Queen’s Men’s Volleyball ranked seventh in Canada

Doubleheader victory over Nipissing shuffles national standings

“Funnily enough, my serves have not been great this week, so it was kind of surprising that I popped off a bit,” he said. However, if this is how he serves on an off week, fans better stay tuned for when he’s dialled in. He credited his improved serve to working with DeGroot.

“I changed my approach. Working with coach Gabe has been amazing, so it’s been a long time coming that that happened,” Venning said.

In the end, Venning finished with a gamehigh five serving aces as the Gaels won the third set 25-22.

Cole Duncanson—the Gael’s star middle who finished with seven kills—reflected on the team’s comeback after the game.

“I think we did a really good job coming together after we lost that second set […] we did a really good job of rallying together and staying tight as a unit.”

Heading into the fourth set, it was clear the energy in the ARC had shifted.

Despite some back and forth, the Gaels held a consistent lead and ended the game 25-19 with a kill from Derek Chiang. He led the team in digs, with even more than the libero.

Coming out of this double header, the Men’s Volleyball team is on a five-game win streak despite some struggles earlier in the season.

According to Duncanson, a strong team leader on and off the court, this win streak can be attributed to a change in the team chemistry.

“In the last couple of weeks, we felt like we needed a change, so we came together as a team, had some good talks, and we decided on some new team standards and team rules.”

“So far it seems to be paying off so hopefully that trajectory continues.”

The bench enthusiasm played a huge role in boosting the team’s spirit. First years Lazar Paroski and Nikola Mitrovic enthusiastically led eccentric cheers after every single Gael point.

The Gaels play their final home game of the season against the Western Mustangs on Feb. 3 at the ARC. Tickets are free for all Queen’s students.