The York University Lions men's volleyball team recorded a huge 3-1 victory over the Nipissing Lakers in North Bay, Ont., on Saturday afternoon to earn an important win in the standings and move into second place in the OUA East Division.
 
Needing a win over their northern rivals after losing to Nipissing earlier this year, the Lions came out strong and won their fourth straight to improve to 9-3 on the year.
 
The Lions were propelled to victory by the huge performances of Alex Duncan-Thibault (Scarborough, Ont.), who recorded 18 kills and 24.5 points, and Robert Thompson (Maple, Ont.), who recorded 10 and 13.
 
The first set was somewhat of a dogfight for the Lions with the Lakers constantly closing the Lions' small leads and occasionally taking the lead for themselves. Duncan-Thibault helped separate the two teams with his four kills in the first set. The Lions utilized all of their on court athletes to take the opening set by a score of 25-22.
 
The second set was the pinnacle for the Lakers competitive play. In the final three points of the set the Lions recorded a few attack errors, handing the Lakers free points to close out the set by a score of 25-21.
 
With a crucial set for both teams now on the table, the Lions would need their key role players to step up. An early 11-4 jump on the Lakers was exactly what helped, and with four kills from Duncan-Thibault in the set, paired with three from Spencer Dakin Kuiper (Lethbridge, Alta.), pushed the Lions to their 25-21 victory and 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
In the fourth set the Lions' second leading scorer, Thompson, would record four kills. Five more kills for Duncan-Thibault would be enough to stay one step ahead of the Lakers at all times. The most important of Duncan-Thibault's kills came on the final play of the game as he smashed the ball to end the set with a score of 25-23 and hand the Lions the win.
 
The Lions' next game will take place on Saturday when they hope to extend their wining streak to five games against the Brock Badgers in St. Catharines, Ont. The match will begin at 4pm.