STATEMENT WIN

The Fleming Knights hosted the Algonquin Thunder in a showdown between second place teams in the OCAA east region on Friday night.

Both teams entered the match 6-3, with Algonquin holding bragging rights having previously defeated Fleming 3-1 at home back on Halloween evening.

Friday's meeting turned out to be déjà vu, only in reverse. Fleming won on home court 3-1 to move into sole possession of second place at 7-3. It was an important victory for the Knights, as the top two teams in the east standings at season's end earn automatic byes into the OCAA championship tournament.

Fleming second-year left side Jacob White (Brockville, Ont.) led all players with 20 kills and 21 points in the contest.

SO CLOSE

In another key meeting of teams at the top of the OCAA west standings, the first-place Mohawk Mountaineers held off the surging Sheridan Bruins in five sets last Wednesday.

Both teams traded sets until the Mountaineers prevailed 16-14 in the deciding fifth. First-year left side Andrew Dube (Uxbridge, Ont.) led Mohawk with 21 points on a dozen kills, five service aces and four blocks.

Sheridan had an opportunity to leap frog Mohawk in the win category, but lost just its third match of the season to go with seven wins. Mohawk improved to 8-1 and is now at nine wins following a sweep of Boréal in a make-up match from last November.

Only the first place team in the west receives a bye into the OCAA championship, putting a greater emphasis on remaining on top of the division.

GO THE DISTANCE

OCAA men's volleyball fans got their money's worth over the last week when five matches went a complete five sets. That seems to be the norm in the OCAA, with 18 matches going five sets last November.

Is this a sign of more parity in the league? Last season, there was a 90-36 split between three-game sweeps and matches that went the distance. This season, there has been a 49-26 split with most of the second half of the regular season schedule still to be played.

Canadore has played more sets than any other team thus far this regular season, with six matches going five sets, including a win at George Brown on Sunday. The Panthers are 4-2 in the fifth set this season, a key reason why there are 7-4 overall.

Durham is a perfect 3-0 in five set matches, including a win over Trent at home last Thursday. The Lords are the lone undefeated team in OCAA at 11-0.

ROUNDING SECOND

If OCAA records were written in stone, there would be need for some more granite.

About 11 months ago, Keith Marier of La Cité established the OCAA all-time record of 1,069 points. This mark is about to be surpassed for a second time.

Fifth-year right side Jason Hernandez (Harrow, Ont.) of St. Clair is five points away from surpassing Marier with 1,065 in his career. Hernandez is also in reach of Marier's previous OCAA record of 910 kills, with 879 to his credit.

Unfortunately for Hernandez, Humber's Terrel Bramwell (Mississauga, Ont.) never rests. The new OCAA record holder now has 1,130 points and 946 kills, with eight more opportunities over the next two months to pad his totals. Barring injury, Hernandez should finish second behind Bramwell in these key categories.

RECENT RESULTS

UPCOMING GAMES

Source: OCAA Communications