Day One Complete at OCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship

(London, Ontario) – At the Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre on Thursday, Fanshawe Athletics welcomed the top eight teams in the province for the OCAA Men's Volleyball quarterfinal matchups.

In the opening game of the day, the No. 14 nationally ranked Humber Hawks (15-5, 2^nd West) defeated the Algonquin Wolves (14-6, 3^rd East) three sets to none. The Hawks jumped out to a quick start with strong serving by OCAA West Division Second Team All-Star Jake Gomes. Algonquin stayed within reach with a pair of strong kills by OCAA East Division First Team All-Star Jeff Commerford. Unfortunately for the Wolves, the Hawks' high-powered offense stepped up and won the first set 25-19. Algonquin came out strong in the second set, and held an advantage for the majority of the set. But Humber would chip away and the Hawks ultimately won 27-25. In set three, Teyven Blackmore had a couple of service aces for Humber to set them up with a comfortable lead. Despite Algonquin's best efforts, the Hawks took the third set 25-13 and the game 3-0. Maximum Crowder was named the player of the match for Humber, notching 11 points on a .917 kill percentage. Algonquin's player of the match was Matheus Holand Pergentino Braz, with nine points and 12 digs.  

In match two of the day, the Mohawk Mountaineers (12-8, 4^th West) topped the East Division champion Georgian Grizzlies (16-4, 1^st East) in three straight sets. A strong start by Mohawk's Ethan May gave the Mountaineers the lead in the opening frame. The OCAA East Division Rookie of the Year, Gage McCurdy was solid on both offense and defense, recording a few digs and kills for the Grizzlies. Unfortunately for Georgian, they were unable to catch Mohawk and fell 25-19 in the first set. The second set opened with a big block from OCAA West Division Second Team All-Star Joel Sloots to give Mohawk the advantage. A service ace from the East Division Player of the Year and CCAA All-Canadian CJ Okeke got the Grizzlies back on track, tying the set at 16. A huge block by Georgian's Liam Thomas gave them a 24-23 lead, but consecutive kills from OCAA West Division Second Team All-Star Anthony Beijes brought Mohawk back on top, and they would win 26-24. The Mountaineers used that momentum to then carry them to a 25-13 third set victory. In a battle between two of the top hitters in the league, Beijes and Okeke recorded 16 and 13 points respectively. The players of the match were Beijes for Mohawk and Thomas for Georgian.

The third game saw the Cambrian Golden Shield (15-5, 3^rd West) sweep the No. 9 nationally ranked Canadore Panthers (16-4, 2^nd East). Cambrian took the early lead in set one, with four kills from Stephen Brown. Canadore's Konrad Siedlec had four points of his own, but it was not enough to catch the Golden Shield and Cambrian won set one 25-21. The Golden Shield picked up where they left off in the second set, with Jack Daley setting up OCAA West Division Second Team All-Star Jason Diotte for the kill. Cambrian went on to comfortably take the second frame 25-9. The Golden Shield continued their offensive momentum in the final set and proved to be too much for the Panthers, winning the third and final set 25-11. Siedlec was Canadore's player of the match and the player of the match for Cambrian was Nathan Scully.

In the final quarterfinal match of the day, the No. 2 nationally ranked Fanshawe Falcons (17-2, 1^st West) took home court versus the Redeemer Royals (11-9, 5^th West) and won 3-0. The teams traded points to start the match, with the Birds getting kills from West Division First Team All-Stars Tanner Paterson and Jayden Crowther. OCAA Rookie of the Year, Derick Breukelman, then had a big block to fire up Redeemer. Back-to-back hits from Jack Voght got the Falcons going, and Fanshawe used that momentum to take the first set 25-19. The Royals went up a few points to open the second set, but OCAA Player of the Year and CCAA All-Canadian Sebastian Lethbridge found teammate Daniel Ridings to tie the set at seven. Fanshawe and Redeemer continued to trade points with some exciting rallies. Then, with the score tied at 23, Alain Pineault had a block, followed by a kill to give the Birds a 25-23 second set win. The Falcons took an early lead in the third set, but Redeemer stayed within reach with a kill from CCAA All-Canadian Brett Jenkins. Three kills in a row from Voght then gave the Birds a 14-11 advantage. Despite Redeemer's best efforts, Fanshawe went on to win the third set 25-22 and the match 3-0. Voght and Ridings recorded 15 and 13 points respectively to lead the home team offensively. The players of the match were Ridings from Fanshawe and Breukelman from Redeemer.

The OCAA Men's Volleyball championship continues on Friday, where the first semi-final game will see Humber battle Mohawk at 6:00 p.m., then host Fanshawe will face Cambrian in the second semi-final matchup at 8:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for $10 per day and parking is free on evenings and weekends in the general lots. All news, stats, webcasts and up-to-date results can be found on the 2023 OCAA Men's Volleyball Championship website: www.ocaa.com/mvb.

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