Durham College Athletics

1995-96 DURHAM COLLEGE MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Inducted November 18, 2022

The 1995-96 Durham College men’s volleyball team, led by head coach Laurence Bishop, captured the school’s first ever OCAA Men’s Volleyball Division I Gold Medal in front of an electrified standing room only crowd at Humber.  They defeated the host Humber College in the Championship final 3 sets to 1 (14-16, 15-12, 15-11, 15-11). Daryl Reid and Stu Pow were named OCAA Championship All-Stars while Reid was also named Championship Most Valuable Player.  The team went 15-1, to place 1^st in the East Region and was named OCAA/Via Rail Team of the Week twice during the regular season.  

The Lords were ranked Nationally in the CCAA Top 10 all season long and as high as 5^th in the country most of the year.  Reid led the entire OCAA in scoring and also set an OCAA record with 45 kills in a single match. Kevin Benn, Stu Pow and Daryl Reid were named OCAA League All-Stars. Coach Bishop had the team play a very demanding schedule outside the OCAA to further develop the talented roster. The Lords placed 2^nd overall at the Wilfrid Laurier University Goldenhawk Tourney losing to the University of California – San Diego 3-2 in the final. They then took home the championship title of the Algonquin College Thunderball Invitational with Stu Pow being named MVP.   Coach Bishop was named OCAA Coach of the year.  

With a provincial Gold medal performance in the books, a very strong and talented Durham team claimed a spot at the CCAA national championship, which would be held in Truro, Nova Scotia. Ranked 5^th in Canada heading into Nationals, the Lords battled Alberta’s Red Deer College (the eventual winner), Douglas College, BC and Quebec’s Champion Limoilou College.

The Lords would come away 5th overall at the National Championship after defeating the host college from Nova Scotia.  The 1995-96 men’s volleyball team are forever OCAA Gold medalists and are now to be honoured in the Durham College Sports Hall of Fame.

TEAM MEMBERS Laurence Bishop (Head Coach) Jim Beam (Assistant Coach) Dave Boyce (Assistant Coach) Derek Anthony Kevin Benn Scott Catton Ray Champion Eric Evers Jason Hanson Blake Hutchinson Robb Kerkhoff Cory Lahey Trevor Lomax Stephen McDonald Damian Page Brent Piels Stu Pow Daryl Reid