HAWKS HEAD SOUTH FOR BATTLE WITH TWO UNBEATEN TEAMS

ETOBICOKE, ON: The Humber Hawks men's volleyball team (1-0), winners of a five-set thriller at home in their opening game of the 2017/18 season, will now take their show on the road this coming weekend. The Hawks will play the St. Clair Saints (2-0) on Saturday evening, and then face-off with the Fanshawe Falcons (3-0) on Sunday afternoon.

SATURDAY'S MATCH-UP

Humber "Hawks" @ St. Clair "Saints"
Saturday, November 4
8:00 pm
St. Clair College Athletic Centre – Windsor

LAST TIME OUT VS ST. CLAIR

Humber was on the verge of an incredible comeback in the meeting between these two teams last January, winning the third and fourth set, but ultimately losing the fifth by a tight score of 15-12. Although Humber lost both matches to the Saints, it was the Windsor based club that did not advance to post-season play. St. Clair had four players in double figures, while the Hawks placed the usual two, in Clayton Blanchette and Alex Gibbs with 27 and 20 points, respectively.

SCOUTING ST. CLAIR

• The Saints head into the new season with a veteran-laden crew, showcasing eight returning players and only three freshmen
• Only one of their three leading scorers are back in the line-up, with Jared Niziolek returning with his 2016/17 mark of 3.0 points per set
• Mank Jandoria and Mike Knight have burst out of the box offensively, and check in with marks of 4.1 and 4.0 pps, respectively
• Coaching continues to be a strength for St. Clair, as Robert Lynch returns for his ninth season as the head man

SUNDAY'S MATCH-UP

Humber "Hawks" @ Fanshawe "Falcons"
Sunday, November 5
3:00 pm
Fanshawe College Athletic Centre – London

LAST TIME OUT VS FANSHAWE

The Falcons easily handled the Hawks in their last match in February, tossing Humber to the side in three straight, relatively easy sets (25-19, 25-18, 25-11). With the sets being over so quickly, only one player, a Falcon, was able to score in double digits. Humber's Clayton Blanchette, the 2016/17 scoring champion, could only muster nine points in his weakest outing of the season.

SCOUTING FANSHAWE

• As with the Saints earlier, Fanshawe returns eight players from last year's squad, and roll in four freshmen
• Gone are leading scorers James Jackson (4.3 pps) and Nate Van (2.6 pps), but Sam Otten (2.4 pps) and Jacob Scobie (2.0 pps) return
• Otten and Cole Jordan have carried the load early in the season, as both check in with point per set marks of 4.9

HAWK NOTES

• As mentioned earlier, Humber won their opener at home vs Redeemer in as exciting a match you will see this year. The Hawks were able to come from behind on multiple occasions to steal the victory
• Last year's scoring champion came out of the box a little bit slow in the opener, but still led the squad with 17 kills on the night and a point per set mark of 4.0
• Freshman Alex Bowden was a highlight reel in the first set on his own, and ended the evening with 11 points
• The return of third-year player Kamyn Wilkins to the line-up this year has helped the Hawks present a much more balanced line-up

HISTORY WATCH

• All eyes will be on the Wilkins brothers, as they both are close to assuming the first place on the Hawks coaching all-time wins list. Wayne, with 316 wins, is just three away from taking over the all-time lead from the legendary Mike Katz, who led the Hawks basketball team to 318 victories over his 19-year tenure at Humber. Wayne's brother Chris, coach of the Hawks women's team, is eerily close with 318 wins of his own.

• Clayton Blanchette is the only player of note that is moving up steadily through the all-time lists for the Hawks. He already appears in the top five of all-time "per set averages – points, kills, aces. And, he is certainly in line to move into the top five of career points and kills, and may move up from his fourth spot in service aces

WATCH LIVE

Clair and Fanshawe normally "live stream" their home games, but the confirmation and links have yet to be published.

If Live;
Saturday @ St. Clair: http://we-tv.ca/
Sunday @ Fanshawe: https://www.fanshawec.ca/athletics/watch-live

Please visit ocaa.com for updates

NOTABLE SOCIAL MEDIA SITES

Humber Athletics Website

http://humberhawks.ca/landing/index

Humber Men's Volleyball Website

http://humberhawks.ca/sports/mvball/index

OCAA Website

http://ocaa.com/landing/index