PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – The Durham College men's volleyball defeated the Fleming Knights on Wednesday night to conclude conference play for the season. Next up – the OCAA championship.
 
Durham swept the Fleming Knights on the road to finish 16-2, good enough for second in the east region. The Lords are also on a four-game win streak heading into the championship hosted by Mohawk College from Feb. 23-25.
 
Mike Harper (Oakville, Ont.) continued his strong season, finishing with a 14-point night. His 10 kills were matched by athlete of the week Bret Polfuss (Kitchener, Ont.), but Harper also led the team in blocks with three, alongside one ace.
 
At the net Uxbridge natives Harrison Wood and Andrew Watson each had two blocks.
 
Andrew Dube (Uxbridge, Ont.), who has been quiet in recent matches, finished with eight kills.
 
Focus now turns to the men's volleyball championship in Hamilton, where the Lords hope to change recent trends. The past two years the Lords have opened with a loss – this year their goal is to change that.
 
"Every season you hope to build on the one before and we feel like we've been working hard to be a competitive team at the championship this season," said head coach George Matsusaki. "We don't know at this time who our first-round opponent will be, so it's a good time to really focus on ourselves and preparing for the opening round in Hamilton."
 
Durham will open the championship against the same Knights team they defeated on Wednesday or the Redeemer Royals, who host the championship qualifying game this weekend in Ancaster.
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE LORDS
Conference Record: 24-8
Overall Record: 16-2
 
Next Match: Thursday, Feb. 23 • OCAA Championship @ Mohawk College