Two More Tight Tests

January 27, 2010

As expected, the weekend volleyball clashes between the men's teams of NAIT and Keyano were extremely competitive.

The Ooks defeated the Huskies 3-2 in the first half of the back-to-back showdown and Keyano battled back for a 3-1 victory the following night.

Head coach Simon Fedun sees the addition of three new players as a big asset in the last-half drive for playoff positions.

"I feel strongly that we'll be a team to contend with at the provincials," he said, "but our conference is so competitive that unless we play with a sense of urgency, we will be watching from the sidelines."

A solid performance in the fifth set gave NAIT a 25-22, 28-26, 21-25, 23-25, 15-11 triumph in the opener as Greg Mann provided 10 kills and six blocks. Equally impressivfe was newcomer Johann Hernandez with 19 kills, five digs and four aces.

As Keyano grabbed the second half of the showdown by scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-17 and 25-21, Hernandez was a standout once more with 10 kills. Defensively, Kevin Nixon shone with 10 digs.