Men's volleybal capture bronze medal at OCAA championships
The Falcons are very satisfied with a third place finish at the OCAA championships.
The Fanshawe Falcon men's volleyball team won the bronze medal after finishing third at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championships held at Georgian College in Barrie from February 22 to February 24.
Despite not claiming a gold medal and proceeding to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national championships, Vaughn Peckham, volleyball coordinator for Fanshawe Athletics, said the team was very happy with their result.
“We had a very successful tournament for what we could reasonably expect,” Peckham said. “We went in ranked fourth and we came out with a medal, so that is good.”
Head coach Dave McMillan coached his final game for the Falcons, as he is now retiring from coaching.
Peckham said that it meant a lot to the team to win the medal for their coach.
“The boys really wanted to win the last game for Mac (McMillan),” Peckham said.
The Falcons defeated OCAA West rival Redeemer 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21) in their opening round match to set-up a semi-final showdown with the number one ranked and defending OCAA champion Algonquin Thunder.
Algonquin prevailed against the Falcons with a 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22) victory.
The Falcons played a very close match with Algonquin, something that few teams had done all season with the talented Algonquin squad, according to Peckham.
“I could see in their (Algonquin) eyes that they were scared,” Peckham said.“We pushed them as much as any school all season so it felt good. There were obviously mixed emotions because we came close to knocking off the number one team.”
Fresh off the disappointing loss to Algonquin the Falcons faced Seneca College next in the bronze medal semi-final match, eventually winning a close five set-match 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-12).
The Falcons then faced Redeemer College once again in a re-match for the bronze medal final.
Jumping out to an early two set lead, the Falcons allowed Redeemer to win the next two sets before they prevailed in the fifth and final set winning the match 3-2 (25-11, 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12).
Peckham said that McMillan did not realize how much the bronze medal meant to the men on the team.
“He (McMillan) said it was very satisfying to end his career on a positive note,” Peckham said.
Rob Thorpe was named to the OCAA championship All-star team, and Thorpe was joined by teammate Ted Bowcock in being named OCAA Central West/West First Team All-stars. John Hillis and Pawel Kucharski were named OCAA Central West/West Second Team All-stars.
Peckham said that many players will be returning next season and a couple high school recruits should be able to jump in right away and help the team.
“The medal proves we are headed in the right direction,” Peckham said. “The boys know what it takes to win now. We will have the nucleus of our team back next year and they are a really cohesive group that is motivated to be successful.”
The Fanshawe Falcon men's volleyball team won the bronze medal after finishing third at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) championships held at Georgian College in Barrie from February 22 to February 24.
Despite not claiming a gold medal and proceeding to the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national championships, Vaughn Peckham, volleyball coordinator for Fanshawe Athletics, said the team was very happy with their result.
“We had a very successful tournament for what we could reasonably expect,” Peckham said. “We went in ranked fourth and we came out with a medal, so that is good.”
Head coach Dave McMillan coached his final game for the Falcons, as he is now retiring from coaching.
Peckham said that it meant a lot to the team to win the medal for their coach.
“The boys really wanted to win the last game for Mac (McMillan),” Peckham said.
The Falcons defeated OCAA West rival Redeemer 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21) in their opening round match to set-up a semi-final showdown with the number one ranked and defending OCAA champion Algonquin Thunder.
Algonquin prevailed against the Falcons with a 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22) victory.
The Falcons played a very close match with Algonquin, something that few teams had done all season with the talented Algonquin squad, according to Peckham.
“I could see in their (Algonquin) eyes that they were scared,” Peckham said.“We pushed them as much as any school all season so it felt good. There were obviously mixed emotions because we came close to knocking off the number one team.”
Fresh off the disappointing loss to Algonquin the Falcons faced Seneca College next in the bronze medal semi-final match, eventually winning a close five set-match 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-12).
The Falcons then faced Redeemer College once again in a re-match for the bronze medal final.
Jumping out to an early two set lead, the Falcons allowed Redeemer to win the next two sets before they prevailed in the fifth and final set winning the match 3-2 (25-11, 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12).
Peckham said that McMillan did not realize how much the bronze medal meant to the men on the team.
“He (McMillan) said it was very satisfying to end his career on a positive note,” Peckham said.
Rob Thorpe was named to the OCAA championship All-star team, and Thorpe was joined by teammate Ted Bowcock in being named OCAA Central West/West First Team All-stars. John Hillis and Pawel Kucharski were named OCAA Central West/West Second Team All-stars.
Peckham said that many players will be returning next season and a couple high school recruits should be able to jump in right away and help the team.
“The medal proves we are headed in the right direction,” Peckham said. “The boys know what it takes to win now. We will have the nucleus of our team back next year and they are a really cohesive group that is motivated to be successful.”
