TORONTO - The elite eight are set to compete for provincial glory at the 2019 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Volleyball Championship presented by belairdirect, hosted by Humber College in Toronto from Thursday through Saturday.
All three reigning OCAA medalists return to the championship stage, including the defending champion Fanshawe Falcons, winners of 42 straight OCAA sanctioned regular and post-season matches dating back to the 2017 OCAA bronze medal match. Fanshawe went undefeated in OCAA play last season with a 22-0 mark, and are looking to repeat the feat at Humber this weekend.
The host Hawks are the reigning silver medalists, and enter the competition with a 16-2 mark (their only losses coming against Fanshawe). The Redeemer Royals are the defending bronze medalists, and return to the championship with an overall record of 13-6.
A total of six West Division teams have advanced to the championship. Along with the aforementioned reigning OCAA medalists, the Conestoga Condors (11-8), Mohawk Mountaineers (10-9) and Niagara Knights (12-7) survived last Saturday's qualifying round.
Also joining the competition are the East Division champion Georgian Grizzlies (17-2) and runner-up La Cité Coyotes (16-3). Six of the eight teams competing were at last year's championship, with Mohawk and La Cité crashing the party this year.
A total of 11 matches will be played in a span of three days. The OCAA quarter-finals will take place on Thursday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. Winning teams will advance to the OCAA semi-finals on Friday, followed by the bronze and gold medal matches on Saturday.
While each team is guaranteed at least two matches, they must win their quarter-final match to remain in OCAA medal contention. Losing teams in the quarter-finals will compete in the consolation round Friday, with the final taking place Saturday.
The OCAA champion and silver medalist advance to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Volleyball National Championship, taking place in Red Deer, Alta., next month.
Here's a closer look at the quarter-final match-ups.
| Redeemer (13-6, 3rd West) vs. La Cité (16-3, 2nd East) | ||
| Thursday, Feb. 21 - 1 p.m. | ||
| Redeemer | La Cité | |
| Won 3 | Streak | Won 3 |
| 7-3 | Last 10 | 9-1 |
| 46-23 | Sets For/Against | 52-16 |
| Brayden Stoffers (4.0/set) | Points Leader | Nicolas Pirnat (4.4/set) |
| Brayden Stoffers (3.20/set) | Kills Leader | Michel Leblanc (3.54/set) |
| Noah Bouius (0.50/set) | Blocks Leader | Alexis Bordeleau (0.60/set) |
| Jason Wildeboer (0.55/set) | Aces Leader | Michel Leblanc (0.72/set) |
| Jason Wildeboer (7.64/set) | Assists Leader | Xavier Demers (8.15/set) |
| Wesley Schilstra (2.26/set) | Digs Leader | Mikael Gareau (2.82/set) |
| 0-0 | Head-To-Head | 0-0 |
| Conestoga (11-8, 5th West) vs. Fanshawe (19-0, 1st West) | ||
| Thursday, Feb. 21 - 3 p.m. | ||
| Conestoga | Fanshawe | |
| Won 2 | Streak | Won 19 |
| 6-4 | Last 10 | 10-0 |
| 40-30 | Sets For/Against | 57-2 |
| Wesley Lau (5.1/set) | Points Leader | Zach Albert (3.8/set) |
| Wesley Lau (4.27/set) | Kills Leader | Zach Albert (3.16/set) |
| Dylan Arndt (0.48/set) | Blocks Leader | Mitch McFadden (0.47/set) |
| Wesley Lau (0.38/set) | Aces Leader | Sam Otten (0.76/set) |
| Ryan Clutton (9.20/set) | Assists Leader | Sebastian Lethbridge (8.61/set) |
| Wesley Lau (1.73/set) | Digs Leader | David Gundrum (2.48/set) |
| 0-2 (0-6 sets) | Head-To-Head | 2-0 (6-0 sets) |
| Mohawk (10-9, 6th West) vs. Humber (16-2, 2nd West) | ||
| Thursday, Feb. 21 - 6 p.m. |
||
| Mohawk | Humber | |
| Won 1 | Streak | Won 2 |
| 5-5 | Last 10 | 9-1 |
| 34-34 | Sets For/Against | 49-12 |
| Elijah Lopez (3.3/set) | Points Leader | Kamyn Wilkins (3.4/set) |
| Elijah Lopez (2.89/set) | Kills Leader | Kamyn Wilkins (2.81/set) |
| Rafael Leite (0.65/set) | Blocks Leader | Andrew Blakey (0.43/set) |
| Rafael Leite (0.15/set) | Aces Leader | Jake Gomes (0.82/set) |
| Daniel Fontanna (8.71/set) | Assists Leader | Jake Gomes (8.80/set) |
| Elijah Lopez (2.13/set) | Digs Leader | Rady Kim (2.10/set) |
| 0-2 (0-6 sets) | Head-To-Head | 2-0 (6-0 sets) |
| Niagara (12-7, 4th West) vs. Georgian (17-2, 1st East) | ||
| Thursday, Feb. 21 - 8 p.m. |
||
| Niagara | Georgian | |
| Won 1 | Streak | Won 6 |
| 7-3 | Last 10 | 9-1 |
| 40-31 | Sets For/Against | 54-13 |
| Jaydon Milne (3.2/set) | Points Leader | Erich Perau (3.3/set) |
| Jaydon Milne (2.90/set) | Kills Leader | Erich Perau (2.81/set) |
| Tristan Swinden (0.51/set) | Blocks Leader | Darien Haynes (1.00/set) |
| Ben Fillmore (0.34/set) | Aces Leader | Liam Gray (1.25/set) |
| Ben Fillmore (7.48/set) | Assists Leader | Liam Gray (9.00/set) |
| Robert Zalewski (2.42/set) | Digs Leader | Liam Gray (1.69/set) |
| 0-0 | Head-To-Head | 0-0 |
Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/mvb
Championship Webcast: portal.stretchinternet.com/humber
Championship Schedule
Thursday, February 21
Quarter-Finals
Game 1: Redeemer vs. La Cité - 1 p.m.
Game 2: Conestoga vs. Fanshawe - 3 p.m.
Game 3: Mohawk vs. Humber - 6 p.m.
Game 4: Niagara vs. Georgian - 8 p.m.
Friday, February 22
Consolation Round
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 1 p.m.
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 - 3 p.m.
Semi-Finals
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - 6 p.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 23
Consolation Final
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 - 12 p.m.
Bronze Medal Match
Game 10: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 - 2:30 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match
Gold Medal Match
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 5 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match
- OCAA -
ABOUT ONTARIO COLLEGES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
The Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) is the recognized leader in intercollegiate athletics in the province, dedicated to student-athlete and sport development. The OCAA has 27 members sponsoring 12 varsity sports.
For additional information please contact:
Josh Bell-Webster
Marketing and Communications
Ontario Colleges Athletic Association
Tel: 416-426-7041
Fax: 416-426-7308
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com