Heading into the final month of the regular season, the Algonquin men’s volleyball team started off strong with two wins as they hosted the Seneca Sting and the Fleming Knights on Feb. 3 and 4.
Algonquin played their best volleyball of the year in front of a pumped up Thunder fan base.
It has been more downs than ups for the Thunder during the 2016-2017 season but that hasn’t stopped them from competing.
Losing their last three games of January and falling to a record of 4-10, the Thunder had fire in their eyes coming into February, defeating the Sting in three straight sets (25-22, 25-14, 25-17).
“Our heads were in the game,” said Algonquin coach Mohamed Shaheen after the game on Friday. “It’s a big mental thing to stay firing through three sets.”
Firing is indeed what the Thunder were doing against Seneca. They outscored the Sting, 61-32, while almost doubling the kills, 47-25.
The momentum from the Friday night game was certainly brought into the Saturday game against the Fleming Knights.
It took the Thunder four sets (26-24, 25-21, 18-25, 25-21) to win its final home game of the season. The Thunder continued to dominate in all aspects of the game, staying one step ahead of the opposition at all times.
When asked about the upcoming schedule for his men’s volleyball team, Shaheen smirked as he said, “Luck, we need luck.”
Clearly luck plays a big factor in sports but success is more commonly found where skill is to be had. Enter, Josh Isaac.
Isaac, a second-year outside hitter, hit double-digits in points in the games against Seneca and Fleming. His strong play in these matches keep Algonquin in the playoff hunt in the East Division.
Not only did Isaac help his team in the playoff hunt, he was also named the men’s volleyball Athlete of the Week for the entire Ontario College Athletics Association (OCAA).
The outstanding play by the Thunder pushed them up the rankings in the East Division and keep them in the midst of a playoff spot.
The wins at home for Algonquin at the start of
February proved to be a momentum builder as they won the following two road
games, which happen to be the final two games of the season. The Thunder won
against Centennial (3-0) on Feb. 11 and George Brown (3-0) on Feb. 12 improving
their record to 8-10.