Wolves Defeat Clippers in Wildly Entertaining Five-Setter

Written by Jeff Misener

The Briercrest Clippers hosted the Northwestern Polytechnic Wolves in a cross-division matchup in ACAC men's volleyball, treating the home fans to a match of the highest caliber.

The action opened with vigorous offensive play from both teams. Wolves' Joshua Watson sizzled a pair of aces, and teammate Justice Bigstone stuffed a ball straight down to give the visitors a 13-9 edge. Out of a Briercrest timeout, NWP middle Thomas Wheeler thumped a pair of convincing kills, but Clippers' Karym Coleman replied with two aces. Wheeler and Bigstone directed their squad the rest of the way, resulting in a 25-19 set win.

In set two, the Wolves' blockers keyed on Coleman and shut him down on consecutive attacks, but setter Jeremy Martens kept feeding his big man to good effect. Bigstone and Coleman traded kills, as did Clipper middle TJ Ward and Wheeler. Once again, Bigstone's attacking prowess allowed the Wolves to secure the set, 25-21.

Briercrest raced to a 9-2 lead in the third frame, with Davis Borden featuring on the left side, Ward and Noah Dirsten finding success in the middle, and Jackson Anderson starring on service. Coleman notched four points on three aces late in the action, and Briercrest stole the set 25-14.

Coleman stamped his influence on the fourth set, with Bigstone and Joshua Watson determined to limit his success. When Wheeler's serve tickled the tape, the game was even at 15-15. Borden, Dirsten, and Coleman battled Watson, Morrison, and Bigstone kill for kill and block for block, but it was Dirsten who put the final touches on a 26-24 victory to tie the match at two games apiece.

When Matthews blocked Borden on the wing and Bigstone neutralized Dirsten in the middle, the visitors raced to an 8-3 lead. Just like in the fourth set, Coleman, Borden, Morrison and Bigstone were the key combatants. In the end, timely blocking from the Wolves allowed them to prevail, coming out on top 15-10 in the final frame.

Player of the Game for NWP was Joshua Watson, who stuffed the stat sheet with three digs, five kills, four aces, and two stuff blocks. Briercrest libero Brady Watchel was outstanding in defeat, recording 23 digs.