Falcons Win Five Set Thriller Against St. Clair

(London, ON) - The Fanshawe men's volleyball team (2-1) took on St. Clair (1-2) at the Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre on Wednesday night, coming away with a tight five-set victory, 3-2.

The first set got off to a back-and-forth start, with St. Clair maintaining a slim lead throughout. Despite a valiant effort by Fanshawe, the Saints took the first set 25-21.

The second set saw more tightly contested action in this rematch of last year's OCAA bronze medal match. New Falcon, Oliver Prentice (London, ON), made an early offensive impact, helping lead Fanshawe to a 25-20 second-set win with an impressive display of power and aerial ability.

Set three was controlled by the visiting Saints, who led 18-10 before the Falcons stormed back to narrow the gap to 20-18. Unfortunately for Fanshawe, St. Clair settled in and closed out the third set 25-19.

The fourth set showcased the Falcons' resilience. Fanshawe held a 17-13 advantage until a late run by St. Clair tied the score at 19 apiece. The two teams continued to trade points before the Falcons found themselves up 25-24. Evan Kirkpatrick (Gananoque, ON) then stepped up to deliver an ace for the 26th point, extending the match to a fifth and final set.

The fifth set was dramatic, to say the least. After three timeouts and 28 points, the teams were even at 14-14. Fanshawe's men's volleyball all-time points leader, Tanner Paterson (Baden, ON), showed why his name is all over the Falcons record books, scoring a team-high 16 points, including the 15th point in set five. Prentice followed up Paterson to score the 16th and final point, sealing the set 16-14 and the match 3-2 in favour of Fanshawe.

The Falcons will now play their next three games on the road before returning home on Saturday, November 22 for a matchup against Cambrian (3-0).

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