The men's varsity volleyball team rushed the floor after an extra-point five-set win at Redeemer//Photo by Elia Koolsbergen

The Redeemer Royals had no intention of laying down after Mohawk’s men’s volleyball team took a quick two-set to none lead on the home team (Jan. 24). The Mountaineers, in search of their fifth straight win, were in for a down-to-the-wire battle.

“I knew that, going into the third (set), that Redeemer was going to make sure that we earned it and that’s what they do – they make you earn it,” said Mohawk’s head coach Matthew Schnarr.

Redeemer was able to stave off defeat until a fifth and deciding set that even went to extra points (18-16), thrilling the raucous crowd and eventually sending an elated Mohawk bench rushing onto the floor in celebration after a Redeemer block attempt sailed out of bounds ending the game.

“When he hit that ball and it started sailing across my shoulder – it was just the greatest feeling,” said Marcin Jedrzejewski who set the final kill that led to the game-winning point.

Jedrzejewski even felt he made a mistake on the play, forgetting the positioning of Redeemer’s setter. But it all worked out in the end for Mohawk who now sit third in the Ontario Colleges’ Athletic Association West Division (10-3).

Justin Scapinello, who was named OCAA male-athlete of the week for his efforts against Niagara and Sheridan, had another productive game of 12 kills, three service aces and three stuff blocks against Redeemer.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Scapinello about the honour. “I’ve just been playing well lately. I’d like to keep it going.”

Scapinello could be seen diving all over the floor on Tuesday evening and even saved what would have been a tying point in the fifth set with a dive to his left and a one-handed dig that enabled the set for Mark Kaveckas’ kill attempt.

“I wasn’t about to lose tonight – that’s for sure,” said Scapinello.

Schnarr said, after a good week of practice and wins over Niagara and Sheridan, he wasn’t surprised when his team handled the first two sets easily (25-19 and 25-17).

“We’ve been training well for the last two weeks and our goal was to maintain consistency off passing and when we do that we have five weapons now, with Steve (Pawelczyk) and (Jedrzjewski) in the lineup, that we can really use and it opens up Scapinello and Ian (Cameron) and Phil (Youngblut) for offensive opportunities,” said Schnarr.

In a bit of changing role, and a search for that “consistency” Schnarr is seeking, Andrew Ross saw the bulk of minutes at the libero position over regular Ryan dela Rosa.

“We just happen to have two of what I think are the top five liberoes in the province and I’m just looking for control,” said Schnarr about the switch. “I’m a control first coach and right now (Ross) is just passing the ball well, he’s got a lot of rhythm, so putting him there gives us a lot of control off serve-receive and he helps make it consistent and it shows with his numbers.”

Even after a 19-11 lead in the third set made it look like an early night for the Royals, the home-crowd wasn’t about to let their team give up without a fight. Redeemer rallied behind their faithful for five straight points and came back to take the third set (23-25). The fourth set stayed close but was controlled mostly by Redeemer ending (22-25) in the Royals favour leading to a tension filled deciding set.

“Playing in a tight game like that kind of brings out the character in you,” said Jedrzjewski.

“Sometimes it just takes a lot of heart to keep going.”

The fifth set was a back-and-forth battle where neither team led by more than three points. With the score tied (16-16), the Mountaineers had to block out the chants of “let’s go Royals!”

“The crowd was unreal here so it felt good to squeak out a win,” said Scapinello.

Once an Ian Cameron kill gave Mohawk a one-point advantage the stage was set for Scapinello’s dive, Jedrzjewski’s set, Kaveckas’ kill and the block the ended the marathon-like game – a type of game Schnarr could appreciate.

“It just brings me back to my playing days,” said Schnarr. “It was a fun match to be a part of. To see the guys dig deep, after losing two straight sets and having all of the momentum the other way in their home building, to see my guys battle like that it makes me proud to see that we have that type of fight.”

The game’s leading scorers were Mohawk’s Ian Cameron and Redeemer’s Dave Klomps. The two big-hitters had identical stat lines of 17 kills, an ace and a block for 19 points each.