ANCASTER, ON.  Wednesday evening the Royals travelled to Etobicoke, ON to face the Nationally ranked Humber Hawks. The Hawks have been off to a strong start posting a 5-0 record. In their five wins, Humber has only lost one set. Humber is looking for their fourth OCAA Championship in a row this season and has shown their determination to achieve it.

Avery Surette of the Royals was named a CCAA and OCAA Athlete of the Week on Wednesday. The Royals would need Surette to repeat last week's performances to knock off the top-seeded Hawks.

The Humber Hawks started Wednesday's match just as they planned. Humber stormed to an early lead and did not look back. Led by heavy service pressure and backed up with an efficient offense the Royals had little time to gather themselves. Humber took the first set 25-14. 

The Royals re-grouped in the second set and began to establish their offence. Hitting the midway mark of the set the Hawks couldn't shake the Royals. However, the Royals couldn't maintain their momentum and dropped the second set 25-18. 

Falling down two sets to zero, Redeemer knew they needed to make a push. The Hawks began the third set jumping to an early lead. Redeemer bounced back and slowly fought back to bring the score to 19-17 for Humber.  Trading points the Royals were in it to the final whistle. Humber closed the third set 25-21 to take the 3-0 home victory. 

The Royals had a solid showing in Etobicoke and showed flashes of excellence. Their performances in the last two matches against undefeated teams have shown that they can compete with the league's best.

Redeemer's next match is this Saturday when they host the Conestoga Condors (0-4). Make sure to join us between the women's and men's matches as we have the opportunity to honour former Men's Volleyball Coach Wayne Harris with his Hall of Fame Induction. The women's match will take place at 1:00 PM.