The Trent Excalibur men’s volleyball team had a busy weekend, playing games against both La Cite and Algonquin, with divided results.

On the night of Friday, January 22, Trent took La Cite Coyotes by storm, winning the match 3-1 (25-24, 25-16, 24-26, 25-12).  Excalibur was in top form that night as demonstrated by their strong ofensive play and their ability to get points left and right over La Cite.   Notable performers for Trent include Ian Rettie, with an outstandng 18 points (4 kills, 10 aces, 4 blocks), T . J. Rodin with 12 points (5 kills, 3 aces, 4 blocks) and Ben Kinzett with 12 points (8 kills, 4 blocks).

The afternoon game of Saturday, January 23 proved to be a much different game than the previous night, with Algonquin Thunder taking the victory 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22) over Trent.  It was often hard to tell who would win the match as the teams were close in points and performance, but Algonquin, the #1 ranked team in the league, pulled through in the end with an upset over Trent.  Notable players for Trent include T. J. Rodin with 14 points (7 kills, 3 aces, 4 blocks), Chris Ferguson-Martin with 10 points (7 kills, 3 aces) and Alex Gastel with 8 points (7 kills, 1 block).  Trent's Joshua Neadow also performed extremely well in both games earning  combined tally of 28 digs.

Trent is now ranked #4 in the OCAA men's volleyball league, with 9 wins and 4 losses.

You can next catch the Excalibur team in home game action on Wednesday, January 27 at 8 p.m. against the Durham Lords.

Christina Richards

Student Sports Writer

Photographs by Chiziwiso Pswarayi

The Trent University Excalibur volleyball teams challenged the Loyalist Lancers in home game action on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, with both Excalibur men’s and women’s teams winning 3-1 over their determined opponents.

The Excalibur women’s team came out playing strong and looking in control of the outcome of the match, winning the first game 25-17 over the Lancers.  Trent lost some of their steam in the next game and Loyalist took advantage of this, retaliating with some solid serving, winning 25-16 over Trent. 

However, Trent was not ready to accept defeat from the Lancers and stepped up their game in the third set and executed many earth-shattering blocks.  Both the third and fourth games were tight in terms of points, with continuous back and forth play dominating the action.  Excalibur rallied together as a more cohesive unit, driving against the Lancers with sheer persistence, leading Trent to win the last two games (25-22; 25-23) and winning the overall match 3-1 over Loyalist. 

Key Performers (Women)

#11 Jennifer Lenis, 16 points (16 kills)

#12 Alex Thompson, 14 points (12 kills, 4 aces)

#1 Elise Hanson, 10 kills (10 kills)

Jessica Clancy (18 digs)

In the men’s match, the heat was on between Trent and Loyalist as both teams were engaged in rapid-fire play and were neck and neck throughout the match.  The Lancers seemed to have a slight edge over Trent at times in the first game, winning 25-22 over Trent. 

Excalibur quickly upped their game in the second game with strength in blocking as well as superb teamwork to notch points against Loyalist, taking the match 25-21.  The third and fourth sets were very tight in terms of points, but Trent pulled through with lots of hustle and intensity, winning the games 28-26 and 27-25.   At times, it was difficult to determine who would win the match, but Trent pushed to the finish line to an outstanding 3-1 victory over Loyalist. 

Key Performers (Men)

Ben Kinzett, 15 points (13 kills, 1 ace, 1 block)

Alex Gastel, 12 points (9 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks)

Eric Jeffery, 11 points (4 kills, 2 aces, 5 blocks)

Chris Ferguson-Martin, 11 points (9 kills, 2 aces)

Joshua Neadow – 23 digs

You can catch the Excalibur women’s and men’s volleyball teams in action on Friday, January 22 at 6 and 8 pm at the Trent Athletics Centre. 

By Christina Richards

Student Sports Writer