Kajan Thiruthanikasalam (Sports Writer, Colts Athletics)

SCARBOROUGH, ONT.- After the pair of losses over the weekend to the Algonquin Thunder and La Cite Coyotes, the Centennial Colts were under .500 for the first time this season. 

But it didn't last long.

Centennial gritted out a tough five set battle (26-24, 25-19, 16-25, 25-27, 15-12) over the Durham Lords at the Athletic and Wellness Centre to even their record at 6-6 on the season and snapped a three game losing streak. Durham, meanwhile, drops to 5-6 on the season.

"Never quit; we've instilled that mentality in our guys," Colts assistant coach Chichky Hua said. "There comes a point where these guys need to recognize and realize that they're good enough to win these matches. Once these guys start to believe that they deserve to win some of these close matches, that's when you're going to see the fruits of our labour."

For the Colts, the win also marks a season sweep of the Lords for the first time ever.

"We had to expect that they were going to come back at us. We had to be mentally prepared for this match and not take them lightly," Hua said. "I felt like we matched their intensity pretty well. Regardless of what other teams think of us, as long as we are able to put forth the best effort on our side of the net whaetever some other team presents on their side of the net, won't even matter."

Although Durham had Centennial beat in kills (52-50) and assists (48-44), the Colts had the Lords beat in digs, 53-41.

Centennial used a balanced effort to overcome Erik Janssen's game high 25 points on 23 kills. Jordan Saddler led three Colts players in double figures with 18 points on 15 kills while Sev Libramonte had 13 points on 13 kills.

"It's natural for them; they're the focal points of the team so we expect a lot from them," Hua said. "Passing, attacking, blocking; we ask a lot from our left sides."  

Griffin Dubbeld, meanwhile, had 13 points on 10 kills and he left his mark on this game as he lead the team with 10 digs and three blocks, including two massive ones to start off the fifth set.

"Griffin was huge today," Hua said. "He came up big with defensive plays in the first two sets that closed (those) out and initiated even a comeback in a couple of the sets. Huge energy boost from him tonight."

It looked like Durham would run away with the first set early on as they raced to a 13-6 lead, forcing a Colts timeout. The Lords were up 19-12 when Centennial then went on an 11-2 run to take a 23-21 lead and forced Durham to call for time.

Out of the timeout, Janssen then hit a pair of kills with a kill from Eric Slyfield sandwiched in between. Saddler then committed an attacking error to tie the set at 24 but made up for it on the next point with a block before an attack error from the Lords gave the Colts the first set by a score of 26-24. Libramonte had four kills during the set alone.

In the second set, Durham scored four of the first five points before Centennial rallied to tie the set rather quickly. It remained tied at 13 when a kill from Dubbeld sparked six straight points from the Colts to pull away. A kill from Libramonte, his sixth of the set, capped off a dominant finish to the second set for Centennial as they took it, 25-19.

The third set, however, turned in the Lords' favour as they held the lead throughout as attack errors became the Achilles' heel for Centennial. A service error from Slyfield gave the Lords the set by a score of 25-16 and kept their hopes alive.

In the fourth set, both teams were even through 32 possible points as no team could pull away but Durham made a mini-run, scoring five of the next seven points and forcing a pair of timeouts from Centennial. The Lords, however, then committed three straight errors to tie the set at 21, setting up a frantic finish. 

Both teams then exchanged the next eight points before the Lords got a pair of kills, the last from Janssen, as they forced a fifth and decisive set, taking the fourth set by a score of 27-25.

It seemed like momentum had shifted firmly in favour of the Lords with Janssen seemingly unstoppable on the attack. Dubbeld, however, had other ideas as he blocked Janssen's two attack attempts for Colts points, which turned the tide around for the hosts.

"It can be inconsistent at times but we've been continually working on it," Hua said about Dubbeld's blocking game. "Today, for him, to come up big in the fifth set is clutch. The guys were able to surround him with positivity and I thought he played a really strong game."

Although Durham came back to tie the set at nine, errors reared their ugly heads for them as they once again committed three straight errors to give the Colts the lead for good. Janssen's kill late cut the lead to 14-12 but Jason Fillion ended things emphatically with a massive kill as Centennial took the fifth set, 15-12, and the match.

"We were telling the guys that they needed to steady the ship and make sure that in times of difficulty that they were staying together regardless of whether we were up by five or down by three," Hua said. "No matter what the score, we needed to stay together and I think they did a good job during the timeouts playing through the adversity. Sometimes you have to win ugly."

Centennial looks to build upon this win but it will be a challenge as they head to Barrie Friday night at 8:00pm to play the 11-1 Georgian Grizzlies.