The Douglas College Royals men’s volleyball team continued its winning ways, hanging on to beat the Vancouver Island Mariners 3-2 in PacWest league action.
Taking a 2-0 lead on 25-21, 25-18 sets, Douglas was pushed back when the Mariners replied with 21-25, 22-25 decisions to force a fifth and deciding set.
That’s when the Royals hit all the right notes in vanquishing their Island rival 15-5.
Reid Marriott topped the team with 16 kills, while Max Haronga chipped in 13. Ben Shand set the tone with 17 digs to go with 11 kills.
It came on the heels of Friday’s 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16)win over the Mariners.
The two wins put Douglas’ record at 6-1, and earned them a two-spot jump to third overall in the nation.
The Royals visit Columbia Bible College on Thursday, before returning to host the Bearcats on Friday (8 p.m.) at the New West campus.
MARINERS HAVE WOMEN ROYALS’ NUMBER
Winning the first two matches of the season seemed like a good omen.
Unfortuately, dropping the past five isn’t the result the Douglas College women’s volleyball team was looking for.
The Royals fell to 2-5 on the year after back-to-back defeats at the hands of the Vancouver Island Mariners.
On Friday, the two rivals battled hammer and tong, deadlocked 1-1 after a gruelingly long second set that Douglas pulled out by a 30-32 score. Vancouver Island responded with a 25-15 win in the third set, and completed the run with a hard-fought 25-23 decision to take it 3-1.
A day later, the Royals were blanked 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-14) by the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.
Grace Warkentin racked up 11 kills and 10 digs, while first-year libero Logan Richter counted a team-high 20 digs.
The Royals play Columbia Bible College in a home-and-home series, beginning Thursday in the Valley. The two teams meet again Friday (6 p.m.) in New West.
