Humber Volleyball Shines in Playoff Cross-Overs

The OCAA volleyball regular season was over, and that means that it’s time to get the playoffs underway! To get into the OCAA Final Eight Tournament, you have to win a cross-over match against a team in the other division. Since Humber’s men’s and women’s teams had both had very successful regular seasons, they would both host their cross-over matchups against relatively weak opponents from the East division. So on Saturday the women’s team would welcome in the Seneca Sting, and shortly after the men would take on the Centennial Colts. Let’s see how those games unfolded.

The Hawks women got off to a strong start versus Seneca, going up 7-4, before Seneca came back to tie it at 8. Humber got on another roll, jumping out to a 13-10 lead, forcing Seneca to take a timeout. Right out of the timeout, Seneca got called for a rotation violation, and Humber kept their momentum going, extending the lead to 20-12. Seneca would take another timeout. Seneca didn’t have much left to give that set, dropping the opener 25-13. The second set was much of the same, with Humber taking an early 8-1 lead. There was a bit of trading points after, with the score 14-6. However, Humber would get hot again, putting Seneca in a difficult spot with the score now 23-9. Seneca would have a bit of life, but it was too little, too late. Humber would take the second set 25-12. The Hawks wanted to close things out quickly in the third set, and were dominant, leading 18-3. Seneca had nothing left in the tank, and couldn’t muster up much of a comeback. Humber would take the third and final set 25-7 to win in straight sets. Lauren Schneider was named player of the game with 22 assists, 4 service aces, 4 digs, 1 block and 7 points.

The Hawks men would be playing a depleted Centennial Colts team with only 9 players dressed for the game. Despite this looking like a massive mis-match on paper, this would be a tighter match than one would expect. Humber would jump out to a 10-2 lead in the first set, and the game appeared to be one without much drama. However, the Colts would stand their ground, and would make it a 17-12 set. They couldn’t get much closer though, as Humber would finish the set up strong, taking it 25-14. The second set was back-and-forth to start, Humber only had a slight 8-6 edge to begin. That was the closest Centennial would get in that set, as Humber would take the second set by the same score as the first: 25-14. Centennial would actually get on top to start the third set, going up 2-1 before Humber got on top, but it would still be a close start with the Hawks only leading 7-6. Humber would get hot once again, going on a 6-0 run to take a commanding 13-6 lead. Centennial would bring it to a 19-13 set for Humber, but that was as close as they would get. Humber would close out the third set with a score of 25-15 to win in straight sets. First-year standout Joshua Fadare led the way with 15 points, a .647 hitting percentage, a dig, a service ace, an assist, and 2 blocks.

The Hawks women’s team will go onto the OCAA Final Eight Tournament in North Bay, hosted by Canadore College from February 27 to 29. They’re looking to avenge last season’s medal-less postseason after winning 11 straight provincial titles. As for the men, they’ll be headed to the Final Eight in Peterborough, hosted by Fleming College from February 27 to 29. They own a perfect provincial record this season, not dropping a set in 3 months and are ranked the best men’s college volleyball team in Canada. They’re coming off 2 straight provincial silver medals and are looking for gold. If you want more information on the Humber Hawks, visit humberhawks.ca. Go Hawks, Go!