(London, Ontario) – The Fanshawe Men's Volleyball team (11-5) was successful in a four-set match against the visiting Niagara Knights (9-7).
Daniel Ridings (St. Catharines, ON) secured Fanshawe's first point of the match with a dynamic block. Fanshawe's next point came off of a powerful Tanner Patterson (Baden, ON) kill. Another Baden spike and ace contributed to the Birds' early 9-6 lead. Zack Admans (St. Thomas, ON) also added to Fanshawe's dominant play with a crushing kill. The Knights began to battle back later in the set and took the lead. But, Jack Vought (Ottawa, ON) and Paterson kills put the Falcons up 21 over Niagara's 19 points. Admans had the crowd on their feet after smashing the ball on the visitor's side after a scrappy rally. Set one resulted in a Falcons 25-21 success.
Ridings had a commanding presence to start set two. He recorded two kills and a block, scoring on Fanshawe's first five points. Unfortunately, the Knights took control of the game, leading 19-13 over the Birds. Later in the set, the Falcons and Knights exchanged points. Paterson made amazing kills, but the Knights prevailed and took the second set by a score of 25-27.
Fanshawe's first point of the third set resulted in a Matt Stechnicki set (Guelph, ON) to a swinging Paterson kill. To tie the game at six a piece, Jayden Crowther (London, ON) got in on the action, recording a powerful block. The Birds then took a commanding 11-5 run, which resulted in a score of 17-11 in the Birds' favour. Paterson took over the game late in the set, scoring his 15th and 16th set in the match with a kill and block on consecutive rallies. The Falcons went up 2-1 in the match after winning set three, 25-17.
An Admans block opened set four for the Falcons and a Crowther kill gave the Falcons a 4-3 advantage. The set stayed close between the two teams. Great rallies and exciting play got the crowd into the match. With the score tied at 8, Paterson gave Fanshawe the lead with a hit landing at the opponent's attack line. Giving the Birds a two-point lead Admans secured his 7th point of the match and Fanshawe's 17th point of the set. Ultimately, the Birds came away with the victory, winning set four 25-18.
The Birds will battle the Boreal Vipers (1-15) next on Saturday, February 3 in hopes of improving their record.
