(London, Ontario) The Falcons Men's Volleyball team (8-3) defeated the Sheridan Bruins (3-7) in four sets on Saturday afternoon at Glenn Johnson Athletic Centre to maintain their perfect 5-0 record at home this season.
The first set got going with a powerful spike by Jayden Crowther (London, ON) who skied high all afternoon securing 16 points on 12 kills, three aces and three blocks in the match. In what was a tightly contested first set that went the distance, the Bruins were able to steal it 27-25 to get out to an early one set lead.
The second set provided more back-and-forth drama between the two squads. After Sheridan got out to an early lead, the Falcons answered with a 7-0 run to tie the set at 15 a piece. From there, neither team was able to hold the lead as each club continued to trade points until it was tied 28-28. Tanner Paterson, who was coming off a historic performance on Wednesday, had another good outing as he racked up 19 points on 12 kills and 6 aces, including a timely kill to give Fanshawe the 29-28 lead in the set. Evan Kirkpatrick (Gananoque, ON) sealed the set 30-28 for the Birds as he rose up for a big block to even the match at one set a side.
Fanshawe was able to carry their momentum into the third set, lead by Zack Admans (St. Thomas, ON) who lead the team with 20 kills. Both Admans and Matt Stechnicki (Mississauga, ON) picked up where they left off on Wednesday night as the two continued to link up for points all afternoon. After going on a late 7-2 run in the set, the Falcons were able to secure the third 25-16.
In the fourth set Fanshawe didn't look back, finishing with 59 kills as a team in comparison to 34 for Sheridan. Three straight aces by Paterson and continued ariel dominance from the Birds hitters saw them cruise to a 25-17 set win to take the match three sets to one.
The Falcons next match will be after the winter break against Mohawk (5-6) in Hamilton on January 8th to kickstart 2025. The Birds next home game will be against Boreal (0-10) on Saturday January 18th at 6:00 p.m. where the Men's team will look to remain perfect at Glenn Johnson Athletic Centre.
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