NORTH BAY, Ont. - Nipissing University in North Bay, Ont. plays
host to the 2012 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's
Volleyball Championship, beginning Thursday and running through
Saturday.
Eight teams will vie for the OCAA title, including the host
Nipissing Lakers and two-time defending champion Humber Hawks.
A total of 12 matches will be played in a span of three days.
Following the OCAA awards banquet at the Davedi Club at 9 a.m., the
OCAA quarter-finals will take place on Thursday afternoon beginning
at 1 p.m. Losing teams will compete in the bronze medal
quarter-finals on Friday, followed by the OCAA semi-final matches.
The bronze medal semi-finals and final will take place on Saturday
leading into the OCAA gold medal match.
Fans who are unable to attend the matches live can follow the
proceedings via webcast. Visit the championship website for further information.
The OCAA champion advances to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic
Association (CCAA) Men's Volleyball National Championship, taking
place in Abbotsford, B.C. next month.
Here is a look at the OCAA quarter-final match-ups:
Mohawk (13-5, 3rd West) vs. Seneca (18-2, 2nd
East)
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 1 p.m.
The OCAA tournament begins with a rematch of last year's bronze
medal match, won by Mohawk 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-19).
Mohawk played its way into the tournament following a 3-0 (25-20,
25-21, 25-19) home win over La Cite in the qualifying round.
Second-year right side Justin Scapinello (London,
Ont.), who was fourth in OCAA scoring averaging 4.4 points per set,
contributed a game-high 15 points on 11 kills, three aces and one
block in the win. Fifth-year left side Ian Cameron
(Hamilton, Ont.) contributed 11 kills, one ace and one block for 13
points.
Seneca enters the OCAA tournament on a eight-game win streak. Its
only two losses of the regular season came against East region
champion Algonquin. Seneca had four different players lead the team
in each key offensive category, including fourth-year player
Peter Christian (Chatham, Ont.) with 223 points,
third-year left side Predrag Gajic (Scarborough,
Ont.) with 168 kills, third-year middle Justin
Parsons (Mt. Pearl, Nfld.) with 54 blocks, and fourth-year
middle Jon Houston (Thornhill, Ont.) with 19
aces.
Mohawk has won an OCAA medal in five of its last six
championships, including gold in 2008. The Mountaineers are ranked
No. 14 in the CCAA. Seneca won back-to-back silver medals in 2009
and 2010.
The winner of this quarter-final plays the winner of the
Redeemer-Humber match.
Redeemer (10-8, 5th West) vs. Humber (17-1, 1st
West)
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 3 p.m.
The OCAA tournament continues with a rematch of last year's gold
medal match between West region rivals Redeemer and Humber.
Similar to last year's magical run at the OCAA championship,
Redeemer needed a 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 15-12) road
victory at Loyalist in the qualifying round to advance to
Thursday's quarter-final. Third-year left side Dave
Klomps (Surrey, B.C.), who was the Redeemer team leader
with 187 points during the regular season, led the Royals with 19
points on 15 kills, three blocks and one ace in the victory.
Humber has won 14 straight regular season matches, including a
pair of wins over Redeemer. Both matches went four sets. Third-year
right side Terrel Bramwell (Mississauga, Ont.)
made life extremely difficult for his opponents this past season,
especially Redeemer. Bramwell set an OCAA single match record with
36 kills in the first match, then tied his own OCAA single match
record of 40 points in the second match. Bramwell led all of OCAA
averaging 6.7 points per set.
Humber won last year's gold medal match 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 26-24).
The Hawks are currently the No. 1-ranked team in the CCAA.
The winner of this quarter-final plays the winner of the
Mohawk-Seneca match.
Durham (15-5, 3rd East) vs. Nipissing (17-1, 2nd
West)
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 6 p.m.
The host Nipissing Lakers begin their quest for a first-ever OCAA
medal against the Durham Lords.
Nipissing's only loss of the regular season came at home against
Humber in four sets. The Lakers were led offensively by fourth-year
hometown product Andre Leblanc's 192 points, 153
kills and 20 aces. Andre's twin brother Adam
Leblanc led Nipissing with 51 blocks during the regular
season. The Lakers are ranked No. 5 in the CCAA.
Durham comes into the OCAA tournament needing a 3-1 (23-25, 27-25,
25-12, 25-23) home win over Fanshawe in the qualifying round.
Durham fifth-year middle David McMann (Elmvale,
Ont.) picked up where he left off in the regular season,
contributing a game-high six blocks in the victory. McMann set a
new OCAA single season record for stuff blocks with 83, and career
blocks with 206. Durham has not medaled at the OCAA tournament in
five seasons.
The winner of this quarter-final plays the winner of the
Sheridan-Algonquin match.
Sheridan (10-8, 4th West) vs. Algonquin (19-1, 1st
East)
Thursday, Feb. 23 - 8 p.m.
The last OCAA quarter-final pits the East region champion
Algonquin Thunder against the Sheridan Bruins.
Algonquin, ranked No. 7 in CCAA, is on a four-match win streak
entering the OCAA tournament, with its only regular season blemish
coming in a five-set loss at Loyalist. Fifth-year player
Joshua Harris (Kitchener, Ont.) led the team with
180 points and 43 aces, followed closely by fifth-year outside
hitter Alexandre Corsi Caya (Ottawa) and his
team-high 155 kills to go with his 179 points.
Sheridan required a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 26-24) home win against
Georgian in the qualifying round to advance to the OCAA tournament.
Fourth-year left side Cody Williams (Milton, Ont.)
earned a team-high 18 points on 17 kills and one ace in the win.
First-year left side Jeremy Fantin (Mississauga,
Ont.) led the Bruins with a team-high 214 points, 160 kills and 46
blocks during the regular season.
Sheridan has not earned an OCAA men's volleyball medal since
winning six straight titles ending in 1994. Algonquin last won an
OCAA title back in 2009.
The winner of this quarter-final plays the winner of the
Durham-Nipissing match.
OCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Thursday, February 23
OCAA Awards Banquet - Davedi Club 9 a.m.
Quarter-Finals
Game 1 - Mohawk vs. Seneca - 1 p.m.
Game 2 - Redeemer vs. Humber - 3 p.m.
Game 3 - Durham vs. Nipissing - 6 p.m.
Game 4 - Sheridan vs. Algonquin - 8 p.m.
Friday, February 24
Bronze Quarter-Finals
Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 1 p.m.
Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 - 3 p.m.
Semi-Finals
Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - 6 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 25
Bronze Semi-Finals
Game 9 - Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6 - 9 a.m.
Game 10 - Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 5 - 11 a.m.
Bronze Medal Match
Game 11 - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 - 3 p.m.
Gold Medal Match
Game 12 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 5 p.m.
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is a recognized
leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to
student athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 31 members
sponsoring 16 league and tournament championships.
For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com