WINDSOR, Ont. - The St. Clair College Department of Athletics is in the final stages of preparing  to host the 2017 OCAA Women's Volleyball Championship presented by belairdirect.

The event will take place at the St. Clair College SportsPlex in Windsor, Ont., from Feb. 24-26. The final eight format will feature the top eight women's volleyball teams in Ontario with the winner advancing to the CCAA nationals in Victoria, B.C. As host of the event, the St. Clair Saints are automatically entered into the tournament. After four crossover playoff matches this past weekend the complete field of eight teams is now set.

The event will kick off with the championship awards breakfast banquet at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts on Friday at 8:30 a.m.

The first day of play will be highlighted with a short opening ceremony prior to St. Clair's first match at 8 p.m. on Friday.

St. Clair finished in third place in the OCAA West Division with a record of 12 wins and six losses and are ranked sixth in the OCAA. The Saints will have their work cut out for them in their opening quarter-final match against the Algonquin Thunder from Ottawa. Algonquin is ranked fourth in the OCAA and finished in second place in the East Division with a record of 15-3.

St. Clair head coach Jimmy El-Turk likes St. Clair's chances heading into the event. "Our team has worked so hard from September until now for this opportunity and I'm proud of our athletes for earning their way here, even though we do get the automatic berth. One of our season goals was to finish in the top four in a tough OCAA West Division and we accomplished that."

"Our other team goal was to win a medal, which we hope to accomplish and snap a 20-year absence from the podium for our women's volleyball program at St. Clair. Algonquin will certainly be a tough task as they are a talented bunch and we are looking forward to yet another challenge on our journey together this season. Hopefully we can pack the Plex on Friday, Feb. 24 and get ourselves into the medal round in front of our home crowd."

Tickets are $10 for a day pass or $20 for a tournament pass for adults and $5 for a day pass or $10 for a tournament pass for seniors and students 13-18. St. Clair Students and children under 12 are admitted for free. Tickets will be available at the gate each day. Advance ticket sales are available at the SportsPlex. Alcohol and food sales will take place throughout the entire event.

The complete schedule for the Championship is as follows:

All matches will be live streamed on www.we-tv.ca

Friday, Feb. 24
1:30 pm- Game 1 Quarter-Final Fanshawe vs Durham
3:30 pm- Game 2 Quarter-Final Cambrian vs Niagara
6 pm- Game 3 Quarter-Final Loyalist vs Humber
8 pm- Game 4 Quarter-Final Algonquin vs St. Clair

Saturday, Feb. 25
1:30 pm- Game 5 Consolation Semi- Final (Loser 1 vs Loser 2)
3:30 pm- Game 6 Consolation Semi- Final (Loser 3 vs Loser 4)
6 pm- Game 7 SEMI-FINAL (Winner 1 vs Winner 2)
8 pm- Game 8 SEMI- FINAL (Winner 3 vs Winner 4)

Sunday, Feb. 26
12 Noon- Game 9 CONSOLATION FINAL (Winner 5 vs Winner 6)
2:30 pm- Game 10 BRONZE MEDAL MATCH (Loser 7 vs Loser 8)
5:00 pm- Game 11 GOLD MEDAL MATCH (Winner 7 vs Winner 8)

Click on the link below to view the Championship Promo video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=813cjcQeSy4

Source: St. Clair College