KINGSTON, Ont. (January 27, 2019) - The Queen's Gaels (10-3) swept the Ryerson Rams (9-4) in a three-set home game. The scores of each set were 25-23, 25-23 and 25-20.
GAME FLOW
In the first set, the Gaels got off to an intense start, taking an early lead over Ryerson. Kills from
Joel Rudd (Cambridge, Ont.),
Zac Hutcheson (Kingston, Ont.) and
Malcolm Prentice (Oakville, Ont.) lengthened the gap over the Rams.
Dylan Hunt (Sharon, Ont.) made a block on a strong Ryerson attack to extend the Gaels lead in the first set. The Rams racked up several serving errors but did not give up on their offensive game. The Gaels held strong on their lead, Hutcheson making hard digs for the Gaels. The Rams tied the game at 23-23 but the Gaels took the set off a kill from
Adam Boljkovac (Edmonton, Alta.) and an attack error made by the Rams. The score of the first set was 25-23.
The Gaels started the second set much slower, trailing the Rams early on. The Tricolour tied the set at 6-6 and played point for point with the Rams until they took the lead on a Hutcheson serving streak. The Rams made several attack errors and the Gaels found kills to back left corner to extend their lead. A kill from Queen's makes the score 16-14 for the Gaels as the Rams send their block out of bounds. Queen's lost their lead shortly after but battled to regain their offensive momentum. The Tricolour tied the set at 20-20 and played point for point until a cross court kill from Rudd gave the Gaels the lead. A hit into the net from Ryerson made the score 22-24 and a kill from Boljkovac ends the set with a score of 25-23.
The Gaels rallied hard for the first point of the third set,
Lukas Kaufman (Stratford, Ont.) diving into the stands to set Queen's up to take the lead. Queen's continued to make attacks on the Rams taking points off Ryerson blocks sent out of bounds. Block wall of 3 and 7 held a strong defensive line for the Gaels and digs from Hutcheson gave the Gaels multiple opportunities for kills. Queen's took a 7-point lead over the Rams but Ryerson battled to slowly close the gap. Fortunately, the Gaels played a strong defensive game with digs from Rudd and back to back Hutcheson kills allowed the Gaels to keep their lead. A kill from Boljkovac and a kill from Rudd ended the set with a score of 25-20.
MUST SEE MOMENTS
BY THE NUMBERS
1 - Ace for the Gaels made by
Dylan Hunt
18 - kills for
Zac Hutcheson
41 - total digs for Queen's against Ryerson
FINAL SAY
"We had a great weekend. I think the guys wanted to game plan this weekend and they worked hard on making those little adjustments. We had a good game plan and executed it well. Hutcheson stepped up in every aspect, defensively and offensively. Next weekend we have two big games and we are looking to stay on top now." - Coach Gabriel De Groot
UP NEXT
The Queen's Gaels take on the Nipissing Lakers on February 2 in an away game starting at 2pm.
