Men’s Volleyball defeats Toronto; will play in Forsyth Cup final

The No. 7 Lancer men’s volleyball team will play in the OUA championship. With a 3-1 (25-27, 25-16, 25-20, 25-14) victory over the No. 9 Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday at the Toldo Lancer Centre, the blue and gold solidified their spot in the Forsyth Cup championship and punched their ticket to the U SPORTS national championships.
 
STATS
Zach Albert had an all-star day racking up 20 points in the win on 18 kills, 4 digs and 1 solo block. Luca Nastase had 16.5 points on the night with 12 kills, 14 digs, and 2 solo blocks. Gustavo Siqueira had 15 points, 11 kills, and 8 digs, while Anthony DeGirolamo had a solid night defensively with 41 assists and 13 digs.
 
Toronto was led by Evan Faraldeau with 15 points on 15 kills.
 
GAME FLOW
The Blues opened the first set strong jumping out to a quick 6-2 lead. The Lancers would quickly cut into the visitors lead and the Blues and Lancers continued to trade points through the set. Toronto led for the majority of the set before coming away with a 27-25 victory.  
 
Toronto started strong again, opening with a 5-0 lead and causing Lancer head coach James Gravelle to call a timeout. Down 7-1, the blue and gold came storming back winning five straight points, before eventually passing the Blues on the scoreboard. Windsor continued to push on to grab a decisive 19-13 lead before taking the set 25-16. 
 
In the third set, the Blues and Lancers would trade points and leads throughout, until just before the end of the set. With the game tied 18-18, the Lancers won five straight points to give them the lead and eventually the set, 25-20.

Windsor came out with the momentum in the final set, opening with a 5-2 lead. Similar to the third, Toronto and Windsor would battle closely for most of the frame, but the Lancers slowly continued to extend their lead. They would go on to win their final five points to win the game.
 
UP NEXT
Windsor will head to Hamilton to face the No. 3 ranked McMaster Marauders in the Forsyth Cup final, on Saturday March 11th at 6:00pm. The game will be broadcast LIVE on oua.tv. Stay tuned for ticket information as it becomes available.