KINGSTON, Ont. (February 14, 2016)- Fifth-year senior Mike Tomlinson tallied a game-high 20 points, and the Queen's Gaels men's volleyball team earned their second win of the weekend at the Athletics and Recreation Centre, defeating the Windsor Lancers 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-16).
 
The Stratford, Ont. native recorded 17 kills, two aces, 10 digs and 1 block for the Gaels, while Marko Dakic added 14 kills for Queen's (14-5), who will clinch second place in the conference with a win against RMC in their final conference game next Saturday.
 
Brad Gyemi and Josh Edwards tallied 18 and 11 kills respectively in a losing cause for the Lancers (7-11), who are currently tied for seventh-place in the OUA and are battling for the final playoff spot heading into the final week of the regular season.
 
GAME FLOW
After the squads battled to a 15-15 score in the opening set, the Gaels took six of the next nine points, which included two-straight points coming out of the technical timeout, to take a three-point lead heading into the latter stages of the first.
 
Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) picked up four kills in the set to lead the Gaels, who earned a set point after gaining the momentum following the technical. The hosts would draw first blood after Edwards had his attack go into the net. The Gaels tallied just one error throughout the first, compared to four from the visitors.
 
Dakic picked up where he left off in the first, starting the second set with a hard kill from the middle to give the Gaels an early lead. The Lancers tallied the next four points, but Queen's responded with a mini run of their own to even the set at 8-8. The teams traded leads leading up to the technical, which saw the Lancers take a slight 16-15 advantage.
 
The set remained tight following the break, as neither side led by more than two up to the 20-point mark. An error on the part of the Gaels gave the Lancers a 22-20 advantage, but Tomlinson picked up two heavy kills from the right-side coming out of their timeout, helping the Gaels stay within striking distance as the set neared its end. A strong pop from Edwards, however, brought up set point, and the Kingston native's serve stymied the Gaels defence, evening the match at one set a-piece.  
 
Tomlinson continued to be effective from the right side, picking up two more points for the Gaels in the early part of the third, and a block from Scott Brunet (Calgary, Alta.) gave the men a 10-7 advantage.
 
Leaning on Edwards once again, the Lancers attempted to cut into the deficit by pushing their offence through the middle. The Gaels were able to adjust and maintained their three-point lead up to the technical break.
 
Rookie Chris Brunet (Calgary) picked up an ace, and had his second serve overpassed, giving the Gaels an opportunity for an attack. They took full advantage, and pushed the lead up to five. Tomlinson continued his potent offensive play, using his impressive ninth kill of the third on set point to give his team a one-set lead for the second occasion.
 
The hosts built a five-point lead in the beginning of the fourth set. Tomlinson made a diving save to keep the play alive after they Lancers tipped over the block, and Dakic and Brunet combined to block Edwards, helping the hosts build some momentum and leading to a Windsor timeout. Queen's continued rolling, spreading the lead to seven by the technical timeout.
 
The wind seemed to come out of the Windsor sails in the late stages of the fourth, while the Gaels maintained their pace and, as a result, were able to easily run away with the fourth set and the match.
 
FINAL SAY
"Windsor is a much improved team from when we saw them in the fall," said Head Coach Brenda Willis. "A lot of kudos to them as they pushed us. After we won the first set, our guys did not come out with enough focus in the second. So I thought it was really good that Windsor took it to us and forced us to step up, which we were able to do in the third and fourth. There's definitely some things we can do better, and that will be our focus for the next 10 day or so. We are in control of our destiny, so if we can win (against RMC) we will put ourselves in second, which will give us the best possible match-up for the playoffs."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
.381- The Gaels recorded an impressive .381 hitting percentage, well over their season average
4- Queen's is a perfect 4-0 at home in the New Year, and 7-2 overall at the ARC
237- Dakic has tallied 237 total kills, ranking him fourth in the OUA conference
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels wrap up the regular season next Saturday at the ARC when they host the RMC Paladins. Game-time is set for 8:00 p.m.