SHERIDAN 3, ST. CLAIR 2

WINDSOR, Ont. - First the bad news. After letting a 2-1 lead against Fanshawe slip away, the Sheridan Bruins men's volleyball team (20-11, 10-5 OCAA) nearly did the same thing when taking a 2-0 lead over St. Clair.

The good news is that they were able to re-gain their footing in that fifth set to salvage a split on their final road trip of the season.

"Clearly we just aren't doing a good enough job of closing games out," Sheridan head coach Dave McAllister. "As it relates to stringing together performances for an entire match, we just seem to lack something that allows us to do that. It's something we need to address though and in a hurry."

Against Fanshawe, Sheridan won two out of the first three sets - winning the first (25-23) and third (25-22), while dropping the second (25-22) - and had a chance to close out the match in the fourth set, leading 22-20.

Fanshawe - playing for its playoff life – reeled off five-unanswered points to take the set 25-20 and they were able to maintain that momentum in the fifth set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead, which was a cushion the Bruins could not cut down.

Josh Butler - making his return to his hometown - scored a match-high 29 points (22 kills, five blocks, two aces) while Jeremy Fantin (17 kills), Brandon Rivera (seven kills, three blocks, oneace) and Cody Williams (10 kills) also notched double-digit point totals.

With 13, 12 and 10 digs respectively, Williams, Butler and Fantin all recorded double-doubles.

With another bus trip and a 24-hour turnaround, the Bruins got off to a quick start against St. Clair, winning the first two sets 25-20 and 25-19.

Their work would not be complete though, as the Saints rallied for two straight wins - 25-21 and 25-22 - before the Double-Blue were able to close things out 15-11 in the fifth set.

Fantin (16 kills, two blocks, 13 digs), Butler (13 kills, three blocks, 12 digs) and Williams (12 kills, 11 digs) all posted double-doubles for a second straight match.

The club has one game remaining against Redeemer on February 13.

As the host school of the 2013 OCAA championship, the Bruins are guaranteed a spot in the OCAA final eight and while McAllister says that's certainly advantageous, it shouldn't preclude the team from wanting to go in on a winning note.

"We know our spot in the final eight is secure and with the depth of this league, we know regardless of who we're matched up against, it's going to be tough," he said. "But we don't want to back our way into this tournament either and I would greatly prefer if we could generate some confidence and ride that going forward."

Blue notes: Sheridan has now played seven five-set matches and holds a 6-1 advantage in those contests.

Source: Sheridan I.T.