OSHAWA, Ont. - The Durham College men's volleyball team booked their spot in the OCAA championship on Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 victory over the visiting St. Clair Saints.

The win marks Durham's 24th overall victory tying the program record set back in 2010-11. Set scores in the playoff match were 25-19, 25-23 and 25-22.

The Lords trailed in all of the sets but were consistently able to mount late runs that resulted in big momentum swings carrying Durham to victory. Several of these runs were spurred on by the exceptional play of libero Dan Popovic (Pickering, Ont.) who excelled in his defensive roll while ramping up the intensity and performance of his teammates.

Setter Riley McAllister (Whitby, Ont.) also showcased another strong performance, which was highlighted by a crowd pleasing block that had all the fans on their feet in the final and deciding set. McAllister collected 29 assists along with nine digs, four kills and three blocked shots in the postseason clinching effort.

Brad VanHartingsveldt (Newcastle, Ont.) and Petrus Kuypers (Haydon, Ont.) also had standout games as they combined for 21 kills.

The Lords will now prepare themselves for the OCAA championship taking place from Feb. 20-22 at Georgian College in Barrie, Ont. This will be Durham's fifth straight trip to the provincial championships and the first under the leadership of interim head coach George Matsusaki.

Durham will square off against the winner of the Niagara/Canadore qualifying match which will take place on Sunday.

Source: Durham College