PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - The No. 6 nationally ranked Durham College men's volleyball team will compete for gold after knocking off the Fanshawe Falcons in a four set semifinal showdown on Friday night in Peterborough. Set scores were 25-22, 26-24, 20-25, 25-22.
With the win, the Lords also secured a berth to the CCAA national championship, being held from Mar. 11-14 at St. Thomas University in Fredericton.
DC's defence was once again on point, recording 20 more digs than their opponents from London. As a team, the Lords finished the four set outing with 62 total digs, to just 40 for the Falcons. Beyond the defensive difference, the teams were nearly identical in every other statistical category across the board, which resulted in four exciting sets with the teams within five points of each other in each set.
Durham will compete in the OCAA championship final for the first time since 2016-17, where the Lords brought home the provincial silver medal. DC will face their toughest opponent yet as they match up with the No. 1 nationally ranked Humber Hawks. The Hawks knocked off the Georgian Grizzlies in straight sets in the other semifinal of the day to earn their place in the provincial final. The gold medal match will take place tomorrow evening, with first serve scheduled for 5 p.m. and the action available via
OCAA LIVE.
• OCAA east first team all-star
Andrew Dube (Uxbridge, Ont.) continued to shine as an offensive powerhouse, lead the Lords with a team-high 18 points from 16 kills and two blocks.
• Producing in the middle,
Tristan Swinden (Whitby, Ont.) added 16 points with 10 kills, two aces, and four blocks, while player of the match
Rouzbeh Rahnavard (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and team captain
Tyler Krabi (Stouffville, Ont.) added 12 and 11 points respectively.
• A standout in the loss, Ewan Mason scored a game-high 22 points for the Falcons from 14 kills, five aces, and three blocks.
• OCAA east player of the year and CCAA All-Canadian
Liam Gray (Barrie, Ont.) guided the offence with 43 assists, while also leading the team defensivley with a game-high 16 digs over the four sets.
• Fanshawe setter Elliott Leslie notched 38 assists for the Falcons, while libero Najeem Javeed registered a team-high 14 digs.
Overall Record: 29-9 (W-L)
Conference Record: 16-2
Next match: Friday, Feb. 29 vs. Humber Hawks • (Gold Medal Match – 5 p.m. – Peterborough, Ont.)
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