Box Score ANCASTER, Ont. – Durham College's unbelievable run at the OCAA women's volleyball championship came to an end on Saturday afternoon as the Humber Hawks won their eighth straight provincial title, beating the Lords 3-0.
 
The silver medal finish ends a nine-year drought for the Lords, as they now have 11 podium finishes in the 31-year history of the program.
 
Durham knew they would be in tough against the Hawks, who completed their fourth straight perfect season in OCAA action. Despite the 3-0 scoreline, Durham had opportunities in the gold medal match to dethrone the champs but could not execute a perfect game to pull off the upset.
 
"I'm very proud because the girls came in with a game plan and followed it," said head coach Tony Clarke. "They played well in all aspects of the game, which was awesome to see. We peaked at the right time. The good time to peak is right now and I'm just happy that they did it."
 
Durham had Humber on the ropes in the first set, taking a 21-20 lead that forced a Hawks timeout. The break gave Humber a spark and they rang off five straight points to win 25-21.
 
Humber picked up right where they left off in set two, simply dominating Durham from the service line and forcing a number of Durham errors, cruising to a 25-12 win.

With their back against the wall, Durham came out firing in the third set to take an early lead. Showing their championship composure, Humber would once again rally to leapfrog the Lords and go on to earn a 25-17 win.
 
"Going in against Humber is tough because they're an experience and well-coached team, but I think we did quite well against them though."
 
Following the match, Jessica Broad (Courtice, Ont.) and Maddie Rae-White (Cobourg, Ont.) of Durham were named to the championship all-star team. Broad led the Lords in scoring with six kills while Rae-White three blocks, two aces and two kills.
 
To get to the gold medal game, Durham had an impressive run winning their last four conference games, a five-set qualifier on the road and two straight 3-0 sweeps at the championship.
 
"They started to understand what I was trying to get through to them, my 'madness' and all that," said Clarke. "It's different coming from a new coach and all that stuff, but at the same time there's always a theory behind things and sometimes people have a hard time with change, but we came together at the right time and I'm very proud of these girls."
 
The last time Durham won gold came back in 2002, when the Lords captured the provincial crown in the same gym they were playing in on Saturday.
 
"You know what, a silver medal in my first year here at Durham – I can only see it getting better from here."