OSHAWA, Ont. - Durham College welcomed over 200 student-athletes on campus as both the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) men's and women's volleyball and basketball all-star games were held at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre.

The west was the best on the basketball court on Saturday as they swept the OCAA men's and women's all-star games. In the women's game the east held an early lead, but after the first quarter trailed the west 23-18, but at half were down by 12. Down by seven heading into the fourth quarter, the east were unable to complete the comeback as the west won 77-68. St. Clair's Shannon Kennedy led the west with 13 points, while JenJen Abella was named the west MVP of the game. Algonquin's Felicia Mazerolle led the east with 16 points and was named the east MVP.

In the men's game the west continued their domination and led by over 20 points at halftime, eventually winning 120-91. The west had six players in double-digits, with Redeemer's John Woldue leading the way with 19 points. He would pick up the west MVP award for his play in the game. For the east it was Durham College's Eric Smith who led the team offensively with 22 points, while Loyalist Lancer Funsho Dimeji added 16. Smith received the east MVP honours.

On the volleyball court, the regional rivals split victories as the women's east region all-stars took home a 3-1 win followed by the men's west region all-stars winning by the same scoreline.

The women's side saw the east region bounce back from an opening set loss (25-19), as they stormed back with 25-22, 25-22 and 25-21 set victories. Unlike a conventional all-star game, both teams played tremendous defence with the east narrowly edging out the west. La Cite's Tanya Carriere was a standout for the east region all-stars, as she was named the game's MVP. Brittany Vanderlaan of Humber, who was a finalist in the passing accuracy contest, was named the west region MVP.

On the men's side, the west region all-stars took advantage of a hot start as they shot out to a pair of victories (25-19, 25-21). The east showed a lot of fight in the third set, dominating the net enroute to a 25-19 victory, but the west managed to win a marathon fourth set by a score of 28-26. Setter Mark Kaveckas of the Mountaineers, who played every point for the west, was named the game MVP for his orchestrating of the all-star calibre offence. For the second straight match, a member of the Coyotes was honoured with Eric Funston taking home MVP honours for the east.

Event festivities began Friday night as the all-star athletes were greeted with both a co-ed four-on-four basketball and six-on-six co-ed volleyball tournament. This was followed Saturday morning by several skill competitions including the NBA skills challenge and three-point shootout for basketball all-stars; and passing accuracy, serving accuracy and a best spike challenge for volleyball all-stars. All event winners and game MVP's are listed below.

Canadore Panther took home bragging rights as he edged out Lord Durham in the OCAA best mascot competition.

PHOTO GALLERY
www.flickr.com/photos/durhamlords/collections/72157644671654964/

RESULTS
Women's Volleyball
East defeats West 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21)
West Region MVP: Brittany Vanderlaan (Humber Hawks)
East Region MVP: Tanya Carriere (La Cite Coyotes)

Men's Volleyball
West defeats East 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 28-26)
West Region MVP: Mark Kaveckas (Mohawk Mountaineers)
East Region MVP: Eric Funston (La Cite Coyotes)

Women's Basketball
West defeats East 77-68
West Region MVP: JenJen Abella (Mohawk Mountaineers)
East Region MVP: Felicia Mazerolle (Algonquin Thunder)

Men's Basketball
West defeats East 120-91
West Region MVP: John Woldue (Redeemer Royals)
East Region MVP: Eric Smith (Durham Lords)

SKILLS COMPETITIONS

NBA Skills Competition
MBB: Brandon Padgett (Lambton Lions)
WBB:

Three-Point Shootout
MBB: Joshua Yorke-Frazer (Seneca Sting)
WBB: Lacey Knox (St. Lawrence Vikings)

Passing Accuracy
WVB: Caitlin Hebert (Canadore Panthers)
MVB: Bruce Nguyen (Georgian Grizzlies)

Serving Accuracy
WVB: Darian Gropp (Fanshawe Falcons)
MVB: Jordan Ross (Fleming Knights)

Best Spike
WVB: Tabatha Casselam (Fleming Knights)
MVB: Eric Danecke (Mohawk Mountaineers)

Source: Durham College