It was a great weekend of volleyball in Oshawa as the Algonquin Thunder men’s volleyball team rolled to a convincing 3-0 win over Seneca College in the 2009 Belair Direct OCAA Volleyball Championship final to claim the OCAA gold medal.

The powerhouse Thunder and their all-star lineup dominated the competition over the weekend for almost its entirety, sweeping both opponents in straight sets.
This marked Algonquin’s fifth OCAA Championship in college history and their second in three years. The Thunder will now travel to Keyano College in Fort McMurrary for the 2009 Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championship from March 12-14. Seneca on the other hand will have to wait and see if they will earn a wildcard berth after finishing with the OCAA silver medal. It was the Sting’s first medal since 2005 where they also won the silver.



In the first set of the final, the Thunder started early with an imposing 8-3 lead. The lead was a commanding one that the Sting could not recover from, as the set ended with a 25-12 final.



The second set proved to be closer for the Sting as Jason Hernandez came up with some big points while Danny Mudford provided the team with some important digs allowing the Sting to keep the Thunder’s lead below four. Unfortunately for Seneca, Algonquin proved to be the better team as they surged ahead to claim the second set by a score of 25-20.



Up two sets to none, the Thunder came out hard in the third and final set as they immediately took the lead over the Sting. Seneca was able to fight back from 17-10 and cut the set score to 18-16, but the Thunder rolled on and finished the game in style going on a seven point run to claim the OCAA Championship gold medal.



The Thunder were led by Championship MVP, Ryan Debruyn, who finished the match with 15 points of total offense. Charlie Hamilton was named the Player of the Game as he finished with 11 points including seven kills. Costa Solanakis and Jonathan Sloane were also named to the championship all-star teams, each having an impressive showings at the championship.



Seneca’s offense could not seem to get into a rhythm in the match until the late stages, where it was too little, too late. Championship all-stars Brian Archibald and Jason Hernandez each recorded five kills in the losing effort. Hernandez was named the Player of the Game for the Sting.


The Mohawk Mountaineers men’s volleyball team swept the Fanshawe Falcons 3-0 in the bronze medal match, continuing their four year medal run. Although the sets were close, the Mountaineers came out on top securing their grasp on the bronze medal.




Fanshawe kicked off the match in the first set with a great team effort led by the kills of championship all-star Matthew Westman to give them a lead over the Mohawk Mountaineers. The digs of Mohawk’s Zac Schulz and Codey Forrest then helped propel the Mountaineers to comeback and tie the set at 18-18. The game remained a tie until the 23rd point when the Mountaineers made one final big effort to take the first set 25-23.



The second and third sets played out in a manner similar to that of the first. The close nature of the play made the match especially entertaining as neither team would give way keeping the lead within five points. Player of the Game Patrick Fishman played exceptional defense and his ball control skills kept the Falcons within reach, but the Mountaineers captured both sets relying on their experience at the end of each set.

Westman of Fanshawe led all scorers of the match with a total of 11 kills, three aces and one block combining for a total of 15 points. His notable presence helped earn him a spot on the championship all-star team. OCAA Player of the Year Steve Pawelczyk was also selected for the championship all-star team after his impressive performances leading to the bronze medal. 

Notably, Jordan McTavish of Fanshawe registered 17 digs while holding back the kills of Mohawk’s Kevin deJonge (8 kills). Mohamed Sulaiman of the Mountaineers was named Mohawk’s Player of the Game with nine points including 7 kills.


In the first semi-final the revenge was sweet for the Algonquin Thunder as they took a decisive, yet thrilling, 3-0 victory over the Mohawk Mountaineers. These two teams have been pinned against each other in the last two gold medal matches of the OCAA finals the most recent being last year when Mohawk emerged victorious to claim the gold medal. 



A heated, but friendly rivalry set the tone for this exciting game which was relatively close from the beginning to the end. In the first set the two teams battled back and forth with Algonquin maintaining a close lead and Mohawk never allowing the lead to exceed four points as the Thunder won 25-21.

The first half of the second set was very similar to the first with Algonquin’s lead never exceeded five until their 15th point when they pulled away to finish the second set with the set ending 25-18.

The third set was right down to the wire with back and forth play in which the lead for either team rarely exceeded two. Despite a hard fought match, Algonquin emerged victorious earning their spot in the championship match for the third consecutive year.



When asked about the win, Max Larrivee stated, “We are happy for the win. We trained all year to meet Mohawk in the finals and settle the score form last year. A lot of the guys came back this year just for the occasion. The guys played a solid game especially Costa Solanakis who was making a lot of the right set selections. Adam Gane played well for us after being out with mono for seven weeks. Jonathan Sloan was also great sideout wise. Kudos to Mohawk, that was the best game I have seen them play all year. James (Bradley) prepared them well as always.”

He also went on to say, “We are looking forward to the final. This is what we train for all year. It is a thrill no one else can have when they sit in their living room. We need to come into tomorrow’s game with a bit more swagger. We played the game today a bit too safe.”



“I thought that we didn’t particularly have our best match,” James Bradley Coach of the Mountaineers said following the match. “We played about average for us, but that won’t cut it at this level. Ball control was our biggest issue and I think if we had resolved it earlier than the third set, the outcome would have been a bit closer.”



“They (Algonquin) just didn’t make a lot of errors. With their size and talent it was tough to defend against. Max had them well prepared as always and it put us under a lot of pressure. It’s just too bad we didn’t adjust until it was too late.”



“Seneca is a strong team, they have getting better over the year. I don’t have a favourite. We will put the game plan tonight and present it in the morning regardless as to who we play.”

Ryan Debruyn of Algonquin and Sean Lowe of Mohawk were named the Players of the Game.

The Seneca Sting men’s volleyball team advanced to the OCAA gold medal game defeating Fanshawe 3-1 in the semi-finals, making it an all East final as the Sting took on the Algonquin Thunder.



The first set was close with the final score resulting in a 27-25 win by Fanshawe. It was as close as it could get with neither team’s lead exceeding two points until the very end of the game when Fanshawe came out ahead by two points to give them the 1-0 head start.



Both teams started the second set with a high intensity keeping the game close once again. Midway through the set, Seneca was able to capitalize on some great net play, especially by Mike Haines as they would begin to pull away from the Falcons. Seneca would level the score at one set apiece with a 25-15 win.



The third set featured the teams going neck and neck down the stretch looking to gain an advantage. Seneca managed to get a lead as they picked up the intensity and built up the momentum. Fanshawe attempted to mount a comeback yet, Seneca held on for the 25-21 win in the third set, giving them a 2-1 lead.



The fourth and final set was very exciting as fans from both sides were encouraging their players looking for the victory. In the end, it was Seneca prevailing once again as they picked up a 25-20 win.



Brian Archibald was named the Player of the Game for Seneca picking up 20 points including 17 kills in the win. J.R. Sapienza and Jason Hernandez each had great games picking up 12 points apiece and combining for 18 digs.


For Fanshawe, Jordan McTavish was busy on the defensive end of the court recording a game high 20 digs. Derek Estabrooks and Matthew Westmen were the offensive leaders for Fanshawe with 11 and 10 points respectively, Westman was named Fanshawe’s Player of the Game.



Men’s Championship All-Stars
Steve Pawelczyk – Mohawk

Matthew Westman – Fanshawe

Brian Archibald – Seneca 

Jason Hernandez – Seneca

Costa Solanakis – Algonquin

Jonathan Sloane – Algonquin



Men’s Championship MVP
Ryan Debruyn – Algonquin