Lakers men’s volleyball team Number One in the nation

The Lakers men’s volleyball team is the king of the proverbial castle, reaching number one in the Canadian College Athletic Association (CCAA) national rankings. In doing so, the Lakers re-write the history book as the first team to occupy the top national ranking since Nipissing’s inception 20 years ago. Last season, the Lakers men’s volleyball team was ranked as high as number two in the country but a second place finish at provincials ended the Lakers dreams of attending Nationals.

This season, the Lakers have a new determination and have started the regular season with a perfect 3-0 record along with a strong statement game taking down the national champs in four sets. The long season will inevitably have many twists and turns, however, the men’s team and university have much to be proud of.

"It is exciting news for our program to be ranked Number 1 in the CCAA, and this is all made possible by having tougher competition in the last few years within the OCAA,” said head coach Eric Yung.

“We will remain humble with this new label and continue to work hard as a collective group to maintain focus and improve with each practice and game. The players have worked extremely hard the last three years in order to get the program to this point, and it’s an exciting day for all of us," he added.

On the women’s side, the Lakers stay at number eight on the CCAA ranking list despite suffering its first loss of the season to the top OCAA ranked team and third ranked Humber Hawks. It was a tough loss for the Lakers, who battled hard in the first set, but seemed to lose focus as passing and unforced errors allowed the Hawks to run away with the victory.

The women now have a record of 2-1 on the season and will look for a bounce back effort this weekend.

Both teams will be back in action this weekend as the Lakers hit the court Saturday against Redeemer and Sunday against St. Clair. The women’s games begin at noon followed by the men at 2 p.m.