Spartans men’s volleyball win CIS gold

Posted by admin on Mar 10, 2011 in Featured, Sports | 0 comments

On Sunday night, the CIS National Volleyball gold medal game took place at the Langley Events Centre. The game featured the number three ranked Brandon Bobcats taking on the fourth ranked, Trinity Western University Spartans.

In what was a dynamic run for both teams, the Spartans come off two fifth set victories over the Alberta Golden Bears and number one ranked Calgary Dinos, while the Bobcats defeated the McMaster Murauders and Laval Rouge et Or, sending them to battle for the championship.
However, unlike most the other matches for the Spartans this tournament, there was no fifth set needed. The Spartans claimed victory over the Bobcats, behind a “Spartan Faithful” crowd that had already arrived 30 minutes before the start. TWU took the match in three straight sets, 25-12, 25-22, 27-25 to avenge their silver medal performance at last years’ event.

With the atmosphere more like an NCAA Final Four game, the Spartans came out with a blistering start. With warrior like defending and many back-row attacks from Josh Doornenbal, the Spartans appeared confident and calm in the first set while the Bobcats looked intimidated.
As the game progressed, the Bobcats found their step, but the Spartans were able to match any sort of momentum that Brandon built during various moments. Spartans captain Rudy Verheoff led the team with 11 kills on the night to go along with seven digs and three blocks while Doornenbal supplied 10 kills with eight blocks.

But the Bobcats didn’t go down without a fight. Heading into the third set, the Bobcats refocused and were the better team through the majority of the set. Brandon’s Kevin Miller and Paul Sanderson were excellent all night long with 11 and 10 kills respectively, but couldn’t hold on in the few final points when the Spartans crowd willed their team to victory.
With the Spartans holding game point at 26-25, the Bobcats ended their own night by attacking their spike into the net, sending a rush of the Spartan crowd onto the floor to celebrate. After a few moments of cheering, fist pumping, and all out celebration, the fans returned to their seats and watched the Spartan team receive their medals and trophy.
With the win, the Spartans cap off an incredible year in which the team peaked at just the right time. Verheoff was named player of the game, for the third consecutive night and took home tournament MVP honours, along with the first team all-star award. Spartans setter Ben Ball also was named to the tournament all-star team after recording 28 assists to go along with seven blocks and four digs.
Head coach Ben Josephson summarized it best when he concluded in his post-game interview, “the crowd took care of the emotion and heart and the team took care of the volleyball.”
But in the end, it was the complete team effort that became the theme of the weekend. A moment that this team of brothers will never have taken away from them and a night that no one at Trinity Western University will soon forget.