NIPISSING ADVANCES TO CCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

WELLAND, Ont. - The Nipissing University Lakers men's volleyball team walked into a near capacity Niagara College Welland Campus Athletic Centre and played arguably their best game of the 2012-13 season.

The Lakers defeated the Niagara College Knights 3-1 in the semi-finals of the 2013 Ironwood Wealth Management Group Men's Volleyball National Championship, and will now face the Red Deer College Kings for a national title.

The set scores for the contest were 25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 25-14.

Lakers head coach Eric Yung was thrilled with the win. "It's a huge deal! We had a goal starting last season, and it was to be here."

The Lakers used their height advantage throughout the match recording a single game tournament-high 16 blocks in the contest.

The towering 6-foot-7 right side Andre Leblanc, and 6-foot-5 Frankie Edgecombe paced the Lakers finishing the match with 17 points each. Leblanc was named the Lakers Player of the Match for his performance.

The host Niagara College Knights showed signs of a potential upset in winning the second set, and taking an early third set lead, but the Lakers stuck to their game plan and went on a five point mid-third set run and never looked back.

"We played a real quality team in Niagara tonight, and they played hard, but words can't describe how exciting this victory is for our team," added Yung.

The OCAA champion and No. 3-seed Lakers will now face the ACAC champion and No. 1-seed Red Deer College Kings for the CCAA Men's Volleyball National Championship on Saturday, March 9 at 8 p.m. It is the second straight season that the OCAA champion has played in the national final, after Humber's successful 2012 CCAA championship.

Coach Yung feels his team will "let the win sink in, and then refocus and get ready for the next match."

The Niagara Knights still have an opportunity to earn a national medal. They face Vancouver Island at 12 p.m. with the winner advancing to the bronze medal match.

All matches during the 2013 Ironwood Wealth Management Group CCAA Men's Volleyball National Championship are live broadcasted and archived at www.sportslive.ca.

Source: Niagara College with files from OCAA communications