The York University Lions men's volleyball team won its fourth straight match on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 win over the Queen's Gaels at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions have gone 4-0 since losing their first two matches, and they handed Queen's its second loss in a row after their own four-game winning streak. The Lions are now 4-2 on the year and tied with Nipissing for third in the OUA East standings while the Gaels fell to 5-3 and are second.
Alex Duncan-Thibault (Scarborough, Ont.) continued his tremendous season with a remarkable 27 points in just four sets, picked up on 24 kills, two blocks and one service ace. His recent run has moved him into third in OUA scoring with 5.3 points per game.
The match was a close one from start to finish, with all four sets being decided by four points or less. The Lions raced out to a big lead from the opening whistle and led 24-19 late in the opening set, but the Gaels chipped away with three straight points before the Lions put the set away at 25-22.
In the second set Queen's kept pulling ahead and the Lions would rally to get close again, but time ran out at the end before they could close the gap again and the Gaels took the second 25-21.
The Lions were the ones to jump out to an early lead in the third set and they held a 16-11 advantage at the technical timeout. The Gaels then won 13 of the next 15 points to turn a five-point deficit into a four-point lead and they were up 22-18. The Lions managed to tie it at 24-24 and then win the next two points for a 26-24 victory and a 2-1 match lead.
In the fourth the two teams traded points back and forth from start to finish and when it was over it was the Lions who had the upper hand, taking the set 25-23 to claim the victory.
Tim Jensen (Hamilton, Ont.) was the only other Lion to score in double digits, picking up 10.5 points and adding six digs.
Logan Mend (Naramata, B.C.) had 40 assists and also chipped in with 4.5 points.
The Gaels' leading scorer was Markus Trence with 21.5 points.
The Lions have one more match before they break for the holidays. They will host the RMC Paladins at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Sunday afternoon beginning at 4pm.
