Men’s volleyball defeats St. Clair 3-2 in five-set thriller

By: Nina Kersnik
Humber Athletics Communications

ETOBICOKE – Humber men's volleyball (5-3, 4^th West) St. Clair Saints (3-6, 8^th West) in a five-set thriller (25-22, 25-22, 25-22, 25-13, 15-9) in the last game before winter break at the Humber Athletics Centre. Rookie Enzo Endres led the Hawks with 25 points and 17 kills. Veteran Teyven Blackmore also recorded 16 points and 12 kills after five sets.

Match Recap

Right from the first serve, both sides kept the score tight, with neither team creating enough chances to build a lead larger than three points. As the points racked up on the Hawks' end, so did their miscues, resulting in more points for their opponents. But Humber got to work in the late stages of the set, as Enzo Endres fired one over the wall to tie it up at 16. Over the next little while, the Hawks executed well to record another seven points before Paul Manna secured the set point with a soft touch over the wall. Manna collected four digs and four kills in the first set. In the end, Humber took the first set 25-22.

The second set was much the same, with both teams taking turns, adding points to their totals. Eventually, the Hawks reached the halfway point, with a sequence ending in Bras smashing the ball down the middle, for the Hawks' bench to erupt in celebration. The Santos, Bra. native, collected ten points, five kills and two digs by the end of five sets. Despite some great effort by Humber, the Saints got to work in the late stages to take the set 25-22 and tie the game up at one a piece.

Into the third set, St. Clair played steadily, taking an early 8-4 lead, forcing head coach Wayne Wilkins to call another timeout to regroup his squad. From there on out, the Hawks clawed their way back up to cut the Saints lead to one, 18-17, forcing a timeout on the opposite side. Not long after, Humber quickly racked up four points to tie it up at 22, but their progress didn't deter the Saints. The visiting team would go on to grab two more, and capture the second set, 25-22, leading by 2-1 after three.

In the fourth, it was a complete 180 compared to the previous sets for the Hawks, as rookie Enzo Endres was the star of the show in this set. Things began to get interesting once he hammered back-to-back service aces, which put the Hawks up, 15-8, forcing the Saints' head coach Shawn Reaume to use his last timeout of the set. But that timeout wouldn't do much, as Endres stood out in a big way, launching the ball cross-court, to put his side within three points of snatching the set from their opponents. In the end, the Hawks dominated the fourth set, winning 25-13.

In the fifth and final set, the Hawks found their rhythm at the service line to take a quick 8-3 lead, with most of those points coming from Menna and Endres collectively. After a switch of sides, Humber got four more, compared to the Saints, who only managed to get two, forcing St. Clair's head coach to call his second and final timeout of the set. Unfortunately, it wouldn't do much for them, as Humber rallied for more until Apolo Bras secured the winning kill for a 15-9 victory for the Hawks.

With the win the Hawks head into the holiday season on a two-game win streak.

Enzo Endres was named Player of the Game after finishing with a career-high 25 points and 17 kills.

Humber Highlights

• Humber improves to 30-8 all-time against St. Clair.
• Humber is 17-4 against the Saints at home.
• The last time St. Clair won a match at the Hawks Nest was Dec. 7, 2016.
• Humber ranks fourth in the conference in service aces per set with 1.97.
• Teyven Blackmore leads Humber in kills with 93. He also leads Humber and ranks fifth in the OCAA in kills per set with 3.44.
• Enzo Endres ranks eighth in the conference in service aces with 15.

What's Next?

After the break, the Hawks travel to Windsor for a rematch against St. Clair (3-6, 8^th West) on Jan. 10. The first serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. in South Campus Sports Complex.