Fanshawe flops to rising Royals

Redeemer’s Men’s Volleyball played Fanshawe on Thursday evening. Photo by Nathan Giancola

The Royals’ men’s volleyball team rose to the OCAA championship challenge on Thursday, bringing three thrilling sets to a conclusion to beat Fanshawe 3-0. With only a few hurdles to go before the championship, Royals fans came to support their team in their classic, ecstatic fashion.

“It was excellent,” point-leader Ryan Talsma said. “It was one of our best wins here.” The crowd clearly agreed with him, as fans draped in red, capped in volleyball hats and slamming on drums chanted, “let’s go Royals” at the top of their lungs. The energy was infectious in the gym as the teams exchanged points through the first set. After both teams traded a few sloppy serves, Redeemer called a timeout. Coming back to the game with the score tied at 24, Brad Douwes, who led the team with 15 points, served two in a row to finish a hair-splitting set.

In the second, the Royals ran away with a few early points. With the score at 16-9, Fanshawe called a timeout. Christian Vangeest kept the team alive with a string of serves including one serving ace, en route to a 25-16 win.

Fanshawe got the jump on Redeemer in the third set, however, and with the score at 17-20 head coach Wayne Harris called a timeout to turn the team around. The Royals brought the score to within one point in time to force the score above 25. The score went back and forth until Redeemer finally put the visitors away with a score of 29-27. When asked what the turning point was in set three, Talsma replied, “We got a few points in a row, and managed to stop their big server.”

The RUC red army filled the stands, cheering for their favorite players and giving a supportive edge to the men’s team. The tournament has been touted as a highlight for this year at Redeemer, and the fans plan to cheer the Royals all the way to the championship. As the crowd chanted at the end of the game, “this is our house!”

Go Royals go!