Men’s volleyball takes bronze

Posted by admin on Mar 21, 2007 in Sports | 0 comments

The Spartan volleyball men medaled for the fourth year in a row at the national level, taking bronze due to a tough five-set loss in the semi-finals against Alberta.

Making their first appearance in the CIS championship since 1989, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds were looking to go home with a medal, but were denied by defending champions Trinity Western University. The Spartans were able to hold off a few Thunderbirds surges and went on to sweep the bronze medal match in straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-21).

The Thunderbirds had a quick start in the second set, leading 4-1 out of the gate, but lost the lead when a block by Steve Rogalsky gave the Spartans a 9-8 lead. A solo block by setter Josh Howatson extended the TWU lead to 16-12 heading into the second technical timeout, and the team wouldn’t look back.

UBC made it close in the third set, stringing together several points to make a late run. Down 19-15 at one point, the T-Birds clawed back to within one point after a huge block by Andrew Bonner made it 21-20. Bonner was the team’s lone bright spot, leading the squad with 16 kills, 18 points and tying for a team-high seven digs.

The Spartans looked to Howatson when it got too close, and he delivered, nailing a pair of back-to-back aces to give the team a 24-20 lead. Bonner ended any chance of a last-second comeback when he drilled his serve into the net.

Favorites for gold going into the tournament, the Spartans met their match against last year’s silver medalists, the Alberta Golden Bears. “After last night we were devastated that we were not going to be in the final. But we have all had good careers, we’ve medaled every time that we have been to nationals and we wanted to make sure that we finished on a high note,” says Howatson, putting the bronze medal win in perspective.