LANGLEY- By DEAN WEISS
Langley Christian putting up a block in Semi Final Action against George Elliot’s Roan McGowan. (Vancouver Sports Pictures)
Langley Christian vs George Elliot – 3pm AA SEMI-FINAL
Right off the bat in this match it was evident that Langley Christian was going to very tough to beat. From the onset, Langley Christian served hard and difficult spots on the court and George Elliot seems to have trouble handling and adjusting to it. George Elliot had some unforced errors early but settled down and made it a game after being down 20-11 to come back to 20-18. However, a number of late GESS unforced errors in the set was too deep and Langley pulled away after a couple of late missed GESS serves to take it 25-20.
Set two started off with LCS’s power Van Huizen serving an ace near the back line. Despite the solid LCS serving, George Elliot is battling tough and blocking well- but again- Langley Christian got a couple more tough serves from Van Huizen mid match. Langley Christian kept serving tough and George Elliot tries to keep it close but can’t seem to find the answer to Langley Christian tonight. Langley wins set two 25-22. Langley’s setter Tyson Hofer looked solid as he is finding a way to get his players the ball where they can do something with it. Tyson Hofer on his take on the match,
Tyson Hofer, LCS setter
“I thought we played a great game and I thought we served tough throughout and sided out well. We wanted to spread the floor and then try to get Jonas and Nick open looks.”
Set 3 – Well did Hofer ever spread the offense out in the third set – as both sides started crushing balls. Every time George Elliot finds even a little bit of momentum with a great hit, Langley Christian has an answer with some dynamic offensive hitting. Both teams settle down and start to entertain with some great volleyball and some terrific plays. Unfortunate for GESS, the Langley Christian bus is moving too fast and running on all cylinders and George Elliot could not slow them down. Langley wins the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
Final thoughts from LCS Coach Brynden MacTavish after the match,
“We won tonight on the backs of Jonas and Tyson’s serving. Those guys served lights out!”
Serving truly seemed to be the difference between these two very strong hitting teams tonight. Langley Christian will now advance and face MEI in the AA FINAL @ 7pm on Saturday Night!
LCS’s Jonas Van Huizen serving tough during the AA Semi-FInal. (Vancouver Sports Pictures)
