It may have seemed a bit of cat-and-mouse, but for the Douglas College Royals men's volleyball team, it was all business.
The squad turned a pair of 2-1 deficits into victories Friday and Saturday in a hard-fought sweep of the Camosun College Chargers at the New West campus.
Led by PacWest League's top offensive stat producer Max Haronga, the Royals rallied Saturday to end the weekend on a winning note.
After winning the first set 25-18, Douglas witnessed Victoria-based Camosun take a 2-1 lead on a pair of stealth decisions (21-25, 20-25). Bouncing back, the Royals tied it with a 25-20 win, then completed the victory with a 15-11 score in the fifth set.
Haronga posted 19 kills and seven digs, while Reid Marriott racked up 17 kills. John Colobong counted a team-high 18 digs.
A day earlier, Camosun again responded after dropping the first set with a pair of steady decisions (15-25, 21-25). The host Royals turned the tables with 25-21 and 15-8 wins.
The Royals, who were fifth in the nation, sit first overall in the PacWest with a 11-3 record.
On the women's side, the Royals began 2019 with a split over their Camosun counterparts, rallying for a 3-1 (24-26, 25-15, 25-19, 25-23) triumph Saturday, after falling 3-2 on Friday.
In the victory, freshman Emma Schill picked up 12 kills and nine digs, while Vania Oliveira scored 11 kills and eight digs. Caet McCorkell was good for nin kills and 12 digs.
In the Friday loss, got into the driver's seat but were unable to close it out after getting bumped in the fifth and deciding set (16-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-12, 15-11).
Oliveira powered out with 13 kills and eight digs, giving her the team lead in kills and total offensive stats. Vicki Schley picked up 13 digs.
