OSHAWA, Ont. - Over 80 of the province's best volleyball players were in Oshawa for the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) volleyball all-star weekend.
The event was capped off on Saturday with the women's and men's all-star games, which saw the East walk away with a 3-1 victory in the women's match and the West take the men's match 3-1.
Seneca's Crystal O'Donnell led the offensive attack with nine kills and two aces in the women's match. She also picked up a pair of blocks. Sara Piana Yafu, from Loyalist, was named the East player of the game after finishing with six kills.
From the host Durham Lords, Shannon Dean (Whitby, Ont.) had two kills and four aces, OCAA player of the year Allison Marshall (Orillia, Ont.) had five kills, and Brier Kaake (Whitby, Ont.) picked up six digs.
For the West, Tori Kozak of Conestoga, Devan O'Connor of Humber and Sheridan's Rachel Abrahams each finished with four kills. Yvonne Mann of Mohawk finished the match with six digs and 16 assists to be named the West player of the game.
In the men's match, Durham Lords middle Harrison Wood (Uxbridge, Ont.) led the East with six kills, alongside three blocks. Georgian's Darien Haynes had a match-high five blocks in the loss for the East.
Michel Leblanc of La Cité wasn't far off Wood's offensive output, finishing the match with five kills.
The West had a well-balanced offence, paced by Niagara's Jeff Scott who finished with seven kills, an ace and a block. Mohawk's Trevor McLaughlin, who was named OCAA player of the year, was also looked to in the win as he finished with five kills and two aces.
After the match Cambrian's Isaac Claveau and Loyalist's Adam Strickland were named the players of the game.
"Overall we believe the fans and the athletes had a fantastic day and that is what this is all about," said Durham College athletic director Ken Babcock. "We had a great showcase of the talent in the OCAA and were able to involve the community by offering a clinic for local youth volleyball players. I want to congratulate all players on a great season and look forward to seeing them back in the gym this September."
Prior to the matches the day started with the preliminary rounds for the skills competitions, which were completed between sets of the respective women's and men's matches.
While the all-stars took a break for lunch, players from local volleyball clubs were offered a one-hour clinic with Durham College coaches and players.
"We believe we have a lot of great things happening here at Durham College and this was an opportunity to showcase that to these players," said Durham women's head coach Tony Clarke. "From the facilities - the gym and team rooms - to the talent on the court, we wanted to give players the chance to come in and see what we offer here. The other aspect of that was we wanted them to have the opportunity to see what type of training we go through as a team in season and hope that will help their games out."
This was the third time in four years that Durham College has hosted the volleyball all-star weekend. Next Saturday, Fleming College will host the OCAA basketball all-star games in Peterborough.
SKILLS COMPETITON WINNERS
Women's
Hardest Spike - Breanna Golding (Humber Hawks)
Serving Accuracy - Brier Kaake (Durham Lords)
Passing Accuracy - Alessandra Assaf (Mohawk Mountaineers)
Men's
Hardest Spike - Mitch McFadden (Mohawk Mountaineers)
Serving Accuracy - Steven Carter (St. Clair Saints)
Passing Accuracy - Sidney Wilding (Seneca Sting)
REVERSE 6 CHAMPIONS
Brady De Boer (Redeemer Royals)
Charlene De Vries (Redeemer Royals)
Ben Tonin (Mohawk Mountaineers)
Yvonne Mann (Mohawk Mountaineers)
Stephen Carter (St. Clair Saints)
Emilie Leneveu (Loyalist Lancers)
Source: Durham College
Photo Credit: Allan Fournier