By Jack Longo
The Laval Rouge et Or Men's volleyball team came away with a 3-0 victory on the road in the second match of a weekend back-to-back against the Dalhousie Tigers at the Dalplex on Saturday afternoon.
The early stages of the first set saw the teams trade points back and forth before a quick three-point run from Laval led Dalhousie to call a timeout with the away side up 7-5. The teams regrouped and continued to stay within touching distance.
Laval built a four-point lead at 14-10, punctuated by a kill from Max Losier (Ottawa, ON), and forced Dalhousie to call another timeout to stop the momentum.
Laval got to set point at 24-18 but the Tigers wouldn't quit without a fight. Michael Donovan (London, ON), who's ace at 24-19 jolted some more energy into the stands, kept Dalhousie in the set a little longer. The run from the Tigers caused Laval to call a timeout of their own at 24-21. The Rouge et Or recovered to win the next point and take the first set 25-21. Laval were led by Jonathan Girard (Donnacona, QC) in the first set who had four kills and multiple blocks at the net to stifle any chance Dalhousie had to wage a full-on comeback.
In the second set Laval went on a four point run early to build a 7-3 lead and didn't look back from there. Dalhousie couldn't find their rhythm to cut into that lead, but showed off incredible defensive effort on multiple occasions to keep the point alive.
Jeffrey Walton (Sudbury, ON) helped Dalhousie maintain a foothold in the second set with three kills, a couple of which helped to stop Laval from going on a run and building a larger lead.
The home crowd enjoyed the effort from the Tigers in the second but it wasn't enough as Laval took the set 25-19. Etienne Belzile (Quebec, QC) had three kills in the second set to maintain Laval's advantage in the match while Dalhousie's team effort on defence caused problems for the visitor throughout the set.
Laval began the third set on the front foot and built a 4-1 lead thanks to their offence.
Dalhousie's defence was again their strong point in the third set. After the Tigers found themselves down early, their team defence and the attack play from Donovan - four kills in the set - were the bright spots as they fought to limit Laval's control on the match.
Another run from the Rouge et Or, including an ace from Girard, extended their lead to 12-5 and forced Dalhousie into another timeout. With Laval continuing to lead by seven, Dalhousie found a rhythm and went on a three-point run of their own, punctuated by an ace from Donovan, that forced the Rouge et Or into a timeout while leading 18-14.
Dalhousie kept the set close but couldn't cut into the lead anymore than they already had. Laval maintained their lead for the rest of the set and won 25-20 to clinch their victory in the match.
Ultimately, strong play at the net from Girard and Losier throughout the match, 10 and 13 kills respectively, made the difference for Laval as they won in straight sets.
Laval's Max Losier was named the player of the match with 13 kills and five digs, while Donovan posted 13 kills and six digs for the Tigers.
Next up, Dalhousie will travel to Sherbrooke to take on the Vert et Or on Friday at 6pm.
Laval's next test comes in a week's time when they host Montreal on Saturday the 20th at 7:30pm.