The Humber Hawks, fresh off a second-place finish in the OCAA West Division, guaranteed a spot in the semifinals after sweeping all three sets against the Canadaore Panthers in a quarter-final match.
It was a match-up that hadn't been seen since 2013, with Humber carrying a 24-0 overall record against Canadore into the clash.
The men's team was ready to return to the OCAA semi-finals in its quest to secure its six-peat in the OCAA championship.
Fifth-year players played key roles this season, and the decision to return made by veteran starting libero Alex Segui has paid off.
“Several of us took our senior night last year with the intent of not coming back,” Segui said after the match. “[We] feel like we would have regretted it if we didn't come back for our fifth year.”
Fifth-year standout Teyven Blackmore once again claimed OCAA Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and fifth-year Alex Segui earned OCAA second-team all-star recognition.
Rookie of the Year Enzo Endres had a breakout debut campaign.
The Hawks powered an impressive 14-2 regular season record, securing a second-place finish in the West Division and building strong momentum for the quarter finals.
In the first set against the Panthers, the Humber Hawks shook off nerves. Canadore kept a dominant lead for the majority of the set.
But when Hawk's Kyle Gray-Phillips made a crucial save in the back court to keep the Hawks alive, and rallied a point to keep the scoreline tight at 21-21, the Panthers, rattled from the flow Humber found, called a timeout.
From being deadlocked from 22-22 to sharing points for eight rounds, the Hawks pushed for that two-point lead into overtime play, making the ending scoreline 32-30 at the Nest. The set needed a last touch by second-year middle blocker Apolo Bras to secure the first set.
The Hawks came in ready to play in the second set by using their newfound momentum, launching to a strong seven-point lead, forcing the Panthers to use their two timeouts within the first eight rallies of the second set.
The Panthers, however, refused to fade despite the Hawks holding a dominant 22-15 lead, and the pressure began to show cracks in the Hawks' defence as Canadore clawed back six crucial points.
Determined to win the set, the Hawks pushed through and stood their ground to kill the set, 25-21.
The Panthers spent the evening causing trouble for the Hawks, showing strong resilience in the quarter finals, that they were not going down without a fight.
Canadore were dogged to get back into the match in the third set, constantly leading in points and not letting the Hawks pass them.
The scoreline was making fans in the Nest cheer louder as they encouraged their team to come back and take the match.
Humber reignited the hopes of turning the set around when they won back the serve at 17-20, and followed that with two consecutive points, narrowing the gap to 19-20. A Canadore timeout did not rattle server Dante Sugarman, completing a serve to tie up the set.
With 26 kills across the three-set match, Teyven Blackmore, two-time reigning OCAA Player of the Year, once again proved why he’s one of the league's most dominant forces.
In the crucial stretch of the third set, setter Nicolas Kozij relied on his key hitter to deliver the last three kills of the match to win the third set.
The Panthers found a way to get the one last point before the Hawks took the lead, winning the last set of the quarter finals 24-21, with a crucial block by Apolo Bras to secure the spot in the final four of the OCAA championships.
An unforgettable match by the resilient Humber Hawks pushed the team to the OCAA championships semi-finals against Seneca Sting on Feb. 27.
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