 digs. Interestingly, backup setter Jenna Willis played four games and recorded 24 assists, while starting setter Ellen Gray only put up four assists in three games. Again, without being at the game, I don't know yet if this was due to injury, illness or poor performance, but we should have more details in Tuesday's paper.
The women face another tough test tomorrow, as they take on 10-7 Laurier, who are coming off a straight-set demolition of the Royal Military College Paladins (who still haven't even won a set, by the way). They're still in the fight for the fourth and final OUA East playoff berth with 5-12 Ryerson and 4-12 Lakehead, but it will likely down to the wire. Ryerson plays league-leading Toronto (15-2) tomorrow, so they should lose that one, but you never know what will happen between Lakehead and York: after all, the Gaels knocked off the Lions last weekend. Next weekend, Queen's plays two critical matches in Thunder Bay against Lakehead, while Ryerson takes on York.
One final note here: as further proof of the OUA's statistical incompetence, which has already been extensively written about, they now refer to Gaels' middle hitter Colleen Ogilvie as "K" in the game summary. Maybe she's decided to change to just an initial, but she hasn't told me yet, so it's chalked up to another OUA glitch for the moment.
Men's hockey
A painful 6-5 loss to Ryerson Saturday afternoon means the Gaels likely won't win the division. However, they still could crack the playoffs with a good effort in Wednesday's Carr-Harris Cup game against RMC. I'll be there, watching with interest: until then, see Neate's blog for more details on the possible permutations.
Women's hockey
The women's team lost 4-0 to Toronto Saturday, and were supposedly outshot 39-12. If that stat's correct (and as earlier mentioned, I don't have much faith in OUA stats), it doesn't matter if you have the CIS Athlete of the Week in the net, you're still toast.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Campus Corner: A jam-packed weekend for volleyball
Apologies for the absence: been a bit of a crazy week with regards to classes and the paper, so I haven't had a lot of time to post. That should hopefully be remedied over the next little while. Anyways, it's going to be a pretty crazy weekend for Queen's athletics: all three of the major winter sports (volleyball, basketball and hockey) are playing some home games, so I figured I'd put something up here about each of them. Check today's Journal for further info: I've got a preview piece on the weekend in general. This post will focus on the volleyball teams: expect ones later today on basketball and hockey.
To start things off, there's the men's volleyball team. These guys are probably Queen's best shot for an Ontario or national title this fall: they're defending OUA champions, and have proved that they can contend with the likes of McMaster (15-0) and Guelph (12-3), taking each team to five sets in their prior matches on hostile turf. Queen's is also the only Ontario team in the most recent CIS top ten rankings besides No.4 Mac, coming in at No.9. As Coach Willis and the players have made clear, the team got off to a slower than expected start and only seemed to get it together towards the end of their fall schedule. However, their tough schedule of tournament play over the break (9 matches in 11 days) seemed to help, and they emphatically returned to solid form with a five-set win over rivals Western, who had beaten them in the fall.
The men picked up another win on the road against Ryerson last weekend, which they graciously let me tag along for. Ryerson's a pretty good team (7-7) so far, and their insanely small gym definitely makes things tougher, but it would have been nicer for the Gaels to pull out the victory in more dominating style (something the players agreed on after the match). A win is a win though, and it leaves them in good shape coming into this weekend's home games against 7-8 York and 4-11 U of T. The Gaels really need to take advantage of these home games against weaker opponents and come out with full points: Western and Waterloo are both hot on their heels in the standings, and they'd probably much prefer to come out of the regular season with the three seed and a first-round date with York or Ryerson instead of the Mustangs or the Warriors. However, they've made a habit of letting weak opponents hang around for far too long (they've played eight five-set matches so far, more than anyone else in the OUA), so anything could happen this weekend. I'm not covering the men's games, but I'll definitely be watching with interest.
The women's team is also in an interesting spot. Their 4-9 record is far from impressive, but it's good enough to tie them for fourth in the OUA East. They're also in a tight battle for the fourth and final playoff seed with 4-9 Lakehead and 4-10 Ryerson, so their win over Ryerson last weekend could be key. In that win, they really should have put the Rams away in the third set, but things got a little sloppy, Ryerson woke up, and it was far closer than it needed to be. This is clearly a transitory year for the program, with a new head coach (Joely Christian), a scarcity of fourth-year players (backup setter Jenna Willis is the only one) and three rookies in prominent roles (Elyssa Heller, Colleen Ogilvie, and Lorna Button all see regular playing time). However, making the playoffs is a huge momentum-boost for a team, even if they bow out in the first round: just ask Toronto Maple Leaf or New York Islander fans about the psychological difference gaining the last seed makes. It may be tough for the women to get any points from this weekend against 13-2 Toronto and 8-5 York, but a strong showing would prepare them for a difficult road trip to face Laurier and Waterloo next weekend.
A couple of notes common to both teams: first, the basketball teams' home games against Carleton on Friday means that volleyball's been shifted to Saturday night (against York) and Sunday afternoon (against Toronto). The problem is, this leaves both sets of Gaels with less than 24 hours rest against fully rested Varsity Blues teams (who play RMC Saturday afternoon). There's not much that can be done with the schedule, due to Queen's only really having one gym (Bartlett) capable of hosting varsity games. However, the real reason this happened was all the teams were on the road last weekend due to BEWIC Sports Days taking over the gyms. I'm all in favour of intramurals, but it doesn't make sense to me to jeopardize varsity results based on them: would it not have been possible to schedule it so intramurals used all three gyms during the day, but only Ross and Bews around the times of the varsity games? That way, either basketball or volleyball could have hosted the normal Friday/Saturday matchup last weekend and the other sport could have done so this weekend. Of course, I must admit to being partially self-interested here: it would have helped our paper out significantly to not have to scramble for supplied photos last weekend when all the teams were away. Both volleyball coaches told me the quick turnaround was an issue though, so I think there is something here.
Second, this year has been an amazing rookie crop for both teams. The women have brought in Heller, Button, and Ogilvie, all of whom are making tremendous contributions. In fact, all are in the top four on the team in kills and kills per game (with second-year player Louise Hamill). Heller and Ogilvie are also 1-2 in points, and Heller leads the team in points per game. Ogilvie in particular had an impressive game last weekend, recording 15 kills (the most I've ever seen from a middle hitter) and three service aces: she was named our Athlete of the Week for her performance. The men's team has also had a great recruiting crop, bringing in six new players, of whom only Will Bulmer has yet to make an impact (due to injury). Most of them haven't received as much playing time as the women's rookies, due to a strong veteran presence on the men's team, but they've all chipped in at key moments. Joren Zeeman and Niko Rukavina are competing for a starting spot, and both have great upsides. Zeeman hits the ball tremendously hard, and has proven to be a great right-side power hitter with a solid serve. He's eight in the OUA in points per game and ninth in kills per game. He's also third on the team in overall kills, behind only veterans Jeff DeMeza (one of the OUA's best hitters) and Sam Pedlow. Rukavina's seen less court time, but has proven to be a good left-side hitter. He's less overpowering than Zeeman or DeMeza, but he picks his spots well, and is also great defensively. Other rookies have also shone in limited roles: Michael Amoroso's proven to be a capable middle hitter (which will come in handy once fifth-year veterans Chris Vandyk and Nick Gralewicz graduate this year), Dan Rosenbaum has done very well in his role as a backup setter (and proven that this team can still be strong once All-Canadian setter Devon Miller leaves after this year), and Bryan Fautley has shone when called upon, as he did against RMC a couple weeks ago when he led the team with 14 kills. This may be the men's best year to make a run at the nationals, with veterans like Miller, Vandyk and Gralewicz leaving for sure and others like DeMeza possibly moving on, and the strong performances shown by their rookies so far indicating that they can help out down the stretch. However, even if this year doesn't work out, the future is still bright.
To start things off, there's the men's volleyball team. These guys are probably Queen's best shot for an Ontario or national title this fall: they're defending OUA champions, and have proved that they can contend with the likes of McMaster (15-0) and Guelph (12-3), taking each team to five sets in their prior matches on hostile turf. Queen's is also the only Ontario team in the most recent CIS top ten rankings besides No.4 Mac, coming in at No.9. As Coach Willis and the players have made clear, the team got off to a slower than expected start and only seemed to get it together towards the end of their fall schedule. However, their tough schedule of tournament play over the break (9 matches in 11 days) seemed to help, and they emphatically returned to solid form with a five-set win over rivals Western, who had beaten them in the fall.
The men picked up another win on the road against Ryerson last weekend, which they graciously let me tag along for. Ryerson's a pretty good team (7-7) so far, and their insanely small gym definitely makes things tougher, but it would have been nicer for the Gaels to pull out the victory in more dominating style (something the players agreed on after the match). A win is a win though, and it leaves them in good shape coming into this weekend's home games against 7-8 York and 4-11 U of T. The Gaels really need to take advantage of these home games against weaker opponents and come out with full points: Western and Waterloo are both hot on their heels in the standings, and they'd probably much prefer to come out of the regular season with the three seed and a first-round date with York or Ryerson instead of the Mustangs or the Warriors. However, they've made a habit of letting weak opponents hang around for far too long (they've played eight five-set matches so far, more than anyone else in the OUA), so anything could happen this weekend. I'm not covering the men's games, but I'll definitely be watching with interest.
The women's team is also in an interesting spot. Their 4-9 record is far from impressive, but it's good enough to tie them for fourth in the OUA East. They're also in a tight battle for the fourth and final playoff seed with 4-9 Lakehead and 4-10 Ryerson, so their win over Ryerson last weekend could be key. In that win, they really should have put the Rams away in the third set, but things got a little sloppy, Ryerson woke up, and it was far closer than it needed to be. This is clearly a transitory year for the program, with a new head coach (Joely Christian), a scarcity of fourth-year players (backup setter Jenna Willis is the only one) and three rookies in prominent roles (Elyssa Heller, Colleen Ogilvie, and Lorna Button all see regular playing time). However, making the playoffs is a huge momentum-boost for a team, even if they bow out in the first round: just ask Toronto Maple Leaf or New York Islander fans about the psychological difference gaining the last seed makes. It may be tough for the women to get any points from this weekend against 13-2 Toronto and 8-5 York, but a strong showing would prepare them for a difficult road trip to face Laurier and Waterloo next weekend.
A couple of notes common to both teams: first, the basketball teams' home games against Carleton on Friday means that volleyball's been shifted to Saturday night (against York) and Sunday afternoon (against Toronto). The problem is, this leaves both sets of Gaels with less than 24 hours rest against fully rested Varsity Blues teams (who play RMC Saturday afternoon). There's not much that can be done with the schedule, due to Queen's only really having one gym (Bartlett) capable of hosting varsity games. However, the real reason this happened was all the teams were on the road last weekend due to BEWIC Sports Days taking over the gyms. I'm all in favour of intramurals, but it doesn't make sense to me to jeopardize varsity results based on them: would it not have been possible to schedule it so intramurals used all three gyms during the day, but only Ross and Bews around the times of the varsity games? That way, either basketball or volleyball could have hosted the normal Friday/Saturday matchup last weekend and the other sport could have done so this weekend. Of course, I must admit to being partially self-interested here: it would have helped our paper out significantly to not have to scramble for supplied photos last weekend when all the teams were away. Both volleyball coaches told me the quick turnaround was an issue though, so I think there is something here.
Second, this year has been an amazing rookie crop for both teams. The women have brought in Heller, Button, and Ogilvie, all of whom are making tremendous contributions. In fact, all are in the top four on the team in kills and kills per game (with second-year player Louise Hamill). Heller and Ogilvie are also 1-2 in points, and Heller leads the team in points per game. Ogilvie in particular had an impressive game last weekend, recording 15 kills (the most I've ever seen from a middle hitter) and three service aces: she was named our Athlete of the Week for her performance. The men's team has also had a great recruiting crop, bringing in six new players, of whom only Will Bulmer has yet to make an impact (due to injury). Most of them haven't received as much playing time as the women's rookies, due to a strong veteran presence on the men's team, but they've all chipped in at key moments. Joren Zeeman and Niko Rukavina are competing for a starting spot, and both have great upsides. Zeeman hits the ball tremendously hard, and has proven to be a great right-side power hitter with a solid serve. He's eight in the OUA in points per game and ninth in kills per game. He's also third on the team in overall kills, behind only veterans Jeff DeMeza (one of the OUA's best hitters) and Sam Pedlow. Rukavina's seen less court time, but has proven to be a good left-side hitter. He's less overpowering than Zeeman or DeMeza, but he picks his spots well, and is also great defensively. Other rookies have also shone in limited roles: Michael Amoroso's proven to be a capable middle hitter (which will come in handy once fifth-year veterans Chris Vandyk and Nick Gralewicz graduate this year), Dan Rosenbaum has done very well in his role as a backup setter (and proven that this team can still be strong once All-Canadian setter Devon Miller leaves after this year), and Bryan Fautley has shone when called upon, as he did against RMC a couple weeks ago when he led the team with 14 kills. This may be the men's best year to make a run at the nationals, with veterans like Miller, Vandyk and Gralewicz leaving for sure and others like DeMeza possibly moving on, and the strong performances shown by their rookies so far indicating that they can help out down the stretch. However, even if this year doesn't work out, the future is still bright.
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