PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - The Humber Hawks won gold at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Men's Volleyball Championship. The Hawks defeated the Durham Lords in the final match 3-0 at Fleming College in Peterborough, Ont.
The Lords and the Hawks began their match in a fierce battle as two of the top teams in the championship. Both teams appeared evenly matched as each team fought diligently to gain control of each set.
Sitting in the stands was a full audience of loud and excited fans as Humber started out strong in the first set while Durham shook off its nerves. As the teams exchanged blows it was unclear which team would prevail. Durham's Liam Gray showed his experience on the court with incredible digs and good serves helping the Lords take the lead briefly as points entered double digits. Humber's Joshua Fadare ended the set at 25-23, squashing the Lords comeback with a devastating kill. The Lords showed the Hawks that this was not going to be an easy final match.
Set 2 saw the Hawks start strong but the lead quickly went to the Lords. An excellent serving run by Humber's Eduardo Silva Ferreira helped to bring the Hawks back on top met with Durham's Rouzbeh Rahnavard amazingly consistent defence made for a very entertaining match. Despite the Lords best efforts Humber tied it up at 19-19 as they scrapped for points with the Lords aggressive defence. Once again, a set ended in Humber's favor, this time with a tight score of 27-25.
Humber started off strong in the third set, establishing a lead over the Lords who battled back as they looked to take the set from the Hawks. A big ace came from Durham's Tyler Krabi in attempt to tie up the game. This tie was quickly taken away by Fadare with a monstrous kill, which put the Hawks in the lead again. The Lords did not let up as they fought the Hawks till the very end never letting them stray too far but were defeated in three straight sets. Final set score was 25-22 and the Hawks took the gold medal match in three straight sets. The Humber Hawks were able to keep an undefeated record this season without giving up a single set in the post season play.
Player of the Game for the Durham Lords was Krabi and for the Humber Hawks was Rrezart Sadiku.
Jake Gomes of Humber was named Championship MVP. Championship All-Stars were Gray and Rahnavard from Durham, and Sadiku for Humber.
The Humber Hawks and Durham lords will represent the OCAA at the CCAA championship at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, N.B., Mar. 11-14.
Bronze Medal Match: Fanshawe Falcons vs. Georgian Grizzlies
The first set of the bronze medal game had Georgian controlling the flow of the game; however, its service errors cost them some early points. As each team pulled away with the lead it was taken right back by the other in a point-for-point battle. After Georgian fought to catch up with Luke Blissett performing stellar service and offensive attack, the final point was given to Fanshawe with a service error letting the Falcons take the first set 25-23.
Not unlike the first set neither team were able to pull away with a great lead as the second game continued back and forth with each team alternating who held the lead. Neither team let up until the very end when Fanshawe inevitably took the second set 25-23. Fanshawe's Daniel Ridings had some power blocks and solid kills, really adding to Fanshawe's overall performance. Coming back against the Falcons, Georgian's Cameron Calhoun made some noteworthy skilled digs on hard driven attacks and sent back some well positioned hits himself.
Georgian came alive in the third set, holding a small lead over the Falcons early on and took the set 25-22. Fanshawe's Blissett continued to impress with his speed and agility, with swift digs for the Falcons off from the Grizzlies blocks on the Falcons' attacks.
Set four riled up the crowd with a fast-paced battle for points as the two teams kept up some long rallies. The tension built as the set continuously intensified, and the Grizzlies eventually took the fourth set 25-23.
In an amazingly tight game, Set 5 was a battle of the serves as nerves were getting the better of both teams. Georgian's Gibson Graham made his presence be known in this game with his incredible overall performance. The Falcons showed incredible defence in this set. Coming from a 13-13 tie, the fifth set ended with a successful block by the Grizzlies bringing an intense game to a conclusion with a score of 15-13.
Although the Falcons led the first few sets, the Grizzlies were inevitably able to secure the win. The first few sets had the Falcons in the lead for points with Georgian chasing. Set four brought Georgian the lead with a furry. Fifth set Georgian started with the lead and was able to regain it for the win of the set and the game.
Player of the game for the Fanshawe Falcons was Michael Liscumb and for the Georgian Grizzlies was Calhoun.
Championship All-Stars were Ewan Mason from the Fanshawe Falcons and Calhoun from the Georgian Grizzlies.
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 def. Fanshawe 3-1
Game #6: Humber def. Georgian 3-0
Saturday, February 29
Bronze Medal Match
Game #7: Georgian def. Fanshawe 3-2
Gold Medal Match
Game #8: Humber def. Durham 3-0
- 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
E-mail: bell-webster@ocaa.com