REDEEMER 3, LOYALIST 2 (FINAL)

BELLEVILLE, Ont. - The Redeemer Royals men's volleyball team has qualified for its third consecutive OCAA provincial championship. After a regular season of both highs and lows, the men's team will head to North Bay, Ont. on a high after defeating the Loyalist Lancers in a five-set thriller this past Saturday. The game was a playoff match with the winner advancing to the Final 8 provincial championships and the loser having their season come to an end.

The match proved to be an all out battle between the 14-6 Lancers and the 10-8 Royals. Redeemer went into the match with a 5-4 record on the road while Loyalist was a comfortable 9-1 at home. Loyalist took the first set 25-21 before Redeemer took control of the match winning the second and third sets 25-20 and 25-19. The home team did not back down however as they tied it up at 2-2 backed by a home crowd and a 25-22 win. Fortunately for the Royals, they took away the Lancers momentum early in the fifth and deciding set by going up 8-2. Redeemer held onto the lead and a 15-12 win and a spot at next week's provincial championship.

Dave Klomps continued his all-star like season with 19 points on 15 kills, one ace, and three blocks. However, it was the tandem of Redeemer middles who did the majority of the damage to the Loyalist defense as Aaron Vander Lugt had 13 points and Christian VanderGeest had 12. Josh Lappala had a game-high 22 points for Loyalist.

The men's volleyball team qualified last year for the provincial championship with an 8-10 record after defeating Loyalist in the 2010-2011 crossover match. The men's team went on to defeat the No. 1-ranked Sheridan Bruins in the opening game of the championship and did not lose a match until the final against Humber College. The Royals will get a very early chance at revenge this year as they face the No. 1-ranked Humber Hawks in their opening match at this year's championship. Their opening match takes place Thursday at 3 p.m.

You can follow the 2011-2012 OCAA Men's Volleyball Championship here: www.nipissingathletics.ca/ocaamvb/

Source: Redeemer University College