ALGONQUIN CAPTURES OCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL GOLD IN BARNBURNER

The OCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship showdown between top ranked Algonquin College and second ranked and defending champions Mohawk College was no doubt worth the price of admission.

Both teams came into the gold medal round in top form as Algonquin (Ottawa) posted early round victories over the stubborn eight seed Humber College (Etobicoke) 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) in the opening match and over another determined team in the fourth ranked Fanshawe Falcons (London) 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22) in their semi-final. Brett Daliey, led the Algonquin offence in both early matches with 13 and 28 kills respectively.

Mohawk’s road to the final was slightly less dramatic as the Mountaineers defeated the seventh seeded Seneca College (North York) 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-15) and third seed Niagara College (Welland) 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 25-16) in their opening round matches. OCAA Player of the Year, Jasmin Cull, paced his team offensively with 18 kills in his opening match, before adding another 13 kills to his total in the semi-final.

In the Gold Medal match, the clash of the titans was evident as fans were treated to a hitting clinic by Cull and Daliey who each reached the 20 kill club status. But, in the end, it was the top ranked Algonquin Thunder prevailing in the five set marathon 3-2 (25-22, 25-21, 15-25, 22-25, 15-11) with Brett Dailey named Championship MVP on the heals of his 26 point performance that included 20 kills, three blocks and three aces.

Jasmin Cull was the match’s scoring leader with 26 kills and was also named to the Championship All Stat team.

In the Bronze Medal match the Fanshawe Falcons (London) has their hands full with the talented Redeemer Royals as they were pushed to five sets by the team from Ancaster. Redeemer’s Ryan Talsma led all scorers in the match with 17 kills, while his teammate Dave Berghout followed closely with 16 of his own. Although Redeemer played a solid tournament from start to finish, it was not enough to earn a medal as the team fell 3-2 (25-11, 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12) and has to settle for fourth.

Algonquin will now represent the OCAA at the National Championship at Malaspina University College in Nanaimo, British Columbia, March 8-10.

Championship All-Stars
Matt Marjanski - Algonquin
David Keo - Algonquin
Jasmin Cull - Mohawk
Peter Sniuolis - Mohawk
Rob Thorpe - Fanshawe
Ryan Talsma - Redeemer

Championship MVP
Brett Dailey - Algonquin

Tournament Fair Play Award
Seneca

OCAA Championship Final Standings
1. Algonquin
2. Mohawk
3. Fanshawe
4. Redeemer

DAY ONE RESULTS

Game 1: Algonquin defeated Humber 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-18)
Game 2: Fanshawe defeated Redeemer 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21)
Game 3: Mohawk defeated Seneca 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-15)
Game 4: Niagara defeated Nipissing 3-1 (25-23, 26-24, 19-25, 25-21)

DAY TWO RESULTS

Game 5: Redeemer defeated Humber 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18)
Game 6: Seneca defeated Nipissing 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23)
Semi Finals - Algonquin defeated Fanshawe 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22)
Semi Finals - Mohawk defeated Niagara 3-1 (25-22, 25-16,
25-16)

FINAL DAY RESULTS

Bronze Semi-Final: Fanshawe defeated Seneca 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-12)
Bronze Semi-Final: Redeemer defeated Niagara 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-17)
Bronze Medal Final: Fanshawe defeated Redeemer 3-2 (25-11, 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12)
Gold Medal Final: Algonquin defeated Mohawk 3-2 (25-22, 25-21, 15-25, 22-25, 15-11)