Kajan Thiruthanikasalam (Sports Writer, Colts Athletics)
PETERBOROUGH, ONT.- It was all there for the taking for the Centennial Colts men's volleyball team. Win and they clinch their first playoff appearance since the college came back into the OCAA in the 2015-16 season.
The Fleming Knights, however, made sure that the Colts waited another day for that to happen.
Centennial (6-11) lost their fifth straight decision, falling to Fleming (9-8) in a gritty four sets (20-25, 25-21, 21-25, 19-25) at the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre, who have now won four in a row.
Erich Perau led all scorers with 20 points on 20 kills while Edward Running-Adams and Brandon Sonnenberg each had 14 points. Sonnenberg had a game high five blocks while Jake Schuller had a game high 17 digs and Stephen Cadamuro dished out a game high 53 assists.
For Centennial, they were led by Sev Libramonte, who had 16 points on 14 kills and two blocks while Jordan Saddler and Arya Yaghini each had eight kills. Calvin Yu had a team high 11 digs while Adam Yu Qiu dished out a team high 36 assists in the loss.
Fleming outpaced Centennial in kills (55-44), assists (55-42), digs (45-40), and blocks (8-3).
The first set saw both teams go neck and neck early on before the Knights went on a 6-2 run to take a 17-13 lead, forcing a Colts timeout. Centennial then chipped away as a kill and ace from Griffin Dubbeld cut the lead to one (21-20). But Fleming closed out the set on a 4-0 run to take the first set, 25-20.
In the second set, it was the battle between Perau and Libramonte, who both had seven kills each during that set. Although Perau started off strong, it was Libramonte, who finished with a bang as he, at one point, scored four straight points for Centennial off of kills in the midst of a set-changing 10-2 run. The Colts would even up the match and take the second set, 25-21.
That momentum was short-lived, however, once the third set started as Fleming, led by Perau's six kills in the set, took a 21-14 lead. Although Centennial tried to rally back, cutting the deficit to three (24-21), it proved to be too much to overcome as an attack error from Saddler gave the Knights the third set by a score of 25-21.
The fourth set saw the Knights go on a 6-0 run after a kill from Saddler started off the set and Centennial played catchup the rest of the way. Although an ace from Qiu cut the deficit to three (16-13), it was as close as the Colts would get in the set as Fleming took the fourth set, 25-19, and the match.
UP NEXT: Centennial plays its regular season finale on Wednesday Feb. 14 at 8:00pm as they head to Belleville to play the Loyalist Lancers. A win from Centennial or a loss from the Seneca Sting against the Durham Lords clinches a playoff berth for the Colts.