The Nipissing Lakers men's volleyball team won the gold medal at the 38^th Excalibur Classic on Sunday afternoon at the Tait McKenzie Centre with a 3-2 win over the Western Mustangs, while the host York Lions won the bronze.
 
The Lakers, who captured the tournament trophy for the first time, went undefeated in four matches on the weekend. They claimed the gold in thrilling fashion, holding on after relinquishing a two-set lead to win in five by scores of 25-21, 25-19, 18-25, 17-25, 15-12.
 
Nipissing also earned a five-set win over the Lions in their first round-robin match and swept both Budo and the Queen's Gaels in straight sets en route to the final.
 
The Mustangs also went undefeated in the preliminary round, winning three straight five-set matches over Queen's, York and Budo to finish second in the standings and book their spot in the final.
 
The Lions played a trio of close matches in the round robin, including an exciting three-set match against Budo on the opening night of the tournament that ended with Budo winning 40-38, 25-13, 37-35. They also lost in five sets each to the Lakers and Mustangs but won when it mattered most, grabbing the bronze at their home tournament in another five-set thriller by a score of 18-25, 25-23, 18-25, 32-30, 15-10.
 
Budo, a team visiting from Japan and making their third appearance in the tournament, earned a win over the Gaels as well as the one over the Lions in the preliminaries.
 
While Budo makes the long trip home to Japan, all four OUA teams will return to conference action next weekend as the second half of the season kicks off. The Lions open against the Ryerson Rams on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 14) at 2pm.


Left to right: Choja, Ballagh, Duncan-Thibault, Matsura, Wood

Tournament MVP: Steve Wood, Nipissing
 Best blocker – Mike Choja (Western)
Best libero – Mike Ballagh (Nipissing)
Best attacker – Alex Duncan-Thibault (York)
Best setter – Konosuke Matsura (Budo)

SCHEDULE

Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017
GAME 1 - 9pm	Budo 3 @ York 0 (40-38, 25-13, 37-35)

Friday, Jan. 6, 2017
GAME 2 - 3pm	York 2 @ Nipissing 3 (25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13)
GAME 3 - 5:30pm	Queen's 2 @ Western 3
GAME 4 - 8pm	Nipissing 3 @ Budo 0

Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017
GAME 5 - 12pm	Western 3 @ York 2 (25-22, 14-25, 13-25, 25-23, 15-12)
GAME 6 - 2pm	Nipissing 3 @ Queen's 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-15)
GAME 7 - 4:30pm	Western 3 @ Budo 2 (26-24, 25-23, 24-26, 23-25, 15-13)
GAME 8 - 7:30pm	Queen's 2 @ Budo 3 (19-25, 25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 16-14)

Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017
GAME 9 - 11am	Bronze medal game - Budo 2 @ York 3 (18-25, 25-23, 18-25, 32-30, 15-10)
GAME 10 - 1:30pm	Championship game - Western 2 @ Nipissing 3 (25-21, 25-19, 18-25, 17-25, 15-12)