EIGHT TEAMS SET TO COMPETE THIS WEEKEND AT OCAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Following a fantastic week of play to finish off the regular season, all eight teams that will be competing for the OCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship have officially been determined. The Championships are slated for February 23-25 at Humber College (Etobicoke). Click here to view the Championship host website.

First place teams the Algonquin Thunder (East), Durham Lords (Central East), Fanshawe Falcons (West) and Mohawk Moutaineers (Central West) received automatic byes to the championships after winning their respective regions at the close of the season.

This past weekend played host to four play-off matches with qualifying teams fighting for a chance to advance to the OCAA Championships. If the Provincial Championships reflect anything like the competitiveness displayed from this past weekend’s play-offs then we’re in for an amazing display of grit and determination. Three of the four playoffs that took place went to 5-set matches as teams battled till the end to try and extend their post-season lives.

In the only 3-0 sweep of the weekend the Central West Humber Hawks eliminated the East region Loyalist Lancers (Belleville). Set scores were 25-22, 26-24, 25-20. Entering the match the Lancers were the heavy favourites to win, given their 9-4-league record, compared to Humber’s 6-7 mark. Humber’s Fred Lee (12 kills, 2 blocks) led the Hawks offensive attack with 14 points in total offence.

Joining Mohawk and Humber from the Central West will be the Nipissing Lakers (North Bay) after they defeated the La Cite Coyotes (Ottawa) 3-2. The La Cite Coyotes jumped out to a quick start winning the first two games. With their backs against the wall, Nipissing managed to claw their way back in the match winning the next two games to even up the match a 2-2. In the final deciding match, the two teams traded points back and forth with Nipissing finally winning the set 16-14 to clinch a spot in the OCAA Championships. Set scores were 20-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19, 16-14. Eric Yung and Seamus Strutt who combined for 41 total points in the match led Nipissing to the win. Nipissing had trouble stopping La Cite’s Mathieu Gatien all day, who managed to score 28 points in the loss.

Out of the Central East region, the Seneca Sting (North York) defeated the Niagara Knights (Wellend) 3-2, giving them their berth in the championships. Set scores were 25-20, 11-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-8. When facing elimination down 2 sets to 1, Brett Dailey and the rest of the Sting team turned it up a notch and won the next two games for the win. Central East leading scorer, Brett Dailey was unstoppable smashing 22 kills in the match and racked up 31-points in total.

Joining Durham and Seneca from the Central East will be the Georgian Grizzlies (Barrie) after a 3-2 win over the Redeemer Royals (Ancaster). After storming out to a 2-0 lead, Georgian let Redeemer back in the game by dropping the next two sets. With their back against the wall, Georgian managed to narrowly defeat the Royals in the fifth and deciding set 15-13. Set Scores were 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 14-25, 15-13. The Grizzlies attack was led by last week’s athlete of the week Eric Talsma, recording 25 points (23 kills, 2 aces).

Here are the seeds for this week’s championship:
1. Mohawk Moutaineers
2. Fanshawe Falcons
3. Durham Lords
4. Algonquin Thunder
5. Humber Hawks
6. Nipissing Lakers
7. Georgian Grizzlies
8. Seneca Sting