NIPISSING NO. 1 IN OCAA MEN’S VOLLEYBALL RANKINGS

TORONTO - The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) men's volleyball regular season is underway, with Nipissing charging to the top of the weekly provincial rankings.

1. Nipissing Lakers

The Nipissing Lakers (2-0) jumped out with two wins at home to open the 2011-12 OCAA regular season.

Nipissing defeated Conestoga 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-17) on Saturday and No. 6 Sheridan 3-2 (20-25, 25-15, 26-28, 25-20, 15-13) on Sunday.

Frankie Edgecombe led Nipissing with nine points against Conestoga, including four serving aces, three stuff blocks and two kills. Jeremy Fantin had a 13-point effort against Sheridan with 11 kills, one serving ace and one stuff block.

Nipissing will now play four straight road games, beginning with St. Clair on Friday. A key early season meeting with No. 2 Humber takes place on Sunday.

2. Humber Hawks

The defending OCAA champion Humber Hawks (2-0) also jumped out to two wins at home, defeating Niagara 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-20) on Thursday and No. 4 Fanshawe 3-1 (25-14, 25-20, 22-25, 25-16) on Saturday.

Terrel Bramwell was a one-man wrecking crew for Humber in both games. Bramwell earned 20 points on 16 kills, three serving aces and one stuff block against Niagara. He followed this up with a 29-point effort on 25 kills, three stuff blocks and one serving ace against Fanshawe.

Humber hosts Canadore and No. 1 Nipissing this weekend.

3. Mohawk Mountaineers

The Mohawk Mountaineers (1-0) defeated St. Clair 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-14) in their home opener on Saturday.

The Mountaineers were led by Justin Scapinello's dozen offensive points on seven kills, three stuff blocks and two serving aces.

Mohawk visits No. 4 Fanshawe on Friday in a key OCAA West region showdown.

4. Fanshawe Falcons

The Fanshawe Falcons (1-1) played two road games last week, defeating No. 9 Redeemer 3-2 (25-16, 15-25, 25-21, 22-25, 16-14) on Thursday before losing to No. 2 Humber on Saturday.

Sam Youlton and Andrew Joycey both produced 10 kills each in the victory over Redeemer. Joycey led the Falcons with 12 offensive points against Humber, including 11 kills, one serving ace and one stuff block.

Fanshawe visits No. 6 Sheridan on Wednesday before hosting No. 3 Mohawk on Friday.

5. Algonquin Thunder

The Algonquin Thunder (2-0) are part of a three-way tie on top of the OCAA East region standings. Algonquin won at La Cite 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-20) on Wednesday, before defeating George Brown 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-19) in its home opener on Friday.

Alexandre Corsi Caya led Algonquin with nine kills against crosstown rival La Cite. Teammate Maxim Sim earned five kills and three stuff blocks for eight offensive points against George Brown.

Algonquin heads to Sudbury, Ont. for a pair of weekend games at Boreal and Cambrian.

6. Sheridan Bruins

The Sheridan Bruins (1-1) earned a split in their road trip to North Bay, defeating Canadore 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-22) on Saturday and losing 3-2 to No. 1 Nipissing on Sunday.

Josh Butler led the Bruins with 17 points over Canadore, including nine kills, seven stuff blocks and one serving ace. Jeremy Fantin produced 13 offensive points against Nipissing, with 11 kills, one serving ace and one stuff block.

Sheridan hosts No. 4 Fanshawe on Wednesday before another road game at No. 9 Redeemer on Friday.

7. Seneca Sting

The Seneca Sting (2-0) are part of the logjam on top of the OCAA East region standings following two home victories.

Seneca defeated Cambrian 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 25-16) on Friday. Vadyslav Danyliuk led the Sting with 16 offensive points on 13 kills, two stuff blocks and one serving ace.

Seneca swept Boreal 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-16) on Saturday. Peter Christian and Justin Parsons each had nine points in the victory, including six kills each.

Seneca heads to Peterborough, Ont. this weekend for a pair of games against Trent and Fleming.

8. Durham Lords

The Durham Lords (2-0) have jumped out to two straight wins on home court, defeating No. 10 Georgian 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 26-24) on Tuesday followed by a 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-12) win over Fleming-Peterborough on Friday.

Steve Clarey had 11 points including 10 kills in the win against Georgian. David McMann had five kills, six stuff blocks and one serving ace for 12 points against Fleming.

Durham visits Loyalist on Wednesday.

9. Redeemer Royals

The defending OCAA silver medalist Redeemer Royals (0-1) dropped a five-set match against No. 4 Fanshawe on Thursday.

Steve Stone led Redeemer with 15 offensive points, including 13 kills and two serving aces.

Redeemer visits Niagara on Wednesday before hosting No. 6 Sheridan on Friday.

10. Georgian Grizzlies

The Georgian Grizzlies (2-1) are one of two teams to have played three matches so far in 2011-12.

After losing at No. 8 Durham, Georgian put together two wins at home. Georgian defeated Cambrian 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) on Saturday, and Boreal 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-22) on Sunday.

Mike Hammond had a team-high 13 points against Durham, including a dozen kills. He added 21 points on 17 kills, two serving aces and two stuff blocks against Cambrian, then another 23 points on 17 kills, four stuff blocks and two serving aces against Boreal.

Georgian heads to Peterborough, Ont. this weekend for games at Fleming and Trent.

- OCAA -

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