The York University Lions men's volleyball crushed the Windsor Lancers in straight sets for the last game of the season on Sunday (Feb. 8) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The first set was a point-for-point battle where the Lancers were able to steal the lead.  Josh Henderson (Scarborough, Ont.) led the attack in the beginning of the set smacking down four powerful kills with his tremendous hops. The Lancers were able to tie the score at 10-10 with a kill from Gabriel Burlacu, then two errors from the Lions put the Lancers in the lead 12-10.  Henderson smacked down another kill, and Marko Dakic (Mississauga, Ont.) and Arthur Swarcz (Toronto) made an outstanding block to put the Lions back in the lead 14-12. The Lions continued to force the ball through the Lancers as Dakic, Henderson, Ray Szeto (Sutton, Ont.) and Swarcz pounded final kills on the Lancers to end the set 25-20.
 
In the beginning of the second set, the Lancers continuously tied the score, not allowing the Lions to break through. Szeto denied the effort with two kills; Swarcz and Henderson blocked the Lancers attempts; Nikola Sandic (Etobicoke, Ont.) smacked down a service ace; and the Lancers committed a series of errors to put the Lions up 13-7.
 
The Lions continued to drill through the Lancers at the end of the second as they laid three consecutive kills on the Lancers from Swarcz and Szeto. The Lions took the set 25-14.
 
The final set was packed with long rallies that ended in errors for both sides. However, powerful kills from Henderson, Szeto and Swarcz blew up the competition and gave the Lions a 25-19 win.
 
Both of the Lions rookies Henderson and Swarcz played a phenomenal game, coming out on top of the leader boards. Henderson contributed 17.5 points with 13 kills, one ace, six blocks and nine digs; while Swarcz contributed 8.5 points with four kills, eight blocks and one dig. These two outstanding players are definitely players to look out for in the 2015-2016 season.
 
On the other side of the spectrum, graduating players Szeto and Sandic also came out on the top of the leader boards. Szeto contributed 15.5 points with nine kills, four service aces, three blocks and three digs, while Sandic led with 27 assists.
 
Szeto has been a key player for the Lions as he is ranked second in the OUA standings for the most points (313.5), second for the most kills (271) and fifth for the most points per set (4.2).
 
Leaders for the Lancers include Greg Simone with nine kills, Gabriel Burlacu with nine kills and Jake MacNeil with five kills.
 
The Lions finish the season in fourth in the OUA standings with 26 points and a 13-7 record, while the Lancers finish in eighth with 18 points and a 9-11 record.
 
With the fourth place finish, the Lions will host fifth place Queen's Gaels in the quarterfinals of the OUA playoffs. The date and time is still to be determined.