OSHAWA, Ont. – The Durham Lords men's volleyball team took the Algonquin Thunder to five sets after an earlier victory in the afternoon, losing 3-2 in the evening.
 
Durham had the advantage with an opening set 25-22 win against the visiting Thunder in an effort to snap their January losing streak.
 
Algonquin answered back – coming out on top in another close score line 25-21 to tie things up at one win a piece.
 
The third set took 29 minutes to complete but the visitors outlasted the Lords in extra serves to pick up a 28-26 win to take a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set of the best-of-five match.
 
Durham took a convincing 25-13 fourth set victory over Algonquin.
 
A fifth set was needed to break the tie and determine a winner. As Algonquin won 15-9, they created a four-way tie for fourth in the OCAA east region between the Durham Lords, Algonquin Thunder, Centennial Colts and La Cité Coyotes all tied with 6-7 records.
 
Erik Janssen (Hampton, Ont.) was the standout for Durham on the evening with 20 kills, six digs, three blocks and an ace. Rory Langley (Uxbridge, Ont.) finished with 40 assists – a mark which he has reached four other times this season.
 
On November 25, the Algonquin and Durham game in Ottawa was cancelled after two sets due to issues in the facility. The game continued today with a 4 p.m. start before the Lords' regularly scheduled home match against the Thunder at 8 p.m.
 
Algonquin jumped ahead early forcing Durham to take an early timeout. The brief break proved necessary as the Lords went on a 9-3 run immediately following the huddle and won the third set 28-26.
 
The fourth set came down to the wire but the Lords pulled ahead 25-23 to finish the match quickly by a 3-1 score.
 
Tyler Krabi (Stouffville, Ont.) and Janssen combined for 17 kills with 10 and seven, respectively, while Langley recorded 19 assists through three sets.
 
Janssen became only the second Lord in Durham College men's volleyball history to surpass 700 points in the afternoon match as he added 19 to his career total. In the evening he recorded 24 more to bring his career total to 733.
 
Durham is back at it tomorrow afternoon as the Lords host the La Cité Coyotes at the CRWC. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE LORDS
Overall Record: 7-14
Conference Record: 6-7
 
Next Game: Sunday, Jan. 28 vs. La Cité Coyotes (3 PM – CRWC)