PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - Day 1 of the 2020 OCAA Men's Volleyball Championship has come to the end, hosted by Fleming College in Peterborough, Ont.

The day brought the eight top teams in Ontario together to fight in sudden death quarter-finals for the chance to advance to Friday's semifinal matches.

Kicking off the first game of the tournament, the Durham Lords defeated the Redeemer Royals 3-0. The Lords showed Redeemer the reason why they were the No. 1 team in the East Division. The first two sets were strongly held by Durham, winning 25-13 and 25-17. In the final set, Redeemer came alive and fought hard although they ultimately fell 25-23 to the Lords.

The players of the game in the match were Liam Gray for the Durham Lords and Brayden Stoffers for the Redeemer Royals. Durham's Gray was named the player of the year this season in the East Division.

The second game of the quarter-finals was a battle between the Conestoga Condors and the Fanshawe Falcons. Fighting point for point at the end of the first set both teams pushed hard but the Falcons prevailed 35-33 over the Condors. Conestoga took the second game in an exciting match 25-20, proving the strength they had over the Falcons. During the regular season Conestoga had won both their previous games against the Falcons. The third game was taken by Fanshawe 25-20. Conestoga began to lose steam in what became the final set falling 25-22 to Fanshawe.

The players of the game were Luke Blissett for the Fanshawe Falcons and Eric Katerberg for the Conestoga Condors. Fanshawe moved on to the semi-finals for the chance to defend their title.

The third game of the day saw the Fleming Knights face the juggernauts of the west Humber Hawks. The Hawks went 18-0 in their regular season this year, only falling in two sets. The Knights firmly held their ground in the first game, staying tightly behind the Hawks but were defeated 25-18. Joel Howes of the Fleming Knights holds the record for career blocks, blocking 270 balls going into the provincials. The second set ended 25-15 to the Humber Hawks continued to show they're a force to be reckoned with. Defeating Fleming 3-0, Humber won in the thrilling final set 25-17.

The players of the game were Howes for the Fleming Knights and Jake Gomes for the Humber Hawks.

The fourth and final quarter final game of the day brought together the Georgian Grizzlies from the East and the Niagara Knights from the West for an exciting finish to the first day of playoffs. The Knights took the first set 25-23 in a teeth-clenching point-for-point battle. Georgian showing off some eastern grit, fought back to take the second set 25-22. Georgian pushed through the point-for-point battle making quick work on the third set, 25-15, and then finished the game off after a fourth and final set at 25-23, bringing the set score to 3-1 over the western Knights.

Player of the games were Kaelan Kloetstra for the Georgian Grizzlies and Samuel Otten for the Niagara Knights.

Source: Fleming Knights

Championship Website: www.ocaa.com/mvb

Live Webcast: www.ocaa.com/ocaalive

Thursday, February 27
Quarter-Finals
Game #1: Durham def. Redeemer 3-0
Game #2: Fanshawe def. Conestoga 3-1
Game #3: Humber def. Fleming 3-0
Game #4: Georgian def. Niagara 3-1

Friday, February 28
Semi-Finals
Game #5: Durham vs. Fanshawe - 5 p.m.
Game #6: Humber vs. Georgian - 7 p.m.

Saturday, February 29
Bronze Medal Match
Game #7: Loser Game #5 vs. Loser Game #6 - 2:30 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match

Gold Medal Match
Game #8: Winner Game #5 vs. Winner Game #6 - 5 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match

- OCAA -

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