By james art October 25 marked the home opener for the Algonquin Wolves men’s volleyball team, with the Wolves suffering a devastating 3-1 loss.
The second game of the season drew cheers and whoops from the crowd as Wolves took on Durham Lords.
During warmups, the Wolves wore pink Algonquin College jerseys to support the fight against breast cancer. The game also included a raffle for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The Wolves started the first set strong, going up 13-8 in the first half of Set 1. The Lords were able to quickly catch up, tying the score at 17-17.
With strong liberos Malcolm Spence and Ben Puskas contributing on defense, the Wolves won the first set after a tight match, 25-23.
The second set began with the crowd chanting “Let’s go wolves!”
Set 2 started with an edge for the Lords as the team made a player swap by inviting strong libero Ben Rochello onto the court.
Despite a ferocious attack from the Lords, the Wolves opened the second set 10-5. Ethan Fisher scored a point, leaving Lords coach Dwayne Cochrane red-faced and screaming as he contested a call from the umpire.
A brave move was made by one of the Wolves’ liberos, Puskas, to claw back a point. Puskas jumped the scorer’s table during the match, desperately trying to prevent the ball from going out, but to no avail.
The stands began to shake and the sounds of thunderous feet hitting the floor in support of the home team.
The second set ended 25-20 in favor of the Lords.
In the third set, the Wolves came back stronger than ever.
The Wolves regained their strength, switching to a defensive strategy and finally managed to score points over the Masters’ wall block.
A timeout was called at 11-8, with the Lords leading.
However, a few balls reaching the out zone meant trouble for the Lords as Wolves came back to draw level at 17-17.
The Wolves struggled against the Masters’ setters, taking a devastating loss in the third set 25-22.
The game turned into a fourth set as the Wolves prepared for an offensive turnaround.
In the end, the Lords were victorious, ending the fourth set 28-26. The Lords secured a 3-1 win.
“We’re pretty young, we’re a new team that’s reforming,” Algonquin Wolves player Mahmoud Abdelaziz said. “It’s about learning to keep the energy going through the game.”
Abdelaziz said the Wolves have only two returning members from last year’s team. Three of the new additions to the team are 18 years old.
“We showed a lot of heart and guts, but tomorrow we go against Centennial,” he said. “We lost 3-1 to Centennial last year, looking forward to coming back.”
Lords’ Petrus Kuypers said this could be the start of a good season for them.
“We won our last game, it’s our second win in a row,” he said. “This could be the start of a winning streak for us.”
Algonquin College head coach Jelle Kooijan wasn’t too disheartened by the loss.
“We play again tomorrow so there’s a quick turnaround,” he said. “We are a young team with a lot of promise. We’re working on keeping our energy up through the game.”
The Wolves were scheduled to face Centennial College on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m