The fifth-year student at Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate has passed on opportunities in Canada and south of the border and will instead play volleyball at the University of Waterloo in September. Lynch said a pair of factors weighed heavily in her decision to forego her dream of playing NCAA volleyball in the United States and accept UW’s maximum annual athletic scholarship of about $4,000.

“I was completely set on going to the States and then recently, the past few months, I decided I wanted to stay here and focus on academics and be close to my family,” said Lynch, 18, who will study biomedical science.

“Once I started to realize that I would only see my family twice a year during the school year, I didn’t like that . . . at all.”

The six-foot-one Team Ontario member also has a history with Warriors volleyball coach Gabriele Jobst, who has helped train her as a beach player in the past. Knowing Jobst’s coaching philosophy and passion for the game was another factor in her decision to sign at UW, where she’ll play middle blocker and outside hitter.

“Gabby’s been coaching me for quite a few years now and I love her . . . she’s an amazing coach. She has the same passion for the sport that I do and she really pushes me,” she said.

Lynch, who has also been instructed for many years by Paul Pavan of the K-W Predators, followed a non-traditional path to UW, starting way back in Grade 8.

“My mom (Mary) forced me to play. I didn’t want to play at all but I’ve always been tall and she though I’d be good at it,” said Lynch.

Mom, as she usually is, was right.

Lynch would play four years of high school volleyball at KCI before trying out for the senior boys team this past September. Not only did she make the team, she earned a starting spot and played setter and libero for the Raiders, two positions she had never played before. Suiting up for the boys squad was an amazing experience, she said, because of the faster pace and higher calibre of play that caused her to learn new skills and improve her game as a whole.

Her teammates welcomed her with open arms — “They actually wanted me to play,” she said — and she also didn’t hear any negative comments from KCI’s opponents.

There was, however, the odd wink sent her way.

“The occasional guy hitting on you at the net, but it was all fun,” she laughed.

The only letdown was not playing against her younger brother, Grant, who attends Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School and plays for the senior boys team there. The Raiders and Highlanders simply didn’t meet during the course of the regular season or playoffs.

Lynch also has a younger brother, Bruce, who plays junior volleyball at SJAM, and an older brother, Scott. Her father, Gary, completes the family photo and has been a big supporter.

Lynch was prohibited from playing for the girls team at KCI during the ongoing winter season because of a recent provincewide policy that prevents a student from playing the same sport twice in the same school year. No big deal, said Lynch, as she’s leaving school at the end of January and hoping to find a full-time job to keep her busy until September.

In the meantime, she works as a referee for the Ontario Volleyball Association and can be seen officiating at various levels locally, including high school and university matches. She’s been officiating for a couple of years now and it’s given her a better appreciation of what the person in the referee stand is up against.

“Officiating is fun, but only if you have nice coaches. I ended up crying once in my first year of reffing because an under-15 coach was really unhappy when his team lost at provincials and criticized me,” she said.

“So I have respect for the refs because it’s hard, everything is up to you. And really there’s no point in trying to change a ref’s mind because they won’t change their mind.”

The money she earns between now and September will come in handy for Lynch. As much as she loves her family, she plans on living in residence during her first year at UW before returning home for her second year.

Story from The Record

The Ryerson Rams women’s volleyball team spent a week in Agua Prieta, Mexico from December 16-23, where they took part in a humanitarian effort along with the charity foundation Rancho Feliz.

Head Coach Dustin Reid commented on the team’s trip over the holidays:

“We had a terrific trip to Agua Prieta. Our hosts Rancho Feliz and the people of Agua Prieta and Sonora province were so wonderful to partner with. I felt the current make-up of our team would especially benefit from this type of experience. The people that we had the opportunity to meet and interact with had so much to teach us. Seeing the hard work and dignity of so many people who are trying to make a better life for their family has had a profound impact on myself and the rest of our team.”

The Rancho Feliz Charitable Foundation has worked on the border since 1987, and is a multi-national, secular, non-profit organization that believes in the democratic redistribution of opportunity. The foundation has changed thousands of lives on both sides of the border with about 94 cents of every dollar raised going directly into their various programs.

Coach Reid pointed out three highlights of the trip:

“We donated $5,000 that we’d raised through our calendar sales towards this initiative and Rancho Feliz matched our donation. With this (money) we purchased food and assembled packages that were provided to 1000 people. Each package contained enough food to feed a family of five for 10 days.”

“Combined with some training and competitive opportunities we engaged in, we planned to offer three free clinics for players from the Agua Prieta community. We ended up giving four clinics to players who travelled (from as far as) five hours from all over northwestern Mexico. In all we worked with over 150 players of all ages and gender.”

“We took part in three separate construction projects during our seven days. $3,000 that we raised through hosting volleyball tournaments at Ryerson was donated to fund these projects. The project closest to the hearts of our players was certainly constructing, from the ground up, a home for the Valdez Family, a hard working family with three young sons. Visiting the family at the former home early in the week was a heartbreaking experience for all of us. Being able to see the excitement and appreciation as they prepared to move into their new home on the day we departed was very emotional to say the least. On our final day, each of the small work teams within our group had the chance to leave a ‘Lucky Loonie’ inside of the walls that they had worked to erect. This was very special.”

Story submitted by the Ryerson Rams Women’s Volleyball Team | RyersonRams.ca

“Today we demonstrated outstanding focus and composure on the court one play at a time,” said Varsity Blues head coach Kristine Drakich. “Each player is committed to our goals and as a result we are competing and getting better every day. Our success this weekend was a results of the collective hard work of the team.”

Second-year rightside hitter and Ottawa native Charlotte Sider once again led the Blues, tallying a game-high 16 kills and adding 10 digs on the night.  Rookie Denise Wooding of North Vancouver, B.C., had 11 kills and 11 digs, while setter Malena Rapaport (Vancouver) added 35 assists and 10 digs in the win.

The first and second sets were see-saw battles, both ending in 25-23 favours for Toronto. The third set started the same way, with U of T holding an 8-7 lead early on; however Western rallied and consistently held a four-point lead before closing with a 25-20 advantage.  The Blues went onto regain their composure and handily take the fourth to secure the win.

The victory leaves the Blues in second place with an 8-3 record, while the Mustangs drop to 6-4 and are in a three-way tie for fifth in the OUA.

Toronto returns to the court next Sunday, January 15 as they head to Ryerson to take on the Rams. Opening serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Story submitted by the Varsity Blues | VarsityBlues.ca

MARC WILSON, MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Marc Wilson from Stratford, Ont. helped the Guelph Gryphon men’s volleyball team secure two big road wins on the weekend to start the second half of the season.  Guelph started the weekend defeating the Queens Gaels 3-2 on Saturday. During the five set match the middle hitter amassed 12 kills, four stuff blocks and a service ace against a very strong Gaels team.  The next day Wilson helped the Gryphons earn a 3-0 win over RMC tallying four kills, two stuff blocks and one service ace.  After the successful weekend, Guelph moved to 8-3 on the regular season and sits tied for second in the OUA standings.

ERINN BICKLE, WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Third year Erinn Bickle of Whitby, Ont. was a dominant force in earning the Gryphon women’s volleyball team a road split of their matches in Kingston this past weekend.  The middle blocker earned a total of 38 points including a huge 13 points in blocks. On Saturday the Gryphons dropped a very close 3-2 match with the Queens Gaels in which Bickle was a shining star tallying 25 points (14 kills, 1 ace, 10 blocks).  The next day she helped the Gryphons to a 3-0 win over RMC scoring 13 points (9 kills, 1 ace, 3 blocks).

Story submitted by Michelle Pino for the Guelph Gryphons | Gryphons.ca

The University of Windsor continued their winning ways with the defeat of the Toronto Varsity Blues at the St. Denis Centre on January 6th, 2012.  In front of a capacity crowd the Lancers defeated the Blues 3-1.  The scores were 19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22.

The Lancers started off the set sluggish and it was side out volleyball for the first 20 points and then costly errors put the Varsity Blues on top taking the first set easily.

It was more of the same in the 2nd set up until about the 10 point mark where Coach Lippert gave the nod to put in rookie setter Blase Wasser.

“We were at a stale mate.  Nobody wanted to do what needed to be done to stop this side out slugfest.” Commented first year Head Coach Shawn Lippert. “  I put Wasser in there to put a fire in their bellies.”

The move paid off because the Lancers put up an un-answered run and the set went to the Lancers.   It was more of the same in the 3rd set as Wasser kept feeding Williamson and Oake for most of their kills.

In the fourth set, 5th year setter William Alexander was back on the floor and the Lancers went down 13-10 early.  Wasser again was put into action.  The Lancers rallied back and went up on top of Toronto 24-22 when a shanked ball was sent to the back curtain and Blase Wasser dove for it to save the ball and Oake threw the free ball back to Toronto.  Toronto transitioned but made the error to give the Lancers the match win.

“I just wanted to do everything I could to give us a chance to win.” Says Blase Wasser.  “Whenever Coach Lippert gives me the nod, I will do everything in my power to get us the 25th point before the other team.”

Kyle Williamson hit .400 with 11 kills 9 digs and 2 blocks.  Harrison Oake had 12 kills for .276 with five digs.  Foster led the Lancers with 10 digs.

Story from the Windsor Lancer Volleyball Club Website.

The Marauders took the opening set, 25-21, lost the next two, 25-21 and 25-20, rebounded for a 25-20 win but dropped the final set 15-7. The game was Mac’s first since the Christmas break and leaves the Marauders with a 3-6 record for ninth place in the OUA’s 13-team league.

Kailee Stock had a team-high 18 points for the Marauders, all in kills, and recorded another 16 digs. Middle blocker Shannon McRobert also reached double-digit points with 16, 11 of those points coming from kills, four blocks, and an ace. Rookie Lauren Mastroluisi added 10 more points for McMaster with eight kills and two blocks and setter Amanda Weldon recorded 42 assists and 13 digs. Libero Meagan Nederveen dug up a game-high 20 balls for the Marauders.

For the Badgers, Lucy McLay earned a game-high 20 kills along with 20 digs and Rachel Roorda added another 15 points. Jennifer McKenzie and Lauren Stirling recorded 12 and 11 points, respectively and setter Ally Fast earned 47 assists in Brock’s win.

Story from McMaster Athletics as posted on HamiltonScores.com

The Guelph Gryphons men’s volleyball team is pleased to announce the addition of Guelph native Tim Warnholtz to the program for the 2012-13 season

“Tim is a very gifted volleyball player and an even better man. His work ethic is second to none and he plays with unbelievable passion. We recruited Tim because he is the type of player that is not only a great talent but also a player of integrity and player that has a deep desire to play at the highest level possible,” said University of Guelph head coach Cal Wigston who feels Warnholtz is a top five recruit in the country.

“Tim had opportunities to go where ever he wanted to play but ultimately chose to stay in his home town to play in front of his family and friends.”

“Being from Guelph had an impact in my decision because family is important to me and being able to be close to them will be very nice,” said Warnholtz.

Warnholtz, a 6-5 right side comes from Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI) where he played volleyball for four years. He was three times named the men’s volleyball MVP at GCVI and the junior male athlete of the year in grade 10.

Additionally he competed club volleyball for Forest City in London, Ont.  This past summer he competed with the U18 Provincial Team and won bronze at the National Team Challenge Cup (NTCC). He hopes to make the Canadian junior team next year after attending camp with the team this past year and looks forward to playing for the Gryphons next season.

“I chose the University of Guelph because the volleyball team has a very high potential for the next few years and I would love to be involved in that process and hopefully in some way help the team towards an OUA title,” said Warnholtz. “Also, the level of coaching that will be available to me will help in achieving my personal goals as well as team goals.”

Warnholtz hopes to pursue a Human Kinetics degree at the University of Guelph.

“Our program is committed to building a team that will compete at the CIS level and in order to do that we have to focus on skill and quality of character. Tim is a model for both,” said Wigston.

Athletes who commit to any Guelph Gryphon team will be eligible to compete provided they are academically admissible and eligible to the University of Guelph.

Story submitted by Michelle Pino for Gryphon Athletics, University of Guelph |Gryphons.ca

The match was almost a copy of the match from the previous night with Lakehead playing determined volleyball for much of the first set, but then falling behind early in sets 2 & 3 and having to play from behind the rest of the way. Coach Funk said, “ I thought both teams played better than the previous night and we were fortunate to be able to play with the lead for much of the second and third sets. Our team is still learning how to play with more consistency so we have to keep our nose to the grindstone in our training to make that happen.”

Brooke Lloyd led the offense again with 13 points (12 kills, 1 ace) followed by Erinn Bickle with 10 (7 kills, 3 blocks). The Gryphons are home again next weekend when they will host the Queen’s Gaels and the RMC Paladins on Friday and Saturday nights. Game time for both is 6pm.

Story submitted by Paul Funk, Head Coach Women’s Volleyball, University of Guelph | Gryphons.ca

Team captain Jeremy Groenveld scored 19 kills in McMaster’s three set win over the Waterloo Warriors on the road Friday night.

The defending OUA champions steamrolled their way to their second win of the OUA regular season at the University of Waterloo with set scores of 25-23, 25-20, 25-22.

Groenveld had a game-high 19 points, all from kills, and Kevin Stevens  had another 10 for the Marauders in the win. Setter TJ Sanders had 37 assists and 4 aces on Friday night.

For the Warriors, Cameron Wheelan had a team-high 14 points and Fiodar Kazhamiaka had another 12 for the home team.

The Marauders continue on the road with a game against the Guelph Gryphons at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night.

Source: Marauders Athletics

Ryerson Rams @ Guelph Gryphons

The Guelph Gryphons matched up against the Ryerson Rams tonight (Oct. 28th) in Guelph at the W.F. Mitchell Center. After a tense game the Gryphons won their season-opener 3-1. Set scores were 25-22, 25-27, 25-20, and 25-22.

It was a rough start for the Gryphons in the first set, having added six rookies to the team this season. The Gryphons had already met the Rams in a pre-season tournament where they lost 3-1. A new dynamic on the court made for some early mistakes and miscommunications and gave the Rams a slight early lead. The Gryphons started pulling it together with help from Marc Wilson (Stratford, ON) who showed great promise last season as a rookie, and he brought it full force to this game.

The Gryphons introduced a promising new starting libero to the court – Hugo Curley (Ottawa, ON), the third libero the team has seen in three years. New Gryphons Greg Houston (Chatham, ON) and Eric Wagner (Kitchener, ON) were also thrown into the mix this game and played well.  Guelph closed the gap in the first set and eventually overcame the Rams finishing it 25-22.

The Gryphons and Rams played a very competitive second set. The Gryphons had to ward off Luca Milosevic (Toronto, ON) and Alexander Dawson’s (Scarborough, ON) aggressive attacks. The score continued to build back and forth until it sat at 25-26 and Ram player Marc Reardon (London, ON) took the set with a final kill – 25-27.

The third set was much stronger for the Gryphons.  Houston, Andrew Whitaker (Sharon, ON) and Winston Rosser (Whitby, ON) led the Gryphons in kills and helped build a lead midway through the set that carried them straight to the end. Ultimately it was the defensive combination of Whitaker, Wilson and Ryan Killeen (Oakville, ON) and their blocks that took the third set 25-20.

In the fourth, Ryersons Aleska Miladinovic (Belgrade, Serbia) proved to be a strong defensive player for the Rams and managed to shut down a lot of Gryphon attacks. Midway through the set Guelph capitalized on some Ryerson mistakes and were able to build a comfortable lead that the Rams couldn’t catch up to. An ace from Kevin Carey (Grand Prairie, AB) secured the Gryphon lead at 24-21, and a Rams service error finished the game 25-22.

The game ended 3-1 for the Gryphons, proving the strength of the new and old members as a team. The Gryphons were led by Whitaker with 16 kills, 2 aces and 3 digs, along with Rosser and rookie Houston who both had 10 kills each.  The Rams were led by Milosevic with 15 kills, 3 aces, and 6 digs.

The Gryphons next play Oct. 29th against the McMaster Marauders in Guelph at the W.F. Mitchell Center. The game begins at 8pm.

Source: Gryphons Athletics

RMC Paladins @ Queen’s Gaels

The Queen’s Gaels (1-0) won their first game of the season in straight sets against cross town rivals the RMC Paladins tonight at the Athletics and Recreation Centre. The set scores were 25-12, 25-18, 25-18.

The Gaels handled the Paladins easily in what was a quick first set. The Paladins would make things tougher on Queen’s in set two as the two squads kept things close until the Gaels pulled away with the 25-18 set win. The team would repeat the set score in the third to take the match.

Philippe Goyer, of Ottawa Ont., led the team with nine kills on 16 attack attempts, registering only three errors in the process. Scott Brunette of Calgary, Atla. led the team with one solo block and one block assisted to go along with four kills.

RMC was lead by Kingston native Tyler Leknois, who hit nine kills on 21 attempts, 10 more attempts than the next leading hitter for the Paladins.

The Gaels will travel to Windsor on November 4, 2011 in an attempt to remain perfect in the season.

Source: Gaels Athletics

Ryerson Rams @ Waterloo Warriors

The Warriors picked up their first win of the season with a straight set victory over the Ryerson Rams on Saturday night at the PAC gym.  The Warriors won the first two sets by the slimmest of margins, 25-23 and 26-24 and took control in the third set winning 25-19.

With the win Waterloo improved to 1-1 while the Rams fell to 1-2.

Fifth year outside hitter Cameron Wheelan (Barrie) was a force once again for the Warriors leading all players with 11 kills.  Wheelan also added four blocks and one service ace to round out his attack.  Second year players Fiodar Kazhamiaka (Waterloo) and Jordan Dyck (St. Catharines) each added seven kills in a winning effort.  Setter Scott Thomson (St. Marys) was solid once again for the black and gold dishing out 26 assists.

Leading the offense for the Rams was outside Luka Milosevic (Toronto, Ont.) with nine kills and two blocks for 11 points.  Setter Aleksa Miladinovic (Toronto, Ont.) had 20 assists in the loss.

Waterloo travels to Toronto next weekend to face the York Lions (0-2) on Friday and the Toronto Varsity Blues (0-1) on Saturday.

Source: Warriors Athletics

McMaster Marauders @ Guelph Gryphons

The McMaster men’s volleyball team recorded their second three-set win of the weekend by taking down the Guelph Gryphons on the road. Set scores in favour of the Marauders were 25-20, 25-22, 25-16.

McMaster’s Jeremy Groenveld (Welland, Ont.) had another double-digit night with 15 points, all in kills. Middle Michael Sjonnesen (Cambridge, Ont.) had another nine for the Marauders with the majority of those points coming from blocks. Kevin Stevens (Winnipeg, Man.) was also big at the net for the Marauders with seven kills and a block.

The only effective players for the Gryphons were Andrew Whitaker (Sharon, Ont.) and Winston Rosser (Whitby, Ont.) with 13 and 9 points, respectively.

The Marauders continue on the road next Friday with a match-up against the Ryerson Rams.

Source: Marauders Athletics

Toronto Varsity Blues @ York Lions

The York University Lions men’s volleyball team earned its first victory of the season thanks to a four-set triumph over the rival Toronto Varsity Blues at Tait McKenzie Centre on Sunday (Oct. 30).

The Lions (1-2) jumped out to an early start thanks – in part – to a hot stretch in which they won eight of nine points en route to a 25-16 opening set win. After the Varsity Blues rallied for a 25-19 second set to even the match, York established a consistent, defensive-minded presence to claim the final two sets 25-15 and 25-22.

Nikola Sandic (Etobicoke, Ont.) won player of the game honours for the Lions after a solid all-around effort which saw him collect eight kills, 10 digs and 11 points. Sandic’s offensive effort was complemented by teammates Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) and Gregory Ivan (Toronto), each of whom had seven kills. Marvin Macalino (Aurora, Ont.) helped stabilize the York offence with a match-best 27 assists.

The Varsity Blues (1-1) showed plenty of firepower, with Mitchell Woodside (Clyde River, P.E.I.), Matthew Vares (Scarborough, Ont.) and Jake Dysselhof (Mississauga, Ont.) each contributing nine kills. However, the trio was also responsible for 26 attack errors and 13 service errors in the match.

Both teams benefited from their share of serving miscues throughout the match, with Toronto committing 20 service errors and York making 16 errors of their own from the service line.

The Lions will be back home at the Tait McKenzie Centre this coming weekend for games against the Waterloo Warriors on Friday (Nov. 4) at 8pm and the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday (Nov. 5) 4pm.

Story from the OUA Website |  OUA.ca

The Spartans finish at 1-2 for third spot in its pool and don’t advance to the playoff round. Only the top-two in each of the two pools move on to the semis. The Poles placed first and Russia’s Zenit Kazan second in Canada’s pool.

“We little a disappointed,” said Canadian team captain Rudy Verhoeff of Calgary. “We were too sloppy in the easy plays. We’re very happy to have had this opportunity and it gave us a clear view on where we need to be and what we need to work on. Overall we have learned a lot and this competition has been a great experience.”

Brad Kufske of Abbotsford, B.C., led Canada with 11 points from nine attacks and two blocks. Nick Del Bianco of Surrey had eight points. All 12 Spartan players on the roster played at least one set on Tuesday.

“Today was a good chance for us to get our younger players to get on the court,” said Canada’s head coach Ben Josephson of Strathmore, Alta. “The biggest lesson we’ve learned is that that these teams and athletes have a purpose in everything they do on the court, with each serve, with each set, with each swing.”

Josephson was pleased with the performance of his young squad against some of the top clubs and players on the professional side of the sport.

‘’This event gives us an idea on what we need to do to get better against the best teams in the world,’’ he said.  ‘’I think you’ll see some of our guys play against some of these players again in the future.’’

The Canadian team roster for the FIVB Club World Championships in men’s volleyball. Team Canada is represented by the Trinity Western University Spartans from Surrey, B.C.

Team: Jarrod Offereins, Calgary; Marc Howatson, Victoria; Devyn Plett, Winnipeg; Ben Ball, Abbotsford, B.C.; Dan Jansen Van Doorn, Langley, B.C.; Steven Marshall, Abbotsford; Brad Kufske, Abbotsford; Rudy Verhoeff, Calgary; Lucas Van Berkel, Edmonton; Branden Schmidt, Winton, Alta.; Ben Ball, Abbotsford, B.C.; Derek Thiessen, Coquitlam, B.C.; Nicholas Del Bianco, Surrey, B.C.

Head coach: Ben Josephson, Strathmore, Alta.
Assistant coach: Joel Jansen
Team manager: John Blacher, Winnipeg.