Welcome to the 2011 Coast-to-Coast Volleyball invitational tournament hosted by Queen's University. The Gaels are excited to host this pre-season tournament which is a preview of the CIS men's volleyball championship which will also be held at Queen's University in March of 2012. The Gaels are pleased to welcome their guests the Alberta Golden Bears, the Calgary Dinos, the McMaster Marauders, the Montreal Carabins, the UNB Varsity Reds, the UBC Thunderbirds and the Western Mustangs. As each of these teams prepare to begin their quest for a CIS championship, the fans have the privilege at this tournament to see some of the best squads in the nation go head-to-head at this state of the art facility. The Gaels hope you enjoy this competition and look forward to welcoming you back in March when they host the 2011-12 CIS national championship tournament from March 2-4, 2012.
Schedule and Results
Teams
Program
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
Athletics and Recreation Centre Main Gym
Friday, October 14
1pm – Calgary vs. Montreal - Calgary 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-23)
3pm – McMaster vs U.B.C. - U.B.C. 3-1 (25-21; 25-20; 23-25; 25-22)
6pm – Queen's vs. New Brunswick - New Brunswick 3-1 (24-26; 28-26; 25-21; 25-23)
8pm – Western vs. Alberta - Alberta 3-0 (25-19; 25-19; 25-22)
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Saturday, October 15
1pm - Montreal vs. McMaster - McMaster 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-20)
3pm – Queen's vs. Western - Western 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22)
6pm – Calgary vs. UBC - UBC 3-2 (22-25; 19-25; 25-23; 25-13; 19-17)
8pm – UNB vs. Alberta - Alberta 3-0 (25-18; 25-14; 25-22)
Sunday, October 16
9am – McMaster vs. Western (5th place) - Western 3-2 (23-25, 25-15, 20-25, 25-17; 15-10)
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 16, 2011) - The Western Mustangs sealed a fifth place finish at the Coast-to-Coast Classic with a five set win over their Ontario rivals, the McMaster Marauders. Set scores were 23-25, 25-15, 20-25, 25-17 and 15-10.
Andre Begin of Ottawa was named player of the game for the Mustangs while Daniel Groenveld of Welland, Ont. was the man of the match for the Marauders. Begin was huge on defence for the Mustangs, contributing nine digs to a solid defensive team effort. Groenveld was one of McMaster's top offensive performers in the game, converting .333 percent of his attacks to accumulate 12 kills in the game. He also added six digs on the defensive side of the game.
The game was a see-saw battle as the teams traded set wins. McMaster held a 2-1 set lead after three to have the edge. The Mustangs responded well though as they won the fourth set by a 25-17 margin. Western held their moementum into the tiebreaker and came away with a 15-10 win to clinch the game, 3-2.
With the win Western goes home with a fifth place finish while the McMaster Marauders settle for sixth.
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11am - Calgary vs. UNB (Bronze) - Calgary 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-22)
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 16, 2011) - The Calgary Dinos wrapped up a successful showing in the Coast-to-Coast Classic with a straight sets win in the bronze medal game over the UNB Varsity Reds. Set scores were 25-20, 25-21 and 25-22.
Jay Blankeneau of Sherwood Park, Alta. was named player of the game for the Dinos while Andrew Costa of Summerside, PEI was named player of the game for the Varsity Reds. Blankeneau was the catalyst for the Dinos on offence as he had a game high 27 assists for Calgary. He also had a .667 kill percentage as two of his three attacks went for Calgary points. On defence, Blankeneau added six digs for the Dinos. Costa had a solid line as well with a team high 22 assists and added six digs on defence for the Varsity Reds.
Calgary came into the bronze medal matchup having narrowly missed out on a shot to play for gold. They controlled the offensive and defensive play throughout the three sets and came away with a straight set sweep of the Varsity Reds. UNB was very aggressive on offence with over 100 attacks but Calgary ultimately held together on defence to come away with the win.
With the victory the Calgary Dinos go home with bronze medals while the UNB Varsity Reds finish in fourth place.
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1pm – UBC vs. Alberta (Gold) - Alberta 3-2 (22-25, 17-25, 25-15, 25-16; 15-6)
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 16, 2011) - The Alberta Golden Bears came back from two sets down to take the 2011 Coast-to-Coast championship as they defeated the UBC Thunderbirds 3-2. Set scores were 22-25, 17-25, 25-15, 25-16 and 15-6.
Tristan Aubry of Edmonton, Alta. was named player of the match for the Golden Bears while Milan Nikic of Calgary, Alta. was man of the match for the Thunderbirds. Aubry was instrumental in leading his squad out of a two sets to none deficit to start off the match. The Edmonton native finished with eight kills in 13 attacks for a .538 kill percentage which was a team high. For the Thunderbirds, Nikic chipped in with three kills all landing for UBC points to go along with 30 assists and seven digs.
"In the beginning we started off pretty slow, a couple of guys really stepped up today in a big way and as a team we played really good," said tournament MVP Mitch Irvine of Red Deer, Alta. who is an outside hitter for the Golden Bears. "We started off pretty slow and were a little tense in the beginning but our team finally started to play together in the end."
Alberta made their way to the championship match with a pair of straight set wins against the Western Mustangs on Friday night and then the UNB Varsity Reds Saturday. The final match was the only time in the tournament that Alberta lost a set.
With the victory the Alberta Golden Bears go home with gold medals while the UBC Thunderbirds take home silver.
Tournament All-Stars:
Alberta - #1 Jarron Mueller
Calgary - #9 Jay Blankenau
Calgary - #11 Andrew Visser
UNB - #5 Julio Fernandez
UBC - #5 Milan Nikic
UBC - #10 Chris Klassen
Tournament MVP - Alberta #13 Mitch Irvine
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3pm – Montreal vs. Queen's (7th place) - Queen's 3-1 (20-25, 25-12, 25-13, 25-21)
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 16, 2011) - The host Queen's Gaels finished off the Coast-to-Coast Classic on a high note as they topped the Montreal Carabins in four sets 3-1. Set scores were 20-25, 25-12, 25-13 and 25-21.
Jackson Dakin of Comox, B.C. was named player of the match for the Gaels while the Carabins' Samuel Landry of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. took home the honours for Montreal. Dakin was a key contributor as the Gaels bounced back from a first set loss to the Carabins by taking three straight for the win. Dakin led all players with 44 assists on the day while adding eight digs and two kills for an efficiency of .500. For the Carabins Landry had eight kills on the day.
Queen's entered play Sunday in the seventh place game after dropping Friday's matchup against UNB and falling Saturday at the hands of Western. The difference for the Gaels on Sunday was their kill percentage of .304 compared to Montreal who was only able to finish with an efficiency of .055.
With the victory the Gaels finish seventh and Carabins take home eighth.
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Don't forget to pick up your tickets for the CIS 2011-12 Men's Volleyball Championship which will be hosted by the Queen's Gaels from March 2-4, 2012.
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TEAMS
Player to watch - #3 Joren Zeeman
Zeeman returns to the Gaels after a dominant 2010-11 season. Zeeman led the province with 4.82 points per game and had a kill percentage of 0.285. Zeeman earned an OUA First-Team All-Star nod last season for the third time in his four year career. His performances earned a spot to compete at the 26th Summer Universiade as a member of Canada's men's volleyball team in Shenzhen, China.
Player to Watch - #3 Tristan Aubry
Aubry is a fourth year player with the Golden Bears who patrols the middle of the court. This past summer Aubry was named to Canada's junior men's volleyball team which took on the world's best in Brazil. Aubry stood out on the team and was one of Canada's top scorers in the tournament.
Player to watch - #6 Graham Vigrass
The Calgary native resumed his domination in 2010-11. He returned to his usual middle position and finished second in the country in hitting percentage at .397 while also posting 3.94 kills per set – third best in Canada West. After leading the Dinos to their first conference banner since 1994, the 21-year-old became the first Calgary player since Denis Zhukov in 2002 to be named CIS MVP.
Player to Watch - #6 Jeremy Groenveld
Exciting news is the return of outside hitter Jeremy Groenveld, who missed last year due to injury. A former All-Canadian and OUA All-Star, Groenveld is healthy again and eager to finish his varsity career in style.
Player to Watch - #8 Samuel Landry
Samuel Landry made his mark at the collegiate level last year. Even if he's playing at center, he can bring a lot of offense to his team. It may be his first year with the Carabins but he is already one of the teams leaders. He can have an immediate impact on this team's success this year and in many years to come.
Player to watch - #5 Julio Fernandez
Fernandez is a third year student-athlete from Los Teques, Venezuela. He is considered to be an explosive outside attacker for the UNB Varsity Reds. In 2011 the V-Reds took the AUS championship from the Dalhousie Tigers in a best of three series - the Tigers had held the banner for 24 straight years. The 6' 3” Fernandez was instrumental in dethroning Dalhousie and was named the playoff MVP for his outstanding play.
Player to Watch - #4 Demijan Savija
Savija, originally from Serbia, has been one of the top producers for the Thunderbirds during his career. Last season Savija ranked among the top players in Canada West in kills, service aces and points per game in addition to leading the Thunderbirds in each category.
Player to Watch - #6 Matt Poulin
Poulin was Western's top offensive performer during the 2010-11 season and returns for his fourth year of eligibility in 2011-12. His 4.16 points per game average ranked him third in the province and his 3.26 kills per game average placed him sixth in Ontario.
Program
Photo's
Video's
For video's from Friday and Saturday's action please click here.
2012 CIS Men's Volleyball Championships
The 2012 CIS Men's Volleyball Championships will be hosted by Queen's University March 2-4, 2012.
If you would like to purchase tickets for this event please call 613-533-2500
