Royal's bronze well-deserved conclusion to memorable season
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
After a weekend filled with intense volleyball and screaming fans, the Redeemer Royals claimed their first-ever men’s provincial volleyball medal. Although, the team had hoped for gold going into the tournament on their home court, their end of the day win over cross town rivals, Mohawk Mountaineers was enough to send the packed gym into a frenzy.
It was a great end to a season filled with highlights. Ryan Talsma was named OCAA player of the year and an All-Canadian for the third straight year. Coach Wayne Harris was named OCAA coach of the year for his part in leading the Royals to a 13-3 record. Senior Brad Douwes was named first team all-star and first-year setter Aaron Tolkamp was named second team all-star.
Redeemer’s Men’s Volleyball team proudly shows off their bronze medals. Photo from the Redeemer Gallery Archives.
The bronze medal was also fitting end to the eventful careers of Ryan Talsma and Brad Douwes. The two seniors led the Royals as they fought back from a two set deficit two win the match (17-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-15, 15-10) over the Mohawk Mountaineers. The win was the second five-set thriller of the day for the Royals squad forced to battle for the bronze after losing to Seneca in the semi finals (16-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18). Earlier in the day, the Royals squad were able to defeat their regular season nemesis in five sets marking their first win over Nippising in three meetings. In the gold medal final, the Humber Hawks were able to cap off a dominant weekend with a three-set win over the Seneca Sting. Led by rookie Terrel Bramwell, the Hawks did not drop a single game all weekend.
It was a great honour for Redeemer to host its first major provincial championship for the packed house to show their Royal pride. From Gavin’s stimulating announcing, to the bleachers packed with people wearing red costumes and intimidating face paint, to the eardrum breaking cheers, the excitement was fed continuously. In fact, where noise at 130 decibels results in permanent hearing loss, the noise level on Friday night reached a staggering 117 decibels. Congratulations Royals on a season well played!
The Crown reserves the right to edit or remove any comment that:
- is libelous, threatening, obscene, or constitutes hate speech
- directly and deliberately insults other posters
- is promotional or commercial in nature
