Battling some adversity, the Nipissing Lakers men's volleyball team came up big Saturday night.

Mason Blais stepped up for an injured Mike Ballagh and Curtis MacPherson played a huge role when Steve Wood had to come out of the game and the Lakers didn't miss a beat.

It wasn't an easy win, but the Lakers managed to pull off the sweep for their eighth win of the season and continue to lead the East Division.

After a slow start, Nipissing came up big and dominated the first set winning 25-13 to set the tone for the match.

The Lakers rattled off 11 straight points to grab the set victory.

In the second, it was a tighter battle, with Ryerson posting 17 points, but Nipissing took over with the score 10-8, outscoring Ryerson 15-9 the rest of the way.

In the third and final set, things went down to the wire and with the score 21-17, the Lakers posted four of the next five points to claim the victory.

Curtis MacPherson had his best game in the OUA, putting up eight kills and 11.5 points.

Cam Branch added eight kills and 10.5, Lyndon Sonego  chipped in with eight kills and Jack Peckham added four kills and 10 points.

Nipissing hits the road next weekend, facing Waterloo and Guelph.