Algonquin men still undefeated

By Thomas Jolicoeur

joli0035@algonquincollege.com

The Coyotes from La Cite looked less like vicious, wild dogs and more like tame house pets as the Thunder rolled right over them November 5, in men’s volleyball action at Algonquin.

Algonquin made it look easy as they took a straight set victory from La Cite (25-11, 25-18, 25-18) to continue their undefeated season in front of a small but vocal home crowd who booed and jeered the visiting Coyotes at every opportunity.

The game was little more than a tune-up for the Thunder who took the opportunity to audition players who normally don’t see many minutes.

Strong serving from Josh Harris and Charles Hamilton along with solid net play by the entire team led to the decisive victory over an toothless opponent that was clearly out-matched from the opening serve.

Despite the win, Thunder coach Max Larrivee was not impressed with his team’s play against the lowly Coyotes. “I think it was average,” he said, “at the beginning of sets we played at their pace too long.”

This proved true in both the second and third sets as the Thunder fell behind the Coyotes both times in the early going before asserting themselves towards the end of the sets.

Kalen Schneider, one of the few regulars to factor in the game, echoed Larrivee’s thoughts on the game. “We got the job done, but we have to play harder no matter who the opponent is,” he said.

When asked about his team’s performance, La Cite coach Ion Ion had little to say other than that he hoped the Coyotes would offer a better game next time and to wish the Thunder good luck in the playoffs.

As for the Thunder players who were given a chance to show their stuff, coach Larrivee was not thrilled, “players looking for court time need to play like they want it,” he said.

From the player’s perspective, however, it was a difficult game to play because very little effort was required to win, leading to what appeared to be a lack of urgency to end the game. “It’s hard to play a team like that,” said Schneider.

The fact that the team knows that not all competition will be so weak will help them going forward and they will have a chance to test out their resolve quickly with two games over the weekend.