Falcons Men’s Volleyball Upset No. 10 Conestoga in Quarterfinal

(London, Ontario) – The Fanshawe Men's Volleyball team (11-9, 5^th in West) upset the No. 10 CCAA ranked Conestoga Condors (15-5, 2^nd in West) three sets to one in an OCAA quarterfinal match on Thursday afternoon. The Championship is being hosted by Fleming College in Peterborough, ON.

The Falcons started strong in set one with a stuffed block from OCAA Second Team All-Star Mike Liscumb (Ilderton, ON). Mitch McFadden (St. Paul's, ON) gave the red and white a 12-8 lead on a well-placed tip. Conestoga came back midway through the set and the teams would fight for each point. With the score tied at 33, rookie Ewan Mason (London, ON) had a huge kill to give Fanshawe a slim advantage. Luke Blissett (London, ON) would finally conclude the epic set with a big block to give the Falcons a 35-33 first set victory.    

Conestoga jumped out to an early lead in the second set and Fanshawe was unable to regroup. The Falcons were never able to catch up as the Condors won set two 25-20. Fanshawe bounced back and flew out to a 12-4 lead in the third set with good offense generated by setter Elliott Leslie (London, ON). Daniel Ridings (St. Catharines, ON) had a massive left-side kill that excited the bench and carried on the Falcons' lead. Another block from Liscumb sealed the deal and Fanshawe won set three 25-20.

Fanshawe used the momentum built from the previous frame to get ahead in the fourth. A service ace from McFadden, followed by a Ridings block gave Fanshawe a 19-14 lead. The Condors would claw their way back and close the gap, but Fanshawe's energy prevailed and Blissett ended the match on a kill to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1. Blissett was named the Player of the Match for his performance.

The Falcons now advance to the OCAA semi-final on Friday at 5pm, where they will face the East Division champion, and No. 6 CCAA ranked Durham Lords (18-2, 1^st in East). The match can be viewed live on fanshawefalcons.ca/watchlive.