The College of the Rockies Avalanche Men’s volleyball team are Bronze medallists at the CCAA Nationals.
With their first-ever appearance at the National Championships, held this year in Niverville, Manitoba, the Avalanche won two of of their three matches to make it to the Bronze medal match on Saturday, March 8. The PACWEST Silver medalists then took on the Dragons of St. Anne of the AACA, from Université Sainte Anne in Nova Scotia, for the Bronze.
After dropping the first set 25-15, the vs came roaring back, taking three straight but closely fought sets.
In the second set,the Ads’ Luke Margenau recorded seven blocks in the match, according to ccaa.ca files from the match. He held keep the Dragons at bay with his defensive efforts, “allowing Diego Policarpo to secure the set with a service ace (25-19).”
“A triple block by the Avalanche's Jhet Bowen, Luke Margenau, and Diego Policarpo set the tone for a hard-fought third set. Just as the Dragons may run away with a four-point lead, thanks in part to Louis-Philippe Leblanc’s digs, the Avalanche rallied. The PACWEST team found holes in the Dragons’ coverage to nearly win the set, but a service error gave the Dragons a chance at a comeback, with the score now tied at 24.
“The third set came to a dramatic conclusion thanks to a block by the Avalanche’s Luke Margenau and Boston Thiessen.”
Thus the COTR Avalanche finished things off —(27-25).25-19, 27-25, and 25-21; for the victory, the third place national finish, and the Bronze.
This Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Volleyball championships were hosted by Providence University College. The Avalanche started out the tournament with a loss to the Humber Hawks, to took the match in three sets on Wednesday, March 5.
But on Thursday, the Avs found their stride, and defeated the home team Providence Pilots three sets to one, putting them into the Bronze medal semi-final against the Canadian Mennonite University Blazers. The Avs swept the Blazers 3-0, punching their ticket to the Bronze medal game on Saturday.
The Avalanche, who took Silver at this year’s PACWEST championships in Nanaimo, earned themselves a wildcard berth at Nationals along with the gold medalists Douglas Royals.
