The Redeemer men's and women's volleyball teams will be looking to make their way up the Provincial rankings after knocking off a pair of top ranked teams on Friday evening. The Lady Royals had little trouble against the 10th ranked Sheridan Bruins with a straight sets 3-0 win (25-21, 25-22, 25-19). The men's team fell behind early 1-0 (25-21) before grabbing all the momentum after a big 34-32 win in the second set leading to a 3-1 win (21-25, 34-32, 25-22, 25-22). Rookies were the story for both Redeemer teams as Curtiss Straatsma (Brampton, ON) and Eric Heidbuurt (Waterdown, ON) make significant impacts in the victories for the Royals.

Coming into the games on Friday night the women's team was unranked with an 0-2 record while the men's team was ranked 9th in the province with a 1-1 record. The win for the Lady Royals bumped them up into a tie for 5th place in the OCAA West Division and catapulted the men up into a tie for 3rd place. The updated Provincial rankings will be released later today.

In the women's game, 1st year Curtiss Straatsma continued to prove that she is going to be a force to be reckoned with in OCAA volleyball as she lead all scorers with 12 points from 8 kills, 1 ace, and 3 stuff blocks. Erika Straatsma (Brampton, ON) and Elise Kollenhoven (Acton, ON) each had 8 offensive points for the Royals as well. Melissa Cappelletti had a game high 10 kills for Sheridan and contributed most of the Bruins offense.

The men's game saw a rematch of last years 1st round of the OCAA Provincial Volleyball Championships. The Sheridan Bruins got off to a good start and were on their way to avenging last years loss after a 25-21 first set win. However, the Royals faithful fans spurred the men's team to a 34-32 win in the second and Redeemer used the momentum to keep rolling, taking the 3rd and 4th sets as well. the final score was 3-1 (21-25, 34-32, 25-22, 25-22) for Redeemer. David Klomps (Surrey, BC) was unstoppable, with 19 kills for the Royals and 23 total points. Klomps led all scorers. 1st year Eric Heidbuurt proved he's very comfortable playing at home as well with a career high 17 points from 14 kills, 1 ace, and 2 blocks in just his 3rd game as a Royal. Josh Butler had a team high 20 points for the Sheridan Bruins in the loss.

Both men's and women's teams will now turn to an important week of training as they await the arrival of Canadore College (2-2) and Nipissing University (4-0) on Friday and Saturday. Going into this past weekend, the Nipissing Lakers were ranked #1 (men) and #2 (women) in the Province and #4 (men) and #11 (women) in Canada and will prove to be a great gauge for both Redeemer teams at this early point in the season.

Friday's matches get underway at 6pm when the women take on Canadore. The men follow at 8pm. On Saturday the Lady Royals take the floor at 12pm against Nipissing with the men up afterwards at 2pm.