Cards fall into place

Posted by admin on Feb 16, 2010 in Sports | 0 comments

On a weekend that had the possibility of both Spartan volleyball teams being eliminated from playoff contention, the only question now is how far can they go?
The men’s volleyball team played against the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack on Feb. 12 and 13, with the entire season riding on the line. The boys entered into the weekend sporting a 10-6 record, with chances for a hosting the first round of the playoffs hanging in the balance. On Friday night, the Spartans fell to the Wolfpack in a wild five set match (21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 11-15). Steve Marshall led the team with 23 kills and three blocks but the Wolfpack’s depth and consistency caused havoc all night.

The loss brought in a variety of playoff scenarios heading into Saturday’s game. According to Spartan Athletics, the breakdown of what the Spartans needed to accomplish was as follows: “For TWU to place fourth and host, Calgary needs to beat Winnipeg by at least 3-1 and TWU needs to beat TRU by at least 3-1. If the Spartans beat the WolfPack 3-2 and Calgary beats Winnipeg in five sets than TWU is fifth and play’s at Winnipeg… a loss to TRU tomorrow puts TWU sixth.”

With that confusion in mind, the Spartans and Wolfpack had another wild match. The Spartans defeated Thompson Rivers 3-1 (25-23, 30-28, 22-25, 25-22). The win handled TWU’s job of defeating the Wolfpack and got the help they needed from Calgary, who defeated Winnipeg 3-1. Steve Marshall also led the Spartans with 16 kills, 10 digs, and 1 block while Marc Howatson and Rudy Verhoeff both had 12 kills.

The win gives the Spartans home court advantage in the first round, where they take on the Winnipeg Wesmen in a best of three series. The series opens next Thursday at the LEC, with game 2 next Friday, and if necessary, game 3 Saturday.