National Title Match: #1 Mount Royal Cougars defeat #2 UBC-Okanagan Lakers 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-14)

FULL CHAMPIONSHIP DETAILS RESULTS AND AWARD WINNERS BELOW

ETOBICOKE, ON – In the 30th edition of the CCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship, the Mount Royal Cougars defeated the University of British Columbia Okanagan Lakers 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-14) to win the gold medal.

Alberta continues their dominance on the national stage as the national crown has remained in province for past eleven straight years.

In what was expected to be a battle of the Canada’s top ranked teams, the game turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Cougars went on to the straight set victory.

For the #1 ranked Cougars (Calgary, AB), it was their seventh men’s volleyball national title. Mount Royal rolled through the competition throughout the championship as they only dropped only one set in three games (3-1 victory in the semi-finals versus the bronze medalist Mohawk Mountaineers).

Tonight’s game was played in front of a packed house at Humber College. Both teams looked impressive in the opening stages of the game trading kills back and fourth. After building a slight lead midway through the set, Mount Royal managed to hang on the rest of the way for the 25-21 victory. With the set on the line, Andrew Visser put away a kill to give the Cougars the three point win. The Cougars offense was spread out with setter Jay Blankenau doing a great job of distributing the ball as four Cougars recorded multiple points in the set.

Mount Royal continued their dominance in the second set as they jumped out to an early 6-1 lead. The Lakers managed to close the gap within one and hung around for the entire game. With the set in balance and the Lakers trailed by single point (24-23), Okanagan sent a kill barely out of bounds, giving Mount Royal a 25-23 victory and a 2-0 lead.

With a national title one win away, Mount Royal continued to put on an offensive display as they picked up the first four points of the set. A frustrated Okanagan side searched for answers but just couldn’t compete with the highly skilled Alberta Champions. With the score at 24-14, Mount Royal’s Patrick Lenaour recorded a championship caliber kill to secure the Cougars national title.

CCAA All-Canadian Allen Meek led all scorers in the match with 15 points. For his efforts throughout the weekend, Meek was named the Championship MVP (Full list of award winners below). Meek had a terrific supporting cast as Andrew Visser and Jason Derocco scored 11 points respectively in the win.

Leading the way for the silver medalist Okanagan Lakers on the night was Riley McFarland and Jeff Cundy who recorded six points apiece.

At the conclusion of the three-day championship, everyone in attendance praised Humber’s effort as the championship host. Whether you were a player, coach, administrator, spectator, volunteer or a member of the media, the organizing committee made sure that everyone left with a positive experience. This year marked the first time Humber has hosted the CCAA Men’s Volleyball National Championship in it’s 30th year of running.

GAME SUMMARY

Mount Royal 3

UBC-Okanagan 0

Set Scores

25-21, 25-23, 25-14

Mount Royal Leading Scorers

Allen Meek – 15 points (12 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace)

Andrew Visser – 11 points (8 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace) and 6 digs

Jason Derocco – 11 points (9 kills, 2 aces) and 4 digs

UBC-Okanagan Leading Scorers

Riley McFarland – 6 points (6 kills) and 4 digs

Jeff Cundy – 6 points (6 kills)

Players of the Game

Andrew Visser, Mount Royal

Chris Major, Okanagan

CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS

Championship MVP

Allen Meek, Mount Royal

1st Team All-Stars

Mathieu McLaughlin, Limoilou

Jasmin Cull, Mohawk

Luke Dubbeldam, Briercrest

Chris Major, Okanagan

Peter Sniuolis, Mohawk

Jason Derocco, Mount Royal

2nd Team All-Stars

Maverick Hatch, Malaspina

Stephen Nash, Briercrest

Frederic Mondou, Limoilou

Pierre-Alexis Lapointe, Limoilou

Jeff Cundy, Okanagan

Andrew Visser, Mount Royal

Fair Play Award

Briercrest Clippers