KINGSTON, Ont. (October 17, 2010) – The Brandon Bobcats (2-1), on the strength of the excellent play of Tournament MVP Paul Sanderson of Melbourne, Australia, captured the Smola Cup at the 24th Annual Queen's Men's Volleyball Invitational on Sunday.
The Bobcats defeated the Trinity Western Spartans (2-1) in four sets (25-23, 26-24, 21-25, 25-23) to earn the tiebreak over both the Spartans and the Western Mustangs (2-1). Brandon was named tournament champion based on having played the fewest number of sets to earn their record.
For most of Sunday's early match, the Bobcats and Spartans traded points, with neither team holding more than a three point advantage through the opening two sets. However, it was the Bobcats who capitalized on their opportunities, mainly due to the efforts of Sanderson, the reigning CIS Player of the Year.
Trinity Western would answer Brandon's first two set victories with one of their own; a third set victory in which they controlled the play for much of the set.
The fourth set would prove to be the deciding set of the match as Brandon grabbed a slight lead early on and held on, picking up the victory on a Spartans service error.
Sanderson led all players with 17 kills in the match to go along with seven digs. Kevin Miller of Russell, Man., and Jon Sloane of Winchester, Ont., each had solid games for Brandon as both players finished with 10 kills. Miller's tip over the Spartans block was the key play in the fourth and deciding set as it set up championship point for the Bobcats. Sloane's play also earned him a tournament all-star nod.
Nick Del Bianco of Langley, B.C., led the Spartans attach on the day, finishing with 16 kills while Brad Kufske of Abbotsford, B.C., finished with 15. Derek Thiessen of Coquitlam, B.C., was strong defensively for Trinity Western as he recorded seven digs in the match.
In the second game of the day, the Mustangs knocked off the host Queen's Gaels (0-3) in three sets (25-17, 25-23, 25-18).
Western jumped out to a quick start as they led the first set 8-3 at the first technical time out. For the remainder of the set, the Gaels played catch-up but couldn't close the gap.
In the second set, Queen's found their rhythm and after falling behind 16-12 at the second technical timeout, climbed their way back into the match. However, the Mustangs proved to be too much on this day for the Gaels, holding for the second set win and then controlling the final set to earn the victory.
Joren Zeeman of Cambridge, Ont., was once again the statistical leader for Queen's, picking up 14 kills. Alan Screaton of Calgary, led Western's attack on the day with 10 kills while tournament all-stars Matt Poulin of Shanty Bay, Ont., and Matt Waite of St. Thomas, Ont., each earned three kills.
For the Gaels, the match represented their final test before the regular season kicks off next Friday night. The team will be travelling to Toronto to face the Varsity Blues in their 2010-11 regular season opener. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:00 pm.
TOURNAMENT MVP
Paul Sanderson – Brandon
TOURNAMENT ALL-STARS
Matt Waite – Western
Matt Poulin – Western
Kyle Dellezay – Brandon
Rudy Verhoeff – Trinity Western
Ben Ball – Trinity Western
Jon Sloane – Brandon
