Varsity Update - March 12, 2007
CCAA Men’s Volleyball
The Mohawk Mountaineers put a winning cap on their season Saturday March 10 at the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association National Men's Volleyball Championship in Nanaimo B.C.
The Mountaineers came away with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-19) victory of the University of Kings' College (UKC) Blue Devils in the consolation final. The Mountaineers finished the year with an overall record of 32-4-1 (11-1 OCAA), including an OCAA silver medal and a seventh-place finish at the CCAA tournament.
In their final match, the eighth-seeded Blue Devils gave Mohawk difficulty early in the match, however the Mountaineers' depth and big-game experience proved to be the difference, as they eventually pulled away for the comfortable four-set win over the Atlantic champions. For Mohawk, All-Canadian Left Side Jasmin Cull led all players with 21 points (17 kills, three service aces, one stuff block) and 11 digs, while Kevin Watson picked up 11 points (seven kills, two aces and two blocks) and Steven Pawelczyk added 10 (four kills, eight aces and three blocks). Second year Middle Steven Pawelczyk was named the player of the game for Mohawk. Cull was named Second Team Tournament All Star.
The last game brought an end to the careers of three Mohawk players. In their final action as Mountaineers, Libero Matthew Schnarr picked up 10 digs, All-Canadian Setter Peter Sniuolis scored five points (three kills, one ace and one block) and picked up 27 assists, while Middle Blocker Cam Schnarr registered eight points (six kills, one ace and one block).
The Mountaineers' national championship dreams came to an agonizing end on opening night, Thursday March 8, as they fell 3-2 (26-28, 25-14, 25-23, 21-25, 15-12) to the host Malaspina Mariners. Facing a sold-out, and almost entirely hostile, crowd at the Malaspina Gym, the sixth-seeded Mountaineers came out strongly and the match quickly turned into a battle of power versus power. In every set but the second, the teams fought back and forth, with Mohawk continually fighting to remain level with the favoured Mariners. Both teams had chances to win the match, but the Mariners were able to close the door at the end to come away with the five-set victory.
For Mohawk, Cull led all players with 24 points (20 kills, three aces and one block), while Watson picked up 20 (18 kills, one ace and one block) and Pawelczyk added 15 points (four kills, eight aces and three blocks). Sniuolis was named Mohawk's player of the game, as he picked up 45 assists, and added six points (three kills, one ace, two blocks and two digs).
It was a rough second day for the Mountaineers Friday March 9, as they were defeated 3-0 by the University College of the Fraser Valley from Abbotsford B.C.
Mohawk trailed basically all match long, losing 21-25, 21-25, 18-25. The Mountaineers got off to a slow start in the first game. They missed seven serves in the second game and five more in the third. They were extremely flat from the start and lacked energy against a very good Fraser Valley team.
Watson had a good match for the Mountaineers with 11 kills and one ace. Cull, who was Mohawk’s player of the game, had eight kills and one ace.
