Banner Season: Blues go back-to-back on championship stage with Quigley Cup sweep of Badgers
Toronto (via Toronto Varsity Blues) - The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team defeated the Brock Badgers 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 31-29) to win their second straight OUA provincial title on Saturday night (March 7) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
The victory hands Toronto their 12th OUA title in program history, as they have won 11 of the last 24 OUA banner.
“I’m nothing but amazed and so proud of everybody on the team who came to play,” said Varsity Blues head coach Kristine Drakich. “We stayed the course, we never gave up and never stopped committing to our systems. I’m super proud."
Third-year middle Jenna Woock was phenomenal on the night, leading all players with 17 points off of nine kills, five blocks and three aces, while also adding eight digs in the win.
“It’s really cool as a middle because I have the opportunity to come off the court, see what it’s like from an outside perspective and then come back on and make a difference right away. I think we played awesome. Our defence was great, which really stabilizes us.”
Fifth-year right side hitter Alina Dormann recorded 15.5 points from 13 kills, 1.5 blocks and one ace, and also had 12 digs. Fifth-year middle Anna Licht had 10.5 points, while fellow veteran Caleigh Cruickshank totaled 10 points and 11 digs.
Sophomore setter Hayley Goodwin tallied 31 assists and eight digs, while fifth-year libero Asli Ersozoglu had a game-high 23 digs in the win.
“Our senior athletes were amazing,” added Drakich. “Everybody gets to see the finished product of them but the work that goes into it is amazing. The hard work and the difficult times, so much goes into this and that we were able to play at our very best in this moment was incredible.”
HOW IT HAPPENED: The Blues got out to an 8-3 lead and were up by seven (16-9) at the first set technical timeout. Both teams traded points before Woock came alive, rhyming off three big points from the middle and back-to-back aces en route to a 25-16 first set victory.
Toronto built another early advantage but the Badgers evened it up at 9-9 and were up 16-15 at the break. The see-saw battle continued but the Blues took a 2-0 match lead, 25-23.
The Badgers came out on fire and led 7-3 in the early goings but the Blues battled back right before the technical timeout to only trail by two (16-14). The back-and-forth battle ensued and with the two teams deadlocked at 29-29, Cruickshank and Dormann rattled off the two winning points, 31-29.
Fourth-year middle Grace Pyatt led the Badgers with 11.5 kills off of nine kills, 1.5 blocks and one ace, while veteran setter Emily Armstrong tallied 23 assists and 11 digs on the night.
UP NEXT: The Blues and the Badgers will head to Calgary for the 2020 U SPORTS championship, March 13-15. The seeding and scheduling will be announced tomorrow (March 8).
Earler in the day, the Guelph Gryphons defeated the Western Mustangs in a thrilling 3-1 (25-14, 24-26, 25-22, 25-17) OUA bronze-medal match.
Rookie middle Ella MacKenzie paced the Gryphons offence, racking up a game-high 14 points off of 12 kills, one block and one ace. Third-year left side hitter Ally Proulx had 8.5 points off of six kills, 1.5 blocks and one ace on the day.
Fourth-year setter Alex Curran tallied 27 assists and 22 digs, while third-year libero Tara Tanasijevic led all players with 27 digs in the win.
Mustangs veterans Rachael Grove and Kristina Crucin recorded 10 and 11 points, respectively, with fourth-year setter Jessica Lam racked up an impressive stat line of 31 assists and 22 digs in the loss.
