HUMBER THREE-PEATS AS OCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONS

LONDON, Ont. - At Fanshawe College on Saturday evening, the Humber Hawks (17-5, 2nd West) were crowned the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) men's volleyball provincial champions after a 3-1 win over the host Fanshawe Falcons (18-3, 1st West).

In front of a sold out crowd at Fanshawe's Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre, the Falcons got off to a great start with kills from Tanner Paterson and Daniel Ridings. Humber's defence then got settled in with a block by Jaskarn Kalsi. The Hawks had a pair of strong hits from Teyven Blackmore to take the lead and Humber would hold on to win the opening set 25-21. Fanshawe rebounded in the second set, taking a lead on a service ace by fifth-year captain Sebastian Lethbridge. Consecutive kills from Humber's Maximum Crowder kept the Hawks within reach, but Jack Voght responded with a right-side kill to keep the Falcons on top. Ridings completed the kill to give the Birds a 25-23 second set win.

Humber's Jaydon Milne and Michael McAlpine came to play in the third frame, giving the Hawks a quick advantage. Despite Fanshawe's efforts at a comeback, Humber maintained their lead throughout the set and won 25-22. In a thrilling fourth set, both teams had strong attacks from their key players. The Falcons gained an advantage with a kill from Alain Pineault mid-way through the frame, but Humber would stick around with Jake Gomes setting up Milne for the kill. With the set tied at 21, Kalsi had massive back-to-back hits to put the Hawks ahead. Humber would hold on and complete the fourth set victory 25-23 to take the gold medal match 3-1. The Player of the Match for Humber was Kalsi with 15 points and Ridings for the Falcons with 13 points. Fanshawe's Lethbridge and Voght were named OCAA Championship All-Stars for their strong weekend performances, as well as Crowder and Blackmore from the Hawks. Humber setter, Gomes, was named the OCAA Championship MVP.

Both teams will now advance to the CCAA men's volleyball national championship from March 8-11, hosted by Humber College in Etobicoke. More information on the event can be found here: https://ccaa.ca/sports/mvball/index.

BRONZE MEDAL GAME

The Cambrian Golden Shield (16-6, 3rd West) were victorious over the Mohawk Mountaineers (12-10, 4th West) in four sets to claim the OCAA bronze medal on Saturday afternoon. The teams traded points to open the game, with both the Mountaineers and Golden Shield looking to give everything in their final game of their 2022-23 campaign. Kurtis Brisebois had a block mid-set that got the Cambrian fans on their feet and gave them momentum. Great serving from setter Jack Daley used that energy to close out the first frame 25-17 for the Golden Shield. Strong play from Mohawk star Anthony Beijes got the Mountaineers out to a hot start in set two. Cambrian chipped away with good outside hitting from Sven Trodel. Jason Diotte continued the attack from the Golden Shield to give them an advantage, and Cambrian would take set two 25-21.

In the third frame, Mohawk got points from Joel Sloots and Ethan May to go ahead, but the Golden Shield responded with hard hitting from Trodel. A huge block from May kept the Mountaineers on top, as they would go on to win the third set 26-24. The Golden Shield bounced back and set the tone in the fourth, with massive kills from Brisebois and Trodel. Mohawk matched their intensity, with a block from Peter Pilling to give them a late lead. Then a huge block from Daley put Cambrian back on top 24-23 and Trodel would put the match away on a left-side kill. The Golden Shield won set four 25-23 and the match 3-1 to claim the OCAA bronze medal. The setters were named the Players of the Match, with Pilling from Mohawk and Daley from Cambrian receiving honours. Mohawk's Beijes and Cambrian's Trodel were named OCAA Championship All-Stars for their impressive play throughout the tournament.

All news, stats and results can be found on the 2023 OCAA championship website: www.ocaa.com/mvb.

Source: Fanshawe Falcons

Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/mvb

Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive

Thursday, February 23
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: Humber def. Algonquin 3-0
Game #2: Mohawk def. Georgian 3-0
Game #3: Cambrian def. Canadore 3-0
Game #4: Fanshawe def. Redeemer 3-0

Friday, February 24
Semi-Finals
Game #5: Humber def. Mohawk 3-1
Game #6: Fanshawe def. Cambrian 3-2

Saturday, February 25
Bronze Medal Match
Cambrian def. Mohawk 3-1

Gold Medal Match
Humber def. Fanshawe 3-1

- OCAA -

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