BARRIE, Ont. - The Fanshawe Falcons ran the table to complete a perfect OCAA season in the gold medal game of the 2018 OCAA Men's Volleyball Championship presented by belairdirect against the Humber Hawks.
The Falcons were dominant in the final defeating the Hawks 3-0 with set scores of 25-12, 25-18 and 25-13.
Fanshawe finishes the provincial championship with a perfect 3-0 record having not dropped a single set. They also finished the regular season with an undefeated 18-0 regular season record.
Will Otten (Delaware) was named Player of the Game for the Falcons registering four kills, two aces and a block.
On the Hawks side, Dylan Devecseri (Italy) was his team's Player of the Game after posting a team-high 10 kills.
Fanshawe's Zach Albert (Brampton) was named the Championship's Most Valuable Player after leading his team averaging 4.4 kills-per-set over three games.
"I can't even describe how this feels right now," said Albert post-game. "I'm just so happy how we came together and played as one big family."
Albert is quick to point to his teammates on earning the championship's MVP honours.
"I want to thank my teammates. They set me up for this it was all the hard work in practice we did together that got us to this point."
It's Fanshawe's third straight medal at the OCAA championship and second gold medal in the last three seasons.
"Our guys bought into the unique system we were trying to run and they had a lot of fun doing it," said Falcons head coach Patrick Johnston. "That helped each night that they were excited to come in and play."
Fanshawe will now be the OCAA representative at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Volleyball National Championship from March 7-10 in Victoria, B.C. hosted by Camosun College.
"I'm looking forward to moving on to Nationals. It will be different than our last time we represented two years ago, we know we have a lot more left ahead of us."
The following players were named tournament all-stars for the 2018 OCAA Men's Volleyball Championship.
Championship All-Stars
Eli Tolkamp, Redeemer Royals
Liam Gray, Georgian Grizzlies
Dylan Devecseri, Humber Hawks
Kamyn Wilkins, Humber Hawks
Sebastian Lethbridge, Fanshawe Falcons
Cole Jordan, Fanshawe Falcons
Championship MVP
Zach Albert, Fanshawe Falcons
REDEEMER WINS BRONZE IN FIVE SET THRILLER
The Redeemer Royals faced the host Georgian Grizzlies in the bronze medal match of the 2018 OCAA Men's Volleyball Championship presented by belairdirect at the Georgian Athletic Centre in Barrie.
It was an incredible battle between the two teams in a roller coaster matchup with both the Royals and Grizzlies pushing through the highs and lows with a medal on the line.
The two teams were very even and split the first four sets.
In the fifth and deciding tiebreak set, the Royals were able to pull away to earn the bronze medal in a 3-2 victory by set scores of 25-16, 16-25, 25-19, 17-25 and 15-10.
Zacc Burke (North Bay) had his match of the tournament registering 13 kills along with two aces and two blocks.
"It was a fantastic game, Georgian played phenomenally and we battled all the way," said Burke. "It was amazing. It's been a long ride, I love the guys and it's a great way to finish off our season."
Redeemer head coach Brad Douwes was proud of his team's performance.
"Unreal, what a battle," said Douwes after the win. "Kudos to Georgian, they have some big offensive weapons. We did what we could to limit them."
"It was a good game, the crowd was amazing and it got emotional. There was tons of energy and what an incredible experience for our guys. I'm pumped for them."
Douwes felt his team's approach heading into the final weeks of the season made a big difference.
"We talked about it a lot the last couple of weeks about how we conduct ourselves. We talked about being consistent, positive and being confident and the last couple of weeks we took that on. We were able to do that this week and that continued through today."
The Royals earn their fourth OCAA medal in team history and their first since winning bronze back in the 2012-13 season.
Ryan DeBruyn (Ottawa) was named Player of the Game for Georgian after scoring a team-high 16 kills. The host Grizzlies came up just short of winning their first OCAA medal in the team's history.
CONESTOGA PREVAILS IN CONSOLATION FINAL
The Conestoga Condors continued their run at their first-ever OCAA Men's Volleyball Championship presented by belairdirect in the consolation final against the George Brown Huskies on Saturday afternoon at the Georgian Athletic Centre in Barrie.
It was a tight match but the Condors were able to pull it out with a 3-1 victory with set scored of 25-22, 18-25, 25-15 and 25-21.
Fifth-year middle Jahsan Toney (Mississauga) had an incredible game to wrap up his collegiate career posting nine kills along with a block and an ace.
"It's awesome, this is the furthest Conestoga has ever been so it's a big win for us," said Toney. "Our communication as a team was great along with our blocking and staying positive. We never want to get down on ourselves as a team that was our key."
Pradeep Bhogal (Mississauga) was named Player of the Game following an excellent effort for the Huskies with 30 assists and eight digs.
Source: Georgian College
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/mvb
Championship Webcast: www.youtube.com/user/GeorgianGrizzlies
Championship Results
Thursday, February 22
Quarter-Finals
Game 1: Redeemer 3, George Brown 1
Game 2: Fanshawe 3, Fleming 0
Game 3: Humber 3, Conestoga 1
Game 4: Georgian 3, Niagara 0
Friday, February 23
Consolation Round
Game 5: George Brown 3, Fleming 1
Game 6: Conestoga 3, Niagara 1
Semi-Finals
Game 7: Fanshawe 3, Redeemer 0
Game 8: Humber 3, Georgian 0
Saturday, February 24
Consolation Final
Game 9: Conestoga 3, George Brown 1
Bronze Medal Match
Game 10: Redeemer 3, Georgian 2
Gold Medal Match
Game 11: Fanshawe 3, Humber 0
- OCAA -
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