Mohawk’s star Jasmin Cull records 15 kills against deflated Humber squad

Jamie Griffith
Sports Reporter

All good things must end, as the men’s volleyball team found out last Tuesday night, losing its first regular season game of the year in Hamilton against the Mohawk Mountaineers.
The Hawks lost in three straight sets to the undefeated Mountaineers by three, five and six points.  
Mohawk retained its ranking as the province’s best team with the win.
Coach Wayne Wilkins was frustrated with his team’s effort.
“Certain guys worked hard, other guys didn’t,” he said.  “It’s about preparation, and clearly the guys weren’t prepared for tonight.”
After a tough first set, which saw the Hawks never lead by more than one point, momentum seemed to swing in Humber’s favour in the second.
The Hawks jumped out to leads of 7-3 and 11-5 while one of the Mountaineers top players, Adam Schiedel, was benched by head coach James Bradley.
Hawks’ defender Mike Smith said that was the game plan heading into the contest.
“You get under his skin, he’ll get out, and all you have to do is concentrate on their big hitter, Jasmin (Cull),” he said.
Things didn’t turn out as planned, as Mohawk clawed back into the game, tying the set at 16, before winning the set 25-20.
Wilkins said the second set was indicative of his team’s performances so far this year.
“We’ve struggled with premature winning,” the coach said.  “We believe we won the set before we hit 25.  At 11-5, we thought we won the game, but forgot we have to play the rest of the game.”
The third set was close early on, but the Mountaineers pulled away late to win 25-19, clinching the match.
The Hawks’ Clayton Johnston said it was an issue of mind, not body.
“Our heads weren’t in the game, we weren’t mentally there tonight,” he said.  “We didn’t play as a team, we tried to do it all by ourselves, and it didn’t work for us.”
Smith said the second set was the difference in the game.
“Coach told us when you get them on the ropes, knock them out,” he said.  “If you want to play in the upper echelon, you need to play like you belong here.”
Humber finished off the semester on a high note, though, after beating the St. Clair Saints on Saturday night in four sets.
The Hawks play was sluggish early on in the match, but they fought through it for the win.  Wilkins said it was likely connected to the loss to Mohawk.
“They took a big confidence shot on Tuesday,” he said.  “The one thing these guys have shown all year is their desire to be fighters.”
The team suffered a setback, as Brendan Wong left the match early in the first set with a twisted ankle.  Orlando Flores entered the game in his place, and played well enough to be named player of the game.
Afterwards, Wilkins described Flores’ match as “awesome.”
Looking ahead to next term the   Hawks finish 2007 with a 5-1 record, good for second in the division behind Mohawk.