The men’s volleyball game this past Saturday was a heartfelt affair, starting with a send-off of four graduating students — Tyler Motherwell, James Evans, Scott Thomson, and Aleks Poldma — and ending with a crowd roaring, three-set sweep. Though Waterloo was able to win in only three sets, there were close calls, with end scores of 25–23, 25–22, 25–18.
The four graduating players played amazingly in their last season game, especially left side science student Evans, who had a team high of 11 kills.
When asked, Coach Chris Lawson expressed proudly that Evans was “having the best year of his five years.” Thomson, a rec and leisure setter, was also impressive with a crazy hitting percentage of 1.000 and an even crazier 32 assists.
Every set had fast-paced action with intense spikes only to be stopped by equally intense blocks. Aces were few and far between; despite Windsor being in seventh position in the standings, they held their own and killed 40 Waterloo plays.
The net wasn’t the only thing drawn tight — the game was tense. Every serve by a Warrior was accompanied by constant chirps from the Lancers. Every Lancer serve, meanwhile, only received chirps from the crowd, as expected. Though humorous, it obviously did not phase Waterloo, since they schooled Windsor in manners and points.
Waterloo led for most of the time, but it was only ever by two or three points at a time. Often times, the Warriors would score, followed by the Lancers, and back and forth. It wasn’t until the third set when Waterloo was able to pull ahead to a hopeful 17–9. What seemed like an easy win thereafter fumbled, and Windsor was able to almost make it back — the last minute of play saw a score of 24–20.
The last rally didn’t end in an ace or a killer spike, but rather with a tricky tip that Windsor was unable to send back. As soon as the ball hit the ground, the crowd exploded and Waterloo celebrated their amazing season.
When interviewed, Lawson said Waterloo is capable of placing in playoffs.
“Our goal was to get to the national championships, so finish top tier in Ontario,” he said.
The top two teams will continue to Canadian interuniversity sport championship play, and Lawson is confident Waterloo is capable of making it.
