ALGONQUIN 3, SHERIDAN 2

OAKVILLE, Ont. - It had all the twists and turns that playoff volleyball is supposed to have, with both sides - quite appropriately - volleying control of the momentum back and forth.

Ultimately it was the OCAA East Division champions, the Algonquin Thunder, who rose to the occasion in the fifth set to claim a nail-biting 3-2 - 25-19, 21-25, 25-11, 23-25, 15-6 - win over the host Sheridan Bruins.

"Our serve receive was steady and our go-to guys on the left side were go-to guys," Algonquin head coach Jay Mooney said. "Our inexperience in the middle kind of showed, [so] tomorrow we just need to get more productivity from there."

Statistically the two sides were near mirror images of one another, with Algonquin holding slim advantages in kills (52-50), aces (5-0) and total offence (61-54) while the two sides were equal with four blocks and 47 digs.

"In two sets we played great - we really competed and we were engaged," Sheridan head coach Dave McAllister said. "But the other sets we had moments where we were engaged, but [Algonquin] just set the ball really fast to those two left side guys, who are very skilled. When we needed to make plays, we made errors and that transcends into a loss. But we played hard; we played our hearts out."

OCAA player of the year Philippe Yeldon posted a match-high 21 points (20 kills, one block) for Algonquin, while Alex Oneid (16 kills, one ace) and Ian McAlpine (10 kills, two aces, one block) also posted double-digit point totals for the Thunder.

Josh Butler (14 kills, one block) and Jeremy Fantin (13 kills, one block) were in double-figures for the Bruins, while Frank Pento chipped in with 15 digs.

Algonquin will advance to the semi-final where they'll take on Mohawk, and Mooney says his club will take the most basic approach moving forward.

"I think with this group we just need to focus on one point at a time," he said. "I know that's a cliche, but we're a young group so if we start thinking of the big picture, it's too much of a distraction for us."

Meanwhile the Bruins will move into the bronze bracket and square off against Redeemer - a foe that faced a little over a week ago in their regular season finale.

McAllister believes his team still has much to play for and thinks they'll be ready to show it.

"I think it's this simple: we have a choice," he said. "We have the choice to come back, play our butt off and try to aim for bronze, or we choose not to compete. I think that we'll be here competing tomorrow."

Notes: In a twist of irony, all four matches featured a team that had a bye directly to the quarter-finals being relegated to the bronze bracket. The final match featured two teams that had byes in Sheridan and Algonquin, with the Thunder being the only higher seed to win on a day full of upsets.

Source: Sheridan I.T.