Ottawa, Ont. - The Algonquin Wolves men's volleyball team has been red-hot in 2026, extending their winning streak to four matches with a 3–1 win over the Durham Lords on Saturday night.
The Wolves had swept the Lords 3–0 earlier this season, and it looked early on like a similar result might be in store as Algonquin came out flying. Julien Tran delivered back-to-back aces to cap a lengthy service run and give the Wolves an early 11–5 lead. Connor Finnie put the finishing touches on a dominant opening set with a huge block on the left side, as Algonquin took the first set 25–19.
Durham settled in during the second set and built an 11–9 lead. Connor Finnie answered with a big cross-court kill to tie the set, but the Lords capitalized on several serving errors from the Wolves to open up a 21–19 advantage late in the frame. Durham went on to take the set 25–22 and even the match at one set apiece.
The third and fourth sets saw Algonquin regroup and get back on track. In both frames, the Wolves jumped out to 8–4 leads behind big kills from Nick Barber, Julien Tran, and Connor Finnie. Algonquin maintained control from there, taking the sets 25–21 and 25–17 to secure the 3–1 win and improve to 9–3 on the season.
Several Wolves turned in big performances. Julien Tran led Algonquin with 20 points, finishing with 16 kills and four aces. Connor Finnie added 14 kills, three aces, and two blocks for 19 points, while Nick Barber chipped in 16 kills and one block for 17 points. Setter Gavin Hassell ran a balanced offense and kept the Lords on their toes all night, finishing with 37 assists.
Up next, the Wolves will host the St. Lawrence Surge this Wednesday, January 28th at the ARC.
