The Redeemer Royals Men's Volleyball team notched their 11th win of the season on Saturday afternoon, running their record to 11-3 heading into this week. All eyes will be on the Royals on Friday night when they host the 11-2 Humber Hawks with a battle for 2nd place on the line. 

The Royals will be looking to avenge a loss to the Hawks that happened in the first match of the 2017-2018 season. Redeemer fell to the Hawks 3-2 back on October 26th, at Humber. Since that match, the teams have won a combined 22 matches and have dropped only 4. The 2 losses for the Hawks and the two losses for the Royals were all to the undefeated Fanshawe Falcons.  

Currently Redeemer holds a #9 National ranking while the Hawks occupy two spots higher at #7. Redeemer is the #3 ranked team in Ontario and the Hawks come in at #2. 

With just 4 games remaining for the Royals, Friday night's match will go a long way to determining the teams playoff scenario. A win against the Hawks by a score of 3-0 or 3-1 and the Royals will occupy 2nd place. A 3-2 win could also push the Royals above the Hawks but a more lengthy tie-breaking procedure would be needed.  A loss for Redeemer would mean catching the Hawks for second in the West becomes much more difficult. 

The Royals are 6-5 with the Hawks over the last 11 league matches, spanning back to the 2012-2013 season. 

Having notched their 11th win of the season, Redeemer is also becoming dangerously close to challenging for the program's best record ever. The Royals recorded 14 wins during the 2012-2013 season on their way to a 14-4 record. With 4 game remaining, a perfect run to end 2017-2018 would equal 15 total wins and a new program record. The Royals would also set a new season-best win percentage as they would improve on their 2009-2010 record of 13-3. 

Both 2012-13 and 2009-10 season resulted in bronze medals for the Royals. 

A top 4 finish in the OCAA West would see the Royals host a playoff crossover match on February 17th, 2018 against an opponent from the OCAA East. The winner would advance to the OCAA Provincial Championship hosted by Georgian College, February 22-24, 2018. 

Game time for Friday night's match against the Hawks is 8:00pm with the Lady Royals taking the court at 6:00pm.