The Conestoga Condors men’s volleyball team defeated the St. Clair Saints on Sunday, November 25 at Conestoga College. With that win, the Condors’ record improved to 4-2 this season. They now have eight points and are currently sitting in fourth place in the West Division.
The Condors battled hard the first set but struggled to contest the Saints throughout the entire match and fell 25-22. The Condors then went on to win two straights sets, the second set was neck and neck the whole way but the Condors came out on top winning 27-25. They then won the third set 25-16, but the Saints evened it up 2-2 winning the fourth set 25-23. In the fifth and final set the Condors defeated the Saints 15-8, earning a well deserved 3-2 victory.
The Condors are now two games over 500 and are looking to sustain their momentum moving into the next game.
“Next game we’re going into Redeemer’s gym, which is the loudest and most fun place to play in the whole league,” Condors head coach Wayne Harris told Spoke. “The boys will be highly motivated, we’ll have a good practice Tuesday night and we’ll go down to play in that tiny little madhouse… it will be a blast.”
Despite being at less than a 100 per cent due to injuries to their key players, the Condors have still managed to win games.
“We are grinding out wins even though we have not been healthy. We’re finally getting to the point where we’re healthy,” Harris said. “I’d like to think in about a week or so we’ll actually almost be a hundred per cent.”
Harris was asked if winning will continue for the team.
“Our goal, because we were so broken and injured, was to make it to Christmas above 500. I think we’re in a really good place to do that. In the second semester, when were healthier and we also get big Adam back, we’ll be in a good position to push.”
The Condors are currently sitting in fourth place in their division with 14 games left in the season. Harris discussed some strong attributes of the team they can build off of moving forward.
“Wesley Lau is just flat out amazing, and we have a terrific team culture… guys really work hard together,” Harris said. “We have a lot of fun together, and the fact that we enjoy one another’s company means that it’s easier to deal with disappointment.”
Dylan Moua who is an outside hitter on the team discussed how the season has shaped out for the Condors so far.
“The season has gone pretty good actually. I’d say we’ve gotten very good, much better then we were at the start of the season from where we are now,” he said.
Harris went on to discuss some things the team has worked on during practice to improve and stay in the win column.
“We need to continually work on our blocking defence, getting Eric Katerberg back tonight was a huge thing,” he said. “Marshall fought very hard in the middle for us, but Marshall is a rookie and he’s undersized and this is a league with big men. Getting Eric back in the middle – who is also a big man – is a big deal. That has to be one of our major focuses going forward.”
Katerberg is a veteran on the team and is also the tallest player – standing at six feet, six inches.
“Definitely the energy level is very positive, but we need to work on our communication and have lots more energy on the court,” Moua added.
Harris believes the team needs to up their compete level to earn a playoff spot.
“They beat us in the first set because they were just going harder. It wasn’t that they’re bigger or better than us, they were just competing harder,” Harris said. “We have to up our compete level without a doubt, we need to play [with] more of a sense of desperation.”
With the majority of the season left to go, the Condors have the opportunity to climb the standings and make the playoffs.
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