OCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

NORTH BAY, Ont. - Nipissing University in North Bay, Ont. plays host to the 2012 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Volleyball Championship, beginning Thursday and running through Saturday.

Eight teams will vie for the OCAA title, including the host Nipissing Lakers and two-time defending champion Humber Hawks.

A total of 12 matches will be played in a span of three days. Following the OCAA awards banquet at the Davedi Club at 9 a.m., the OCAA quarter-finals will take place on Thursday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. Losing teams will compete in the bronze medal quarter-finals on Friday, followed by the OCAA semi-final matches. The bronze medal semi-finals and final will take place on Saturday leading into the OCAA gold medal match.

Fans who are unable to attend the matches live can follow the proceedings via webcast. Visit the championship website for further information.

The OCAA champion advances to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Volleyball National Championship, taking place in Abbotsford, B.C. next month.

Here is a look at the OCAA quarter-final match-ups:

Mohawk (13-5, 3rd West) vs. Seneca (18-2, 2nd East)
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 1 p.m.

The OCAA tournament begins with a rematch of last year's bronze medal match, won by Mohawk 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-19).

Mohawk played its way into the tournament following a 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-19) home win over La Cite in the qualifying round. Second-year right side Justin Scapinello (London, Ont.), who was fourth in OCAA scoring averaging 4.4 points per set, contributed a game-high 15 points on 11 kills, three aces and one block in the win. Fifth-year left side Ian Cameron (Hamilton, Ont.) contributed 11 kills, one ace and one block for 13 points.

Seneca enters the OCAA tournament on a eight-game win streak. Its only two losses of the regular season came against East region champion Algonquin. Seneca had four different players lead the team in each key offensive category, including fourth-year player Peter Christian (Chatham, Ont.) with 223 points, third-year left side Predrag Gajic (Scarborough, Ont.) with 168 kills, third-year middle Justin Parsons (Mt. Pearl, Nfld.) with 54 blocks, and fourth-year middle Jon Houston (Thornhill, Ont.) with 19 aces.

Mohawk has won an OCAA medal in five of its last six championships, including gold in 2008. The Mountaineers are ranked No. 14 in the CCAA. Seneca won back-to-back silver medals in 2009 and 2010.

The winner of this quarter-final plays the winner of the Redeemer-Humber match.

Redeemer (10-8, 5th West) vs. Humber (17-1, 1st West)
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 3 p.m.

The OCAA tournament continues with a rematch of last year's gold medal match between West region rivals Redeemer and Humber.

Similar to last year's magical run at the OCAA championship, Redeemer needed a 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 15-12) road victory at Loyalist in the qualifying round to advance to Thursday's quarter-final. Third-year left side Dave Klomps (Surrey, B.C.), who was the Redeemer team leader with 187 points during the regular season, led the Royals with 19 points on 15 kills, three blocks and one ace in the victory.

Humber has won 14 straight regular season matches, including a pair of wins over Redeemer. Both matches went four sets. Third-year right side Terrel Bramwell (Mississauga, Ont.) made life extremely difficult for his opponents this past season, especially Redeemer. Bramwell set an OCAA single match record with 36 kills in the first match, then tied his own OCAA single match record of 40 points in the second match. Bramwell led all of OCAA averaging 6.7 points per set.

Humber won last year's gold medal match 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 26-24). The Hawks are currently the No. 1-ranked team in the CCAA.

The winner of this quarter-final plays the winner of the Mohawk-Seneca match.

Durham (15-5, 3rd East) vs. Nipissing (17-1, 2nd West)
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 6 p.m.

The host Nipissing Lakers begin their quest for a first-ever OCAA medal against the Durham Lords.

Nipissing's only loss of the regular season came at home against Humber in four sets. The Lakers were led offensively by fourth-year hometown product Andre Leblanc's 192 points, 153 kills and 20 aces. Andre's twin brother Adam Leblanc led Nipissing with 51 blocks during the regular season. The Lakers are ranked No. 5 in the CCAA.

Durham comes into the OCAA tournament needing a 3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 25-12, 25-23) home win over Fanshawe in the qualifying round. Durham fifth-year middle David McMann (Elmvale, Ont.) picked up where he left off in the regular season, contributing a game-high six blocks in the victory. McMann set a new OCAA single season record for stuff blocks with 83, and career blocks with 206. Durham has not medaled at the OCAA tournament in five seasons.

The winner of this quarter-final plays the winner of the Sheridan-Algonquin match.

Sheridan (10-8, 4th West) vs. Algonquin (19-1, 1st East)
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 8 p.m.

The last OCAA quarter-final pits the East region champion Algonquin Thunder against the Sheridan Bruins.

Algonquin, ranked No. 7 in CCAA, is on a four-match win streak entering the OCAA tournament, with its only regular season blemish coming in a five-set loss at Loyalist. Fifth-year player Joshua Harris (Kitchener, Ont.) led the team with 180 points and 43 aces, followed closely by fifth-year outside hitter Alexandre Corsi Caya (Ottawa) and his team-high 155 kills to go with his 179 points.

Sheridan required a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 26-24) home win against Georgian in the qualifying round to advance to the OCAA tournament. Fourth-year left side Cody Williams (Milton, Ont.) earned a team-high 18 points on 17 kills and one ace in the win. First-year left side Jeremy Fantin (Mississauga, Ont.) led the Bruins with a team-high 214 points, 160 kills and 46 blocks during the regular season.

Sheridan has not earned an OCAA men's volleyball medal since winning six straight titles ending in 1994. Algonquin last won an OCAA title back in 2009.

The winner of this quarter-final plays the winner of the Durham-Nipissing match.

OCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Thursday, February 23
OCAA Awards Banquet - Davedi Club 9 a.m.
Quarter-Finals
Game 1 - Mohawk vs. Seneca - 1 p.m.
Game 2 - Redeemer vs. Humber - 3 p.m.
Game 3 - Durham vs. Nipissing - 6 p.m.
Game 4 - Sheridan vs. Algonquin - 8 p.m.            

Friday, February 24
Bronze Quarter-Finals
Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 1 p.m.
Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 - 3 p.m.
Semi-Finals
Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - 6 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 8 p.m.

Saturday, February 25
Bronze Semi-Finals
Game 9 - Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6 - 9 a.m.
Game 10 - Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 5 - 11 a.m.
Bronze Medal Match
Game 11 - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 - 3 p.m.
Gold Medal Match    
Game 12 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 5 p.m.

- OCAA -

ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 31 members sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.

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Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
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E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com