OSHAWA, Ont. – The Humber College women's volleyball team moved one step closer to earning their seventh consecutive OCAA title after defeating Durham College 3-1 in the opening round of the OCAA championship Thursday night at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre (CRWC). Set scores in the match were 25-9, 21-25, 25-19 and 25-16.

Humber outside hitter Kelly Nyhof (Georgetown, Ont.) displayed throughout the match why she was selected as the OCAA player of the year as she led the Hawks with 17 kills on 29 attempts for an attacking percentage of .586. Nyhof was able to put an end to several Durham runs with her momentum shifting power while also supporting her team defensively with five digs and two blocked shots.

Nyhof and the rest of her teammates also benefitted from the strong play of setter and game MVP Carley Uden (Newmarket, Ont.). Uden was able to maintain the Hawks offence which at times appeared to work with machine-like precision as she racked up 32 assists along with five digs and a team leading three service aces.

The Lords fought hard against the nationally-ranked Hawks. After a rough first set, Durham found a combination of players that was able to string together several strong rallies that culminated in a second set win. Setter Joelle Parnham (Orillia, Ont.) scrambled throughout the match to set her teammates up with the best possible chance to score collecting 22 assists while also earning three digs and two kills.

On the receiving end of several of those sets from Parnham was outside hitter and game MVP Rayan Bourne (Whitby, Ont.) who was a catalyst in the second set victory scoring a number of crowd pleasing kills. Bourne finished the match with six kills, two service aces and a blocked shot.

Humber will now move on to a semi-final match-up with Trent University which will take place at 8 p.m. on Friday evening at the CRWC. For the Lords, they will faceoff with Redeemer University in a bronze medal quarter-final at 3 p.m.

Durham College is proud to host the OCAA Volleyball Championship (February 20-22, 2014) and the OCAA Volleyball/Basketball All-Star Games (March 22, 2014) at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre.

Durham College is proud to host the OCAA Women's Volleyball Championship (Feb. 20-22) and the OCAA Volleyball/Basketball All-Star Games (Mar. 22) at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre.

Championship Website: www.dchosts.com

Championship Webcast: www.livestream.com/rrevents

OCAA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Thursday, February 20
Quarter-Finals
Game 1 - Fanshawe 3, Georgian 1
Game 2 - Seneca 3, Conestoga 0
Game 3 - Trent 3, Redeemer 1
Game 4 - Humber 3, Durham 1

Friday, February 21
Bronze Quarter-Finals
Game 5 - Georgian vs. Conestoga - 1 p.m.
Game 6 - Redeemer vs. Durham - 3 p.m.
Semi-Finals
Game 7 - Fanshawe vs. Seneca - 6 p.m.
Game 8 - Trent vs. Humber - 8 p.m.

Saturday, February 22
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 - 4 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match
Gold Medal Match
Game 12 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 6 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match

Source: Durham College

Photo Credit: Al Fournier