North Bay, ON – Nipissing Men's Volleyball scored a thrilling five-set win over the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, Feb. 7.  

In the first, Nipissing jumped to a 4-0 lead before Waterloo tied things at 4-4. NIpissing led 10-7 before taking four of five points to lead 14-9. The lead would grow to 19-13, then 23-16 as the Lakers did a great job of protecting their lead. Marc Marchand's kill ended the set at 25-18, giving the Lakers a 1-0 lead.  

The second set saw Nipissing take a 5-3 lead that quickly flourished into a 12-8 advantage. Waterloo responded, taking four in a row to tie the set at 12 and then 16. The Warriors had a short run to take a 20-18 lead, but Nipissing tied the set at 20 soon after. The teams would trade points and saw ties at 22 and 23 before Waterloo scored two in a row to win 25-23.  

The third set saw Nipissing take a 4-1 lead that turned into a 6-2 advantage. The lead grew to 10-5 and then 13-7. The Warriors would settle in and score to cut Nipissing's advantage to four. Nipissing then took five of the next seven points to lead 21-14. The Lakers were keen on finishing the job and did so with another five in seven run to win 25-17. 

Waterloo took a 4-0 lead in the fourth set that turned into a 7-2 lead. Nipissing responded, scoring five of the next seven points to cut into the Warriors lead. Nipissing would eventually tie the match at 15 before Waterloo took three in a row to lead 18-15. The teams woudl trade points from here before Waterloo scored four in a row to win the set 25-20 and tie the match at 2. 

In the fifth and final set, Nipissing took a 5-4 lead before Waterloo scored five in a row to lead 9-5. Nipissing responded impressively with six of the next eight points to bring the set to an 11-11 tie. From here, the Lakers wasted little time in finishing the win, scoring four of the final five points to win the set 15-13 and the match, 3-2.  

Nipissing's Taydon Shantz and Marc Marchand both scored 16 kills in the win. Justice Smith added 15. Smith also served 2 aces, while Zander Kasunich and Jimmy Gill each had 1. Kasunich and Smith each had 5 blocks. Jack Svendsen scored 44 assists. Xavier Legace scored 15 digs, Shantz added 13 and Marchand added 11. 

In what was their final regular season game, the win moves Nipissing to an 11-9 record this season. The Lakers will wait to see where the rest of the OUA finishes as playoffs loom nearby. 

Nipissing honored graduating players Aidan Scibberas and Marc Marchand with a special pregame ceremony. 

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