The Douglas College Royals men's volleyball team continue their winning ways into the new year with an eventful 3-0 sweep victory over the University of Fraser Valley Cascades.
Saturday's home opener included a career-high performance from Jon Colobong who had a career high 22 digs, and great efforts from outside hitters Max Haronga and Reid Marriott who led the Royals with 15 and 12 kills respectively.
The Royals started off the first set on a good note with the help of both Haronga and 3rd year outside hitter Greg Moore each scoring two points of their own, giving the Royals a 9-4 lead. Douglas would go on to maintain the upper hand, as a set point from Marriott would give the Royals the first set 25-19.
The second set however was a little more challenging for the Royals, as the Cascades not only picked up the pace but were also in position to win the set, up 24-22. Douglas was up to the test however, as they fended off 12 UFV points to win the set 36-34 after a set point ace from Max Haronga.
Douglas's momentum from the prior set carried onto the third as they were in the lead for most of the set, and after a UFV timeout was called with Douglas leading 18-14, the Royals went on a 7-3 run which secured them their 11th win of the season.
The Royals continue to lead the PACWEST conference (11-2) with 22 points and with the 2020 PACWEST provincial tournament just over a month away, Royals head coach Jay Tremonti talked about the adjustments this teem needs to make in order to prepare for February:
"First and foremost we just have to keep getting better and doing things like coming to the gym and getting 1% better everyday. Our big focus these next two weeks is solidifying our block defense, and continue to work on our strengths which has been our serves and our overall offense."
"I think that there's quite a bit of parity in the league and we know that anybody is going to be able to win come provincials time and I think it's the team that's able to challenge themselves the most these next two months and get the most out of their training will have the most success come playoff time."
The Royals next home game will be this Thursday against the College of the Rockies Avalanche at 6pm.
