(London, Ontario) – The Falcons Men's Volleyball team (14-4) hosted the visiting OCAA East Division sixth seed, Loyalist (9-9) at Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre Saturday afternoon and made quick work of the Lancers by winning in straight sets.
The first set opened with even play between the two squads as both teams were trading points back and forth. Tanner Paterson (Baden, ON) and Taylor Jordan (London, ON) showed up in a big way in this match with the two Falcons posting near identical stat lines. Paterson and Jordan both had a team high 10 kills, four aces and 15 points while also getting it done of the defensive end with four digs and one block a piece. The Birds dynamic duo helped them take a close first set by a score of 25-20.
The second set was pure domination by the Birds as they started off on a 7-2 run. Matt Stechnicki (Mississauga, ON) was a driver of the Falcons success in the match as he picked up a team high seven digs while quarterbacking the team with 29 assists. The Falcons cruised to 25-10 second set win thanks to great defensive play and a good service game.
The third set was tight again as the teams found themselves deadlocked at 21 points after trading scores throughout. After a timeout by Falcons coach Patrick Johnston the Birds looked energized and scored the next four points in the set to take the third 25-21 and sweep the match three sets to none.
The Falcons will be back inside Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre for their quarter-final matchup against OCAA West Division seventh seed Redeemer (7-11) after the Royals knocked off the OCAA East Division second seed Centennial (13-5) in their round one matchup. The Men's team split the season series with Redeemer this year with both squads taking a match. The Fanshawe Men's team will look for a boost from the home crowd faithful on Saturday, February 15th at 3:00 p.m. as a quarter-final victory will book their ticket to a semi-final matchup at OCAA Championships.
-30-