2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship
TORONTO (U SPORTS) – Second Team all-Canadian Eli Wendel picked up a game-high 10 kills, and the Trinity Western Spartans earned the first semifinal spot at the 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship, presented by Jason Rinaldi, by defeating the second-seeded McMaster Marauders in straight sets (25-16, 25-10, 25-17) at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Friday afternoon.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Wendel worked at a .474 offensive efficiency, committing just a single error in 19 attacks to go along with 3.0 blocks and a pair of digs, helping give the seventh-seeded Spartans an opportunity to qualify for a third straight national title game. Trinity Western’s Player of the Game Katelyn Devaney added seven kills, 3.0 blocks, and three aces in the victory.
“It felt good to come out strong, and we were happy to bounce back after last weekend (at the Canada West Championship),” said Devaney. “I thought Mac played really well so it’s fun to play in a tournament where every team is ready to take (the championship).”
Joanna Jedrzejewska picked up a team-high seven kills for the Marauders, who were coming off their third-ever OUA Championship, and second in the last four seasons. McMaster struggled offensively against the blocking power of Trinity Western, working at just a -.012 efficiency, compared to a .301 percentage from the Spartans.
“I was really pleased with the way (the women) came out,” said Spartans head coach Ryan Hofer. “They came out with high energy, and came out together really hard each and every point. They (McMaster) have some great servers and can go on some great streaks, and so we had to make sure that we got the ball up to our setter and put it away (from there). When we’re together and doing what we do, we can work pretty smoothly.”
Brie O’Reilly (Langley, B.C.) started the first quarter-final of the day with an ace for the Spartans, who jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the opening set. Ashtyn McKenzie followed up a kill with another ace, and after the Vernon, B.C. native stymied the OUA champions with another serve, McMaster coach Tim Louks called timeout to steady his squad.
The Marauders answered with three-straight points to cut the deficit down to a pair, but a big kill from first-team all-Canadian Sophie Carpentier (Ottawa, Ont.) sparked the Canada West bronze medalists on a mini-streak that helped them extend the lead back up to five.
Coming out of the technical timeout, Trinity Western spread the lead to eight after a big denial from Nikki Cornwall (Coquitlam, B.C.). Wendel (Caronport, Sask.) also had a big first set for her team, picking up six kills to help the Spartans draw first blood in the match.
After surrendering the first three points of the second set, the Marauders stormed back to even the match, topped off with a cross-court strike from OUA all-star Jedrzejewska (Hamilton, Ont.). However, Trinity Western continued to dominate from the service line and at the net, picking up nine of the next 10 points to take a commanding 15-5 lead. An ace from Katie Zutautas (Etobicoke, Ont.) cut the lead down to nine going into the technical, but the Spartans offense remained hot throughout the set, using a .733 hitting efficiency to take a 2-0 match lead.
A big block from Devaney (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) capped off a 5-2 run to open the third set, which prompted another timeout from the Marauders. After going down 10-4, the Marauders showed some strong resiliency, winning six of the next eight points to pull within two points of the lead. Back-to-back kills from Jedrzejewska were followed by another from Aleks Arsovic (Burlington, Ont.), and McMaster fought back to go into the technical down by just three points.
A rejection by Maicee Sorenson (Hamilton, Ont.) was followed by a Trinity Western attack that went long, leaving McMaster down only two at 19-17. That was as close as the Marauders would get, however, as Trinity Western found its stride in the latter half of the set, using six straight points to take the third and move on to the national semifinals on Saturday.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/boxscores_champ/20170317_4jgg.xml
Trinity Western
Kills: Elly Wendel (10), Sophie Carpentier (9)
Points: Wendel (13), Devaney (13), McKenzie (11)
Blocks: Katelyn Devaney (0,6), Elly Wendel (0,6)
Digs: Nikki Cornwall (10)
Service aces: Ashton McKenzie (5), Katelyn Devaney (3)
Player of the match: Katelyn Devaney
McMaster
Kills: Joanna Jedrzejewska (7)
Points: Joanna Jedrzejewska (7), Maicee Sorenson (5.5)
Blocks: Alicia Jack (0,2), Caitlin Genovy (o,2)
Digs: Carly Heath (11)
Service aces: Alicia Jack (1), Katherine Zutautas (1)
Player of the match: Aleks Arsovic
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western (USPORTS.LIVE)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie (USPORTS.LIVE)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. Loser QF #2 (USPORTS.LIVE)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: Loser QF #3 vs. Loser QF #4 (USPORTS.LIVE)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. Winner QF #2 (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: Winner QF #3 vs. Winner QF #4 (USPORTS.LIVE)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place (USPORTS.LIVE)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Championship final (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
ksainteloy@usports.ca
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
ahudes@usports.ca
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
andrea.elliott@ryerson.ca
QF #2: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi
Thunderbirds hold off resilient Mustangs to reach national semifinals
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Brisebois tallied 22 kills to go along with an ace and eight digs, while Juliana Kaufmanis added 12 kills, three aces, and 13 digs for the Thunderbirds, who advance to take on a familiar foe in fellow Canada West representative Trinity Western on Saturday night.
The Thunderbirds worked at a .333 efficiency throughout the afternoon, but struggled at times from the service line, committing 21 serve errors compared to 12 aces.
“(It was) not our ‘A’ game but that’s not unusual in the first round of nationals,” said UBC coach Doug Reimer. “So having said that, I give our team some credit…I think the response was there. I thought we handled the ball better (in the third set). Given how poorly we served, I thought our side-out offense was pretty good.
“We are going to have to serve the ball significantly better. We have to work harder and execute better defensively. If we are able to play with some joy and some purpose, and get into it, we will give Trinity a good run tomorrow.”
“We got our jitters out,” said UBC Player of the Game Samantha Patko (Vancouver, B.C.), who picked up 12 digs and five assists. “Coming into nationals there are always some nerves so I thought we got that out. We missed a few too many serves but recovered well.
The Mustangs were led by Kelsey Veltman, who tallied 10 kills and 3.5 blocks in a losing cause, while Aja Gyimah added eight kills and three aces for Western. The OUA silvermedalists move to the consolation round on Saturday, where they will take on McMaster in a re-match of last weekend’s conference championship final. The winner of that match will play for fifthplace on Sunday morning.
“Overall, we can be a little disappointed with our execution level,” said Western coach Melissa Bartlett. “I am as proud as always of the way we battled in the playoffs and the grit we’ve shown the last number of matches. We have that refuse to lose (mentality), we play tough and our goal is not to let strings of points get in our head, and we did such a good job with that.”
“It was a well-fought match by us,” said Western Player of the Game Tia Miric (Toronto), who recorded five kills, nine digs as well as 2.0 blocks. “We came in with a great attitude. We were down in the beginning, but we always find our way back. We are disappointed we can’t move on but are happy with how we played.”
Playing in their first national championship since 2011, the Mustangs looked a bit nervous out of the gate, and the 10-time banner winners from UBC took full advantage, jumping out to 13-1 lead in the opening set. As they showed on numerous occasions one weekend earlier at the OUA Championship, the Mustangs persevered to pick up 13 of the next 17 points to pull within five points of the Thunderbirds.
Gyimah (Scarborough, Ont.) tallied back-to-back aces to help maintain the Western momentum, but UBC held off the rally thanks to four kills from Brisebois (Bolton, Ont.) and three aces by Ciara Hanly (Calgary, Alta.) to take the first set 25-20.
The Mustangs would carry that momentum into the second set, however, and after the teams traded the first ten points of the set, the OUA silvermedalists grabbed a 16-13 advantage at the technical timeout.
After the Thunderbirds evened the set at 17-17, Western took the next four points, which was capped off with a timely ace from Veltman (Brampton, Ont.). A tip from Candice Scott (Kitchener, Ont.) would give the Mustangs three set points, and a thunderous kill from the middle of the net by Veltman, her fourth of the set, evened the match 1-1 heading into the third.
Maggie Li (North Saanich, B.C.) picked up back-to-back kills to give the Thunderbirds a 6-5 led early in the third set. After Western tied the game, Brisebois would make her presence felt, picking up three straight kills from the left side to put UBC up by four. Setter Alessandra Gentile (Port Moody, B.C.) used some trickery to pick up two more points, twice dumping the ball into the open court to help the Thunderbirds maintain their spread. UBC held a 16-14 lead at the technical.
The Thunderbirds picked up four of the next five points coming out of the break to give themselves some breathing room. A block by Kaufmanis (Richmond, B.C.) was followed by an ace from Miric to put UBC up 20-15. A Western service error gave the Thunderbirds set point, and Brisebois put her team up 2-1 with her seventh kill of the set.
After taking a 10-6 lead in the fourth, the UBC serving hit a cold spell, as three different Thunderbird servers put the ball into the net, allowing the Mustangs to climb back to within four points of the lead. After an ace by Li put UBC up 21-15, the Mustangs grabbed the next three points to tighten the set. Coming out of their own timeout, the Thunderbirds responded with a mini-run by taking three of the next four points, and the game ended with a Mustang attack going off the net antenna.
UBC will take on Trinity Western at 6:00 p.m. (EST) on Saturday in the first semifinal of the Championship, while Western will play McMaster at 12:00 p.m. in the first consolation semi.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/championship
Kills: Danielle Brisebois (22)
Points: Danielle Brisebois (23.5)
Blocks: Maggie Lie (1,1), Juliana Kaufmanis (1,1)
Digs: Juliana Kaufmanis (13)
Service aces: Ciara Hanly (4)
Player of the match: Samantha Patko
Western
Kills: Kelsey Veltman (10)
Points: Kelsey Veltman (14.5)
Blocks: Kelsey Weltman (0,7)
Digs: Kat Tsiofas (10)
Service aces: Aja Gyimah (3)
Player of the match: Tia Miric
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie (USPORTS.LIVE)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western (USPORTS.LIVE)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: Loser QF #3 vs. Loser QF #4 (USPORTS.LIVE)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: Winner QF #3 vs. Winner QF #4 (USPORTS.LIVE)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place (USPORTS.LIVE)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Championship final (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
ksainteloy@usports.ca
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
ahudes@usports.ca
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
andrea.elliott@ryerson.ca
QF #3: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi
Top-seeded Pandas cruise into semi’s with straight-sets victory over host Rams
TORONTO (U SPORTS) – Fifth-year veteran Kacey Otto tallied a game-high 13 kills, and the top-ranked Alberta Pandas opened their championship bid with a convincing 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-12) victory over the tournament host Ryerson Rams in front of a boisterous crowd at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on Friday evening.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Otto finished the match with an impressive .591 hitting percentage and without any attack errors to her name while adding a team-best 10 digs, while U SPORTS Player of the Year Meg Casault added 10 kills and eight digs for the Pandas, who worked at a team efficiency of .330.
“I was really happy with our composure,” said Pandas coach Laurie Eisler. “I thought Ryerson really brought it in the first set and we were a little bit off. But we settled down when we needed to and just kept our momentum going as the match went.”
“We really found our serve (in the second and third set). And then our defence. It was a lot easier to play defence when they were out of their system. When (Ryerson) is in system, their spectacular, and it was really frustrating to keep the ball off the floor in the first set, but the serve came along in and the second and third.”
“It feels good to have that pressure (as the first seed),” said player of the game Mariah Walsh, who picked up 31 set assists and a pair of aces. “It’s an awesome environment and we were excited to play in (the Mattamy Athletic Centre). We definitely came out a bit shaky and were feeling it out at the start. I just hope to get better as the match goes on, and learn what the blockers are doing to help our offence get better. In a small way, peaking at the end of the match is something we want to do.”
The Rams were led by a seven kill performance from Veronica Livingston, who also tallied two digs and 1.5 blocks. Rookie Lauren Veltman added five kills and a pair of digs for Ryerson, who will move into the consolation side of the bracket on Saturday.
“I wasn’t thrilled that we couldn’t muster up more resilience,” said Rams coach Dustin Reid. “I think it’s a testament to Alberta’s strengths and especially when they are feeling comfortable. I would like to have seen more resilience in that moment. I think going into the match we felt like if we could play the way we could that we might generate a chance or two to win a set. And we put ourselves in that position in the first and couldn’t quite take advantage of the opportunities that were there.”
The teams traded the first 10 points of the match before Otto picked up back-to-back kills to put the Pandas in front by a pair. The hosts kept pace with the number 1 seed, however, as Jena Bonello (Vaughan, Ont.) followed up a kill with an ace to even the match 9-9. After the Rams moved in front at the technical break, Alberta railed off three-straight points, capped off with a big block from Otto that put the Canada West Champions up by one.
Theanna Vernon (Scarborough, Ont.) helped the Rams stay within a point of the Pandas, picking up a block and then a kill from the middle. Lauren Veltman (Brampton, Ont.) then grabbed back-to-back kills from the left side to even the set at 22-22. A timely ace from Vanessa Jarman, however, gave Alberta a set-point, and the Pandas used their reliable right-side hit to Shaunny Hogg (Calgary, Alta.) to clinch the opening set. Otto was the x-factor in the first, tallying seven kills and six digs for the Pandas.
“Her first national championship was her first year,” said Eisler of Otto. “She’s been there and done it (before). What’s most impressive was that some of those kills were quite creative, she used a full repertoire of shots and was really smart in her decision making”
Hogg began the second set with three-straight aces, powering her team to an early 4-0 lead. The Pandas would score three more times before Livingston got the Rams on the board. The Kelowna, B.C. native tallied an ace to bring her squad within four, but Alberta seemed to find its offensive stride in the set, recording four consecutive points that forced Rams coach Dustin Reid to take his second timeout before the technical.
Ryerson couldn’t find an answer for the Pandas, who blazed to a 25-7 set victory. Jarman (Edmonton, Alta.) and Casault picked up four kills each in the set for Alberta, who worked at a potent .435 hitting percentage while totalling just three errors in the second.
After the Rams took an early lead in the third, Alberta flexed its offensive muscle, jumping out to a three-point advantage. Casault (Edmonton) grabbed a pair of aces to push the lead up to six, and two more from setter Mariah Walsh (Calgary) took the Pandas into the technical up 16-6.
Alberta cruised from there to a straight-sets win, and will play the winner of Montreal and Dalhousie in the second semifinal of the evening on Saturday. Ryerson will take on the loser in the second consolation semi on Saturday afternoon.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/boxscores_champ/20170317_lsmg.xml
Alberta
Kills: Kacey Otto (13)
Points: Kacey Otto (17.0)
Blocks: Kacey Otto, Jessica Hoskins, Vanessa Jarman, Meg Casault (0,2)
Digs: Kacey Otto (10)
Service aces: Kacey Otto, Vanessa Jarman (3)
Player of the match: Mariah Walsh
Ryerson
Kills: Veronica Livingston (7)
Points: Veronica Livingston (9.5)
Blocks: Theanna Vernon (2.0)
Digs: Julie Longman (11)
Service aces: Veronica Livingston, Jena Bonello (1)
Player of the match: Julie Longman
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie (USPORTS.LIVE)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western (USPORTS.LIVE)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: . No.8 Ryerson vs. Loser QF #4 (USPORTS.LIVE)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: No.1 Alberta vs. Winner QF #4 (USPORTS.LIVE)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place (USPORTS.LIVE)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Championship final (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
QF #4: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi: Carabins shut out Dalhousie 3-0
TORONTO (U SPORTS) – First Team All-Canadian Marie-Alex Bélanger recorded a game-high 20 points, and the Montreal Carabins booked the final spot in the national semifinals with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-15) victory over the Dalhousie Tigers on Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Bélanger worked at a .356 efficiency while totalling a heavy 45 attacks for Montreal, while Sarah Gosselin picked up six kills and three aces in the victory. Adryanna Dorismond-Rodrigue tallied eight kills for Montreal, who advance to face the top-seeded Alberta Pandas in the semifinals on Saturday night.
“It was a good game for us, it is always a nervous moment when you start the quarter-finals because it’s so important to move on,” said Carabins assistant coach Sebastien Hurtubise. “We are also a slow-starting team, and we picked up the pace really well today.”
“First game is always a stressful game, but our team is always confident,” said Bélanger. “I thought we started out slow, then after the second set it was much better. When we realized how (Dalhousie) played and focused more on that, it made it more easy for us (to be successful).”
The Tigers were led by Anna Dunn-Suen, who recorded 10 kills and two aces in a losing cause. Courtney Baker (Bridgewater, N.S.) and Victoria Haworth each added 5.5 points in the loss for Dalhouise, who will take on the host Rams in the consolation semifinals.
After going down by four at the technical timeout of the opening set, Montreal picked up five of the next six points to bring themselves within a point of the lead. After an ace by Karianne Aubin evened the set at 19-19, the Carabins would take over the lead with three straight points before Bélanger clinched the first with a cutter, her seventh kill of the set.
The Carabins carried their late first set momentum into the second, and stormed out to an 8-0 lead over the AUS champions. Aubin (Saint-Charles-Borromee, Que.) tallied an ace, and Bélanger (Joliette, Que.) picked up a pair of kills to maintain the Montreal tide, while Dalhousie struggled to find their rhythm on offence in the early part of the second. Bélanger continued to dominate the floor, picking up nine more kills in the second set.
“When Bélanger is on she is really hard to stop,” said Hurtubise. “She can hit the ball from anywhere, and she has all the angles so she can put pressure on teams quite easily. She had a really good game. I think the load we gave her the ball a bit too much. In the third set we wanted to let her a little bit less.”
Montreal continued to carry the play following the technical timeout, building the lead into double digits before a cross-court kill from Dorismond-Rodrigue (Edouard-Montpetit, Que.) put the RSEQ champions up 24-12. A thundering strike from fifth-year veteran Gosselin (Granby, Que.) gave Montreal a commanding 2-0 match lead.
Dunn-Suen (Halifax, N.S.) zipped a kill down the left line to give the Tigers an early 4-3 set led in the fourth. Montreal responded with two consecutive kills from Dorismond-Rodrigue and a pair of aces by Gosselin to cap off a 6-2 run by the Carabins. Bélanger’s kill following the technical put the Carbins up 17-9
Haworth (Waverly, N.S.) responded for the Tigers with a kill of her own, but that did little to stem the Carabins’ offence, which continued to run smoothly throughout the set. Alexane L. Joly ended the match with her seventh kill of the game.
Montreal will face off against the Pandas in Saturday night’s second semifinal, with a spot in the championship final on the line.
“Alberta is the favourite and the team to beat, so we’ll have to bring our best game if we want to have a shot,” said Hurtubise. “We know them well and they know us well so I think hopefully it’s going to be a really good game.”
The Tigers will look for their first win of the weekend against the Rams in the second consolation semi on Saturday afternoon.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/championship
Montreal
Kills: Marie-Alex Bélanger (20)
Points: Marie-Alex Bélanger (20)
Blocks: Katie Forcier, Alexane L. Joly (0,1)
Digs: Marie-Alex Bélanger (12)
Service aces: Sarah Gosselin (3)
Player of the match: Marie-Alex Bélanger
Dalhousie
Kills: Anna Dunn-Suen (10)
Points: Anna Dunn-Suen (12)
Blocks: Mieke DuMont (1,0)
Digs: Marisa Mota (11)
Service aces: Anna Dunn-Suen (2)
Player of the match: Marisa Mota
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-12)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-15)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western (USPORTS.LIVE)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: . No.8 Ryerson vs No.5 Dalhousie (USPORTS.LIVE)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: No.1 Alberta vs. No.4 Montreal (USPORTS.LIVE)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place (USPORTS.LIVE)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Championship final (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
Consolation SF #1: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi
Mustangs top conference rival Marauders 3-1 to earn berth in fifth-place match
TORONTO (U SPORTS) – The Western Mustangs avenged their OUA championship final loss one week ago on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, defeating conference rivals McMaster by a score of 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-16, 27-25) in the consolation semifinals.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Rookie Kelsey Veltman picked up a game-high 19 kills to go along with 2.0 blocks and five digs, while Aja Gyimah added 17 kills ,1.5 blocks, and an ace in the victory for Western, who fell in their quarter-final match to UBC on Friday night.
“So proud of our team not only for the performance but for the ability to bounce back from a disappointing loss yesterday and compete against a team that we see about four to five times a season,” said Mustangs coach Melissa Bartlett. “To bring that level of intensity and fire against a familiar team was really impressive. We have so much respect for McMaster and knew they weren’t just going to hand us the game and we had to do the things on our sides that were our controllables in order to win.”
Western player of the game Kat Tsiofas chipped in with an impressive 52 set assists to go along with four kills, seven digs, and a pair of aces.
“We obviously know McMaster quite well, so we knew our game plan well coming into today,” said Tsiofas. “I think we executed our game plan really well today. We’re both in the West (division) so we are constantly battling for that top spot in the West all year. And we always seem to see each other in the playoffs towards the end of the season, so it’s great that we came (out) on top today.”
One week after defeating the Mustangs in a five-set thriller to claim the OUA banner, the Marauders dropped their second game in as many days, ending their U SPORTS championship weekend. Alicia Jack led McMaster with eight kills, 2.0 blocks and an ace while working at a .353 hitting efficiency, while Aleks Arsovic and Maicee Sorenson each added seven kills for the Marauders.
The Mustangs jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage in the opening set. After back-to-back blocks from Tsiofas (Toronto) and Tia Miric (Toronto), McMaster coach Tim Louks called timeout to steady the Marauders. Joanna Jedrzejewska (Hamilton, Ont.) picked up an ace to cut the lead to a pair, but Tsiofas responded with a floating serve that handcuffed the Marauders to restore her team’s four-point lead.
The OUA champions stormed back with four-straight points to even the match on Sorenson’s serve. The Hamilton native picked up an ace during the streak, but Western responded with a mini-streak of their own to take a 16-13 lead at the technical.
Veltman caught fire following the break, scoring her team’s next three points to push the lead up to five. The Brampton, Ont. product put her squad up by six following McMaster’s second timeout, and a long dump that found the back corner from Tsiofas would help the Mustangs claim the first set.
Jedrzejewska briefly put the Marauders ahead with an ace, but Veltman continued to thwart the Marauder defense, picking up a booming middle strike in response. Sorenson replied with back-to-back rejections as the top teams in the OUA battled to a 10-10 score in the early going of the second. Another big block from Rachel Woock sparked a 5-0 Marauders run that prompted a Western timeout.
After not tallying a block in the first set, McMaster continued to make its presence felt at the net in the second, denying the Mustangs two more times to take 16-11 lead at the technical. An ace by Woock (Richmond Hill, Ont.) coming out of the break pushed the lead to six, before Western railed off four-straight to stay within striking distance.
The Marauders would not be denied, however, and another Marauder block, this time from Jack (Hamilton, Ont.) evened the match at 1-1. McMaster finished with seven blocks in the set.
Western picked up four consecutive points to take an early 7-5 lead in the third. Rookie Melissa Langegger (Oakville, Ont.) heated up with three kills from the left-side to help the OUA silver-medalists spread the lead to four. The Mustangs capitalized on a Marauders miscue and pushed their advantage up to six by the technical.
Candice Scott (Kitchener, Ont.) picked up her second and third consecutive aces coming out of the break to give her team a commanding lead, and the Mustangs would cruise to a 2-1 match lead.
After the teams traded points in the early going of the fourth, the Marauders went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-11 lead. Western responded by taking five of the next six points to even the set 16-16. The teams then went back and forth into the latter stages of the set, neither side holding more than a one-point lead. Gyimah found the court with a short cutter that gave Western a 22-20 lead, but Woock responded with an ace to even the set once again. Jack tallied another ace to give McMaster a set point, but Veltman answered from the left side to even the match.
An ensuing rejection from Tsiofas put Western on match-point, but Veltman’s floating attack went just long, and the set continued. Veltman made up for her miss, however, with a clever tip in the open court, and Scott ended the match on the following play with a hard strike that McMaster couldn’t get up.
The Mustangs move on to the fifth-place game, where they will take on either Ryerson or Dalhousie, on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
“The fifth-place game is now our gold medal game,” said Bartlett. “We talked about it this morning that it doesn’t matter where we are at the end of this, we want to win that last match of the season, which we’ll remember and take into the summer and offseason.”
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/boxscores_champ/20170318_kt8f.xml
McMaster
Kills: Alicia Jack (8)
Points: Alicia Jack (11.0)
Blocks: Alicia Jack, Maicee Sorenson (2.0)
Digs: Carly Heath (19)
Service aces: Joanna Jedrzejewska, Aleks Arsovic (3)
Player of the match: Maicee Sorenson
Western
Kills: Kelsey Veltman (19)
Points: Kelsey Veltman (21.0)
Blocks: Kat Tsiofas, Candice Scott (2.5)
Digs: Aja Gyimah (20)
Service aces: Candice Scott (4)
Player of the match: Kat Tsiofas
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-12)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-15)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western 1-3 (17-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-27)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: . No.8 Ryerson vs No.5 Dalhousie (USPORTS.LIVE)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: No.1 Alberta vs. No.4 Montreal (USPORTS.LIVE)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place: No.6 Western vs. Loser Consolation#2 (USPORTS.LIVE)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Championship final (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
Consolation SF #2: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi
Tigers eliminate tournament host Rams in four sets, will face Western in fifth-place match
TORONTO (U SPORTS) – Courtney Baker tallied a team-high 19 points, and the Dalhousie Tigers booked their place in the fifth-place match with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 12-25, 25-19) victory over the Ryerson Rams on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in the second consolation semifinal.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Baker worked at a .211 efficiency for the Tigers, tallying 16 kills on 38 attacks while adding a pair of aces. Lauren Koskowich (Calgary, Alta.) added eight kills on ten attempts for an impressive .800 efficiency, and was named player of the game for Dalhousie, who will take on Western in the fifth-place game on Sunday morning.
“I thought we did a really good job,” said Tigers coach Rick Scott. “Playing in the consolation semi is never easy because your coming off disappointment from 12 hours before. I thought the girls were really resilient and started strong. We regained our composure in the fourth (after losing the third), and we got a bit serving run from (Haworth), got some momentum and we were able to finish strong. Proud of the girls and pleased and looking forward to tomorrow.”
“It was great game, our serve-receive really came together, it was really what put us over the edge to beat Ryerson today,” said Koskowich. “In the fourth set we came out really strong, and hungry. Coming from the AUS we always want to represent our conference and its really important to us to win games like this.”
Theanna Vernon led Ryerson with a game-high 21 points, including 15 kills and six blocks, and Veronica Livingston tallied 10 kills and three aces for the Rams in a losing cause.
“Most of all more than anything I was happy to us feeling good about playing well,” said Rams coach Dustin Reid. “We’ve lost three matches in a row to some really good teams here in the playoffs and usually your season doesn’t continue when (that happens). Just to see them play the way they know they can with the spirit and enjoyment (was good to see).”
Baker picked up five kills in the opening set for Dalhousie, while the Rams struggled offensively, committing nine errors in the stanza while working at just a .026 hitting efficiency. After going into the technical up by three, the Tigers used an 8-3 run to bring up a set point. Ryerson was able to save three on a pair of kills from Livingston (Kelowna, B.C.) and a Dalhousie error, but the AUS champions would not be denied, taking a 1-0 match lead.
The Rams battled hard in the second, keeping pace with the Tigers in the early stages of the set. An ace by Mady Timpany (Woodstock, Ont.) brought Ryerson within a point of the lead, but a block by Anna Dunn-Suen (Halifax, N.S.) was followed by an ace from Baker (Bridgewater, N.S.), giving Dalhousie a 16-13 lead at the technical break.
Back-to-back Tiger attacks that went long cut the deficit to one, and Livingston shot the ball off the Dalhousie blockers and into the open court to even the set. After a Vernon block, a net touch by the Tigers allowed the Rams to take the lead. Dalhousie answered with three-straight points, two of which came off Ryerson attack errors, to move back in front. Fifth-year veteran Amy Applebee (Fredericton, N.B.) notched the second stanza with an ace to give the Tigers a two-set advantage.
An ace from DuMont (Kamloops, B.C.) gave the Tigers a 4-2 advantage, but Vernon continued her dominance in the middle of the net, picking up three early kills to even the set 5-5. A block by Scarborough, Ont. native was followed by an ace from Lauren Veltman (Brampton, Ont.) to give Ryerson a two-point lead. An ace by Jade Griffiths (Windsor, Ont.) increased the advantage, and after a Dalhousie attack error, the tournament hosts took a 16-10 lead at the technical.
The Rams further cemented their spread with consecutive blocks, and Kristine Yan (Markham, Ont.) pushed the advantage to double-digits with a powerful strike from the left side. Back-to-back aces from Livingston helped Ryerson win its first set of the weekend.
After going down 12-8 in the fourth, the Rams grabbed four of the next five points and cut the deficit to one. Veltman and Griffiths then exchanged kills to even the match at 16-16 coming out of the technical, but three-straight aces from Victoria Haworth (Waverley, N.S.) capped a 7-0 Dalhousie run that brought up match-point, and a kill from DuMont sent the Tigers through for a date with the Mustangs for fifth-place on Sunday.
“(We are) really excited to play Western, they are a great team, they have lot of strong players,” said Koskowich. “I met their coach a few times, and she’s a great lady so I’m excited to go out there and see what we can do.”
The Tigers and Mustangs will do battle at 10:00 a.m. (EST) on Sunday.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/boxscores_champ/20170318_4cu0.xml
Dalhousie
Kills: Courtney Baker (16)
Points: Courtney Baker (19.0)
Blocks: Victoria Haworth, Anna Dunn-Suen (2.0)
Digs: Marisa Mota (16)
Service aces: Victoria Haworth (3)
Player of the match: Lauren Koskowich
Ryerson
Kills : Theanna Vernon (15)
Points: Theanna Vernon (21.0)
Blocks: Theanna Vernon (6.0)
Digs: Julie Longman (19)
Service aces: Veronica Livingston (3)
Player of the match: Kristine Yan
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-12)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-15)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western 1-3 (17-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-27)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: . No.8 Ryerson vs No.5 Dalhousie 1-3 (19-25, 21-25, 25-12, 19-25)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC (USPORTS.LIVE)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: No.1 Alberta vs. No.4 Montreal (USPORTS.LIVE)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place vs No.6 Western No.5 Dalhousie (USPORTS.LIVE)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Championship final (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
SF #1: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi
U SPORTS heavyweights UBC take down rival Spartans to reach finals for first time in three years
TORONTO (U SPORTS) – Danielle Brisebois picked up a game-high 18.5 points, and the UBC Thunderbirds clinched a berth in a national final for the first time since 2014 on Saturday night by defeating provincial rival Trinity Western 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-23) at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Brisebois picked up 16 kills and 2.5 blocks for the Thunderbirds, who will will be vying for their 11th national title in program history and seventh in the past nine years. Juliana Kaufmanis was stellar in the back-court, picking up 12 digs to go along with five kills, while Maggie Li chipped in eight kills for UBC, who persevered in a hotly-contested match that was full of big hits, blocks, and serves on both sides of the net.
“That’s high level volleyball”, said UBC coach Doug Reimer of the semifinal match-up. “We’ve had great battles with that team over the past decade. Maybe not obvious to some people is how hard the serve and pass was because they knew they had to try and get (our) team out of system. Both setters did a great job as well. Hitters hit some great angles on both teams. It was enjoyable to coach, but the intensity there, if you just looked at a score sheet at home and thought it was an easy game, it was not a three-set game. Not at all.”
“Every one of our players played really well and I think we needed all six on the court to do a good job to win today. I thought that we took advantage of some situations and stayed assertive whether it was from the service line or swinging on second balls. And I thought we at least matched (Trinity Western’s) defensive intensity. Kaaufmanis did a tremendous job in the back row, and she wasn’t alone.”
“Both sides were fighting really hard and it was really good volleyball,” said UBC player of the game Alessandra Gentile, who picked up 27 set assists and eight digs in the win. “We were just super excited, energy was good, everyone was smiling. Someone made a mistake, then it was all good we will just get the next one.”
Sophie Carpentier picked up 12 kills and seven digs, and was named Trinity Western’s player of the game. Elly Wendel added 11 kills and seven digs for the Spartans, who will move to the bronze medal game on Sunday afternoon.
After going down by four early in the opening set, the Thunderbirds stormed back on Gentile’s serve, picking up four-straight points that included an ace by the Port Moody, B.C. native. Gentile’s floater handcuffed the Spartans once again coming out of the technical, but Trinity Western responded with an ace from Brie O’Reilly to even the match at 17-17.
Ashtyn McKenzie’s serve took a Spartan clip off the net and found the open court to give the Spartans a brief advantage, but serve specialist Laura Worsley (Vancouver) was brought in and picked up an ace to help the Thunderbirds move back in front by one.
The teams traded points heading into the latter stages of the set, before Li ( (North Saanich, B.C.) kick-started a three-point run with a middle attack that found the court. On the Thunderbirds’ second set-point, Katelyn Devaney’s serve went just long, allowing UBC to take a very tight opening set.
McKenzie began the set with a kill and ensuing ace before an impressive dig from the Vernon, B.C. native jumpstarted another point, allowing the Spartans to grab the first four points of the second. Two-straight aces from Carpentier sandwiched a UBC tonight to push the lead up to six, prompting a timeout from Reimer.
The Thunderbirds chipped away at the Spartan lead, and would take five of six points to pull within one. Brisebois heated up from there, scoring three of the next four on her own to even the game at 14-14.
The national team member gave UBC its first lead with another well-placed attack to take UBC into the technical up 16-15. Ciara Hanly (Calgary, Alta.) served up an ace coming out of the break, but two errors from the Thunderbirds evened that game once again.
The teams twice traded the lead, but three straight points that ended with another Brisebois kill gave the Thunderbirds another set point. After a quiet first set, the Bolton, Ont. native and First-Team all-Canadian polished off a superb second stanza with a set-winning block to give the Thunderbirds a 2-0 match lead.
No more than two points separated the Canada West rivals through the first part of the third, as the teams battled to a 12—12 score. UBC then used two consecutive Spartan errors, and added a pair of their own on an ace from Li and kill by Brisebois to take a four-point lead at the technical break.
The Thunderbirds held that advantage through to the final stages of the third set, where a kill from Brisebois gave UBC three match points. After the Spartans saved the first two, Brisebois combined with Hanly to deny Trinity Western’s final attack, clinching the Thunderbirds place in Sunday’s gold-medal final.
UBC will take on either Alberta or Montreal at 4:00 p.m. (EST) on Sunday.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/boxscores_champ/20170318_xe2e.xml
UBC
Kills: Danielle Brisebois (16)
Points: Danielle Brisebois (18.5)
Blocks: Ciara Hanly (3.5)
Digs: Juliana Kaufmanis, Samantha Patko (12)
Service aces: Alessandra Gentile (2)
Player of the match: Alessandra Gentile
Trinity Western
Kills : Sophie Carpentier (12)
Points: Sophie Carpentier (14.5)
Blocks: Katelyn Devaney (2.0)
Digs: Rachel Flink (13)
Service aces: Sophie Carpentier, Ashtyn McKenzie (2)
Player of the match: Sophie Carpentier
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-12)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-15)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western 1-3 (17-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-27)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: . No.8 Ryerson vs No.5 Dalhousie 1-3 (19-25, 21-25, 25-12, 19-25)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC (23-25, 21-25, 23-25)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: No.1 Alberta vs. No.4 Montreal (USPORTS.LIVE)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place No.6 Western vs. No.5 Dalhousie (USPORTS.LIVE)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal No. 7 Trinity Western vs. Loser Semifinal #2 (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Championship final No.3 UBC vs. Winner Semifinal #2 (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
SF #2: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi
Top-seeded Pandas set up all-Canada West national final with straight-sets win over Montreal
TORONTO (U SPORTS) –Meg Casault tallied a game-high 18 points, and the Alberta Pandas booked a date with the UBC Thunderbirds in the national final on Sunday by recording a straight sets victory (25-9, 25-18, 25-16) over the Montreal Carabins on Saturday evening at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Casault recorded 15 kills and three aces, while Shauny Hogg added eight kills for the Pandas, who used various dominant streaks throughout the second semi-final of the day to triumph over the Carabins, going up big early in the opening set and stringing together a double-digit run after Montreal gave a final push in the third and final stanza, to earn a finals berth.
“Obviously (Montreal) didn’t get the start that they wanted,” said Pandas coach Laurie Eisler. “And we just knew that a team of that calibre with that history and culture, that they weren’t just going to go away. We had to keep our level high tonight. We sided out pretty well, we controlled our game and didn’t give them many free points on our mistakes. They had to earn their points, and we capitalized when they made a string of errors.”
“It was fun, it’s always fun to play volleyball,” said Pandas player of the game Karly Janssen. “The Carabins put up a good fight and it’s always fun to play against them. We were really strong on defence, making it tough for them to put a ball away so we were good in that aspect.”
Marie-Alex Belanger tallied a team-high nine points in a losing cause for the Carabins, who will take on the Trinity Western Spartans in the bronze medal match on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. (EST).
The Pandas seemed to pick up right where they left off in their quarter-final win against the tournament host Ryerson Rams, railing off 13-straight points after trading the first few with the RSEQ representatives, then taking a commanding 16-4 lead at the technical timeout of the opening set. Led by Casault, who tallied five kills in the first set alone, the Pandas easily took the first set by double-digits, not committing a single attack error along the way.
The Carabins started out better in the second, battling back from a five-point deficit to make the score 8-6 in favour of Alberta. The national player of the year took over from there however, as Casault followed a kill with an ace, as errors helped grow their lead to 14-6. The Edmonton-based team grabbed another back-court kill, helping her team to a 15-7 advantage. Montreal responded with five-straight points, but still faced a four-point deficit at the technical.
Alexane L. Joly (Bois-de-Boulogne, Que.) brought Montreal within three with a thunderous kill coming out of the break, and, after a quiet first set, Belanger came to life soon after, helping the Carabins stay within striking distance.
The Edouard-Montpetit, Que. native recorded an ace to cut the Panda lead to a pair, but kills from Vanessa Jarman (Edmonton) and Casault sparked a 5-0 run that put Alberta at the brink of a commanding two-set lead. Jarman made good on a right-side attack to end the second.
The teams traded leads in the early stages of the third set, but Mikhaella Blanchette (Gatineau, Que.) tallied back-to-back aces, giving the Carabins a two-point edge. Belanger found the open court with another serve, but Casault responded with short ace that sparked the Pandas to 11-straight points, a match point, and a trip to the finals for a date with the Thunderbirds.
“Definitely familiar with them, we’ve had a few battles throughout the season, so looking forward to another tough competitor,” said Janssen. “It’s going to be a good game. We’re definitely going to have even more fight than we did tonight, we’re not done and have a lot more to show.”
“There’s a little bit of history,” Eisler said with a laugh. “The two programs, I think that we really push each other, along with Trinity and our other Canada West schools. UBC has always been that team for the last 10, 20 years that you have to try to match if not keep up to so this year we have had some mixed results with them and it’ll be a really, really awesome test for our team to see if we can rise to that level again.”
Alberta and UBC will do battle for the national banner on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. (EST)
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/boxscores_champ/20170318_umbu.xml
Alberta
Kills: Meg Casault (15)
Points: Meg Casault (18.0)
Blocks: Vanessa Jarman (3.5)
Digs: Kacey Otto (9)
Service aces: Meg Casault (3)
Player of the match: Karly Janssen
Montreal
Kills : Marie-Alex Belanger (6)
Points: Marie-Alex Belanger (9.0)
Blocks: Alexane L. Joly (1.0)
Digs: Stephaneie Lojen (14)
Service aces: Marie-Alex Belanger (3)
Player of the match: Stephanie Lojen
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-12)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-15)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western 1-3 (17-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-27)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: . No.8 Ryerson vs No.5 Dalhousie 1-3 (19-25, 21-25, 25-12, 19-25)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC 0-3 (23-25, 21-25, 23-25)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: No.1 Alberta vs. No.4 Montreal 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-16)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place No.6 Western vs. No.5 Dalhousie (USPORTS.LIVE)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.4 Montreal (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Championship final No.3 UBC vs. No.1 Alberta (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
Fifth-Place: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi
Tigers sweep Western for 5th place
TORONTO (U SPORTS) – The AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers will head back to Halifax with two U SPORTS championship victories after topping the Western Mustangs 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 26-24) on Sunday morning at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in the fifth-place match.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Mieke DuMont recorded a team-high 15 points, tallying 12 kills, 2.0 blocks and an ace for the Tigers, while teammate Anna Dunn-Suen grabbed 13.5 points, including 11 kills for Dalhousie, who after falling in their quarter-final match to Montreal finished the weekend with two-straight victories.
“After we lost our first game, obviously we were disappointed,” said Tigers coach Rick Scott, who was named the U SPORTS coach of the year. “We regrouped and wanted to win our last two games. Fifth place in the country is very respectable. We were proud of how the girls fought and played and stuck together, so very pleased with our win today over a very good Western team.”
“I think early on the serve-receive from (Western) were a little better than us. Than I thought we got going with our serve, and put them under pressure, took them out of system. And I thought we just got more comfortable as the game went on, it was really a balanced attack for us, and every one made a difference. We were a little better down the stretch.”
Western was led by a 15-kill performance from Kelsey Veltman, who added two aces and four digs for the OUA silver-medalists.
“Wasn’t our best performance, and we had a bit of fatigue,” said Western coach Melissa Bartlett. “We didn’t finish playing our best, but as a team overall we elevated our performance physically and mentally over the playoffs so we have a lot to be proud of there. I take for granted how successful our year was. There were so many firsts this year for our team. Making it to the OUA final, being ranked in the top ten, making it to the national championships. Some great milestones achieved.”
Playing in their final post-secondary match, childhood friends Marisa Mota of Dalhousie and Candice Scott of Western described the experience of playing against each other to end their varsity careers.
“Candice and I started playing soccer together when we were in grade 3,” said Mota, a Second-Team all-Canadian. “We played club together, and were fierce competitors together in high school, played each other in the OFSSA finals in our grade 12 year. Today’s game was just a nice closing to club, high school, everything.”
“Thought I’d get ya in university cause you always got me in high school,” said Scott to Mota. “I said I’ve never beat (Marisa) so let’s get it done. I can’t look at (Marisa) when we’re losing,” said Scott with a laugh. But it was pretty cool.”
“The win against Toronto was the sweetest win of my life,” said Scott of Western’s victory over the Varsity Blues last weekend, which clinched the Mustang’s berth in the national championship. “It’s super sad to be done… but I’m super proud of our team, we had an amazing year.”
“AUS we won which is awesome to do that five times,” Said Mota. “The girls played awesome. Our time at the U SPORT tournament, it obviously didn’t have the results we wanted, but we won the last two of our games, so that’s great. Finished the season on a high note.”
The Mustangs took an early 4-1 lead in the opening set, but the Tigers battled to even the score before taking their first lead of the game at 9-8. Western would grab four of the next six points, however, and a howitzer by Veltman (Brampton, Ont.) from the service line gave the Mustangs a 15-11 lead at the technical.
A pair of kills each by Courtney Baker (Bridgewater, N.S.) and Dunn-Suen (Halifax, N.S.) sparked a 5-0 run to help the Tigers even the set, and two more from DuMont (Kamloops, B.C.) helped the Tigers earn a set point. Dunn-Suen’s ensuing attack went off the Western block, giving Dalhousie the first set of the match.
The Mustangs responded by taking seven of the first 10 points in the second to once again grab an early lead, prompting a timeout from Scott. Another booming serve by Veltman pushed the lead to seven, forcing the Tigers to take their final timeout of the set quite early in the stanza.
The strategy seemed to work, as consecutive put-backs by Baker capped off a 6-1 streak that brought Dalhousie within a pair, and the moved in front by one at the technical break. After going up by four, the Tigers committed back-to-back errors, and a kill from Scott (Kitchener, Ont.) cut the lead to one.
After a back-court attack by Veltman found the net, Dunn-Suen tallied an ace to spread the lead back to three. A rejection by DuMont propelled the Tigers to a two-set lead.
For the third time in a row, Mustangs took an early lead, going up by a pair before two Dalhousie blocks sandwiched a DuMont kill to give the Atlantic representatives a 10-8 lead. The teams went into the technical separated by just a point after a kill by Aja Gyimah (Scarborough, Ont.) capped a 4-1 Western streak.
An ace by Emma Ciprick tied the match, and the Binscarth, Man. native followed that with a rolling shot that found the deep corner to put the Tigers back in front. After another Dalhousie block, Ciprick’s next serve handcuffed the Mustangs to move the spread up to 23-19.
Western fought back for four-straight to even the game, and an error by the Tigers brought up set point. Dalhousie saved the set, and Dunn-Suen earned match-point for her team with a hard cross-court strike. Lauren Koskowich (Calgary, Alta.) would put away a long serve-receive to end the match.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/boxscores_champ/20170319_gcmb.xml
Dalhousie
Kills: Mieke DuMont (12)
Points: Mieke DuMont (15)
Blocks: Lauren Koskowich (2.5)
Digs: Marisa Mota, Courtney Baker (13)
Service aces: Courtney Baker (3)
Player of the match: Abby Czenze
Western
Kills: Kelsey Veltman (15)
Points: Kelsey Veltman (18)
Blocks: Kat Tsiofas (4.0)
Digs: Aja Gyimah (11)
Service aces: Kelsey Veltman (2)
Player of the match: Courtney Sestric
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-12)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-15)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western 1-3 (17-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-27)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: . No.8 Ryerson vs No.5 Dalhousie 1-3 (19-25, 21-25, 25-12, 19-25)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC 0-3 (23-25, 21-25, 23-25)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: No.1 Alberta vs. No.4 Montreal 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-16)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place No.6 Western vs. No.5 Dalhousie 0-3 (22-25, 20-25, 24-26)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.4 Montreal (USPORTS.LIVE)
4:00 p.m. Championship final No.3 UBC vs. No.1 Alberta (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
Bronze Medal: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi
Trinity Western comes from two sets down against Montreal to claim third bronze medal in program history
TORONTO (U SPORTS) – In the first match of the national championship that went the distance, the Trinity Western Spartans overcame a two-set deficit to defeat the Montreal Carabins 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-11) to claim the U SPORTS bronze medal.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
Sophie Carpentier tallied a game-high 27.5 points, picking up 19 kills and seven aces for the Spartans, while fellow senior Elizabeth Wendel added 15 kills. Trinity Western claimed its third national medal in a row after taking gold and silver in 2015 and 2016 respectively, and fifth in program history.
“I was really pleased with the way we performed, we showed a lot of resilience not only in that after a tough loss yesterday,” said Spartans coach Ryan Hofer. “With broken hearts they came in and just wanted to end their season on a really high note.”
On the comeback, Hofer stated that “we were playing good volleyball, we had to tweak a few things whether it was blocking… or just execution on our side. and I felt the girls made a few little changes there that hopefully was going to (tip the scale) a little bit.”
The Carabins were led by a 27 point performance from Marie-Alex Bélanger. The fourth-year tallied 23 kills for Montreal, who were looking for their second bronze in the last three national tournaments.
“It was a really good game; we played really hard in the first two sets,” said Montreal coach Olivier Trudel. “We faltered a little bit in terms of our energy and discipline. And we lost a bit of that consistency, and Trinity maintained that consistency and played really well so they deserved the bronze.”
“Trinity just continued to put a lot of pressure on their serving and we didn’t. We backed off a bit on our serves. They played a few tips that got us frustrated and we thought we had that covered but there was a lot of miscommunication. They did what we expected them to do, but they did it a little bit better.”
After going down early in the first, Montreal took six of seven points to move ahead by a pair. Trinity Western responded, and consecutive blocks by the Canada West bronze-medalists capped a mini-streak to move them in front by three. Coming out of a timeout, the Carabins battled for four-straight to even the match.
After an astounding sequence that saw the Carabins come up with multiple acrobatic digs before the Spartans were finally able to put the ball away, Montreal took that momentum to score the next two on a kill by Alexane L. Joly (Bois-de-Boulogne) and ace from Rachel Gagnon (Bois-de-Boulogne), grabbing a 16-14 lead at the technical.
Carpentier (Ottawa, Ont.) responded with a pair of kills for the Spartans, pushing them into the lead, which Wendel (Caronport, Sask.) extended to three. Joly brought the deficit down to two with a right-side attack, and another great defensive response by the RSEQ champions ended with a Spartan attempt that clipped the net and went out of bounds.
Belanger evened the match with an attack that went through Trinity Western’s block to even the game, and another error by the Spartans gave Montreal a set-point. An ace by Mikhaella Blanchette (Gatineau, Que.) gave her squad a one-set lead.
After going down by a pair, Brie O’Reilly (Langley, B.C.) followed a solo block with a kill to move Trinity Western briefly in front at 12-11. Consecutive attack errors thwarted the Spartans leading up to the technical break, however, where Montreal held a 16-13 lead.
A great up by Nikki Cornwall (Coquitlam, B.C.) helped Trinity Western even the match at 21-21, and the teams would trade the next two points. The Spartans saved a set point following an ace from Belanger, but could not stop an attack from Adryanna Dorismond-Rodrigue (Longueuil, Que.) that hit the floor in front of the Trinity Western block, putting Montreal up 2-0 in the match.
Carpentier and Devaney exchanged kills to put Trinity Western up 4-2, but two-straight aces by Belanger soon after pushed the Carabins ahead. Carpentier responded to her fellow First-Team all-Canadian by serving up consecutive aces, and the Spartans held a 16-12 lead at the technical.
Trinity Western’s serve continued to stymie the Carabins, as an ace from Carpentier pushed the lead to six, and that was more than enough as the Spartans would commit just a single error while working at a .519 hitting efficiency to take the third set.
The Spartans continued to gain momentum in the fourth, moving ahead by as many as six points. Montreal would push back by taking four of five to come within two, but Trinity Western, who totalled 18 kills in the stanza, grabbed the next four to give the championship weekend its first five-setter.
The leads changed three times in the early stages of the final set, where Trinity Western held a slim 8-7 lead at the changeover. A rejection by Cornwall and McKenzie pushed the lead to two, and after giving up a pair, O’Reilly tallied an ace that capped off a 3-0 steak to put the Spartans ahead 12-9.
In her final game, Carpentier solidified the Trinity Western comeback with cross-court strike on match-point, clinching the Spartans third bronze-medal in program history.
“I was dreading today,” said Carpentier. “Got emotional yesterday not only because we lost but because today was going to be my final U SPORTS match as a Spartan. I’d be lying if I was saying I didn’t want to get the winning kill. It felt awesome.”
“Sophie’s the real deal,” said coach Ryan Hofer. “She’s been a pleasure to coach for five years. She brings a lot of leadership to our team. She’s a hard kid to replace. I’m real proud of her.”
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/boxscores_champ/20170319_xv5v.xml
Montreal
Kills: Marie-Alex Belanger (23)
Points: Marie-Alex Belanger (27)
Blocks: Sarah Gosselin (2.5)
Digs: Mikhaella Blanchette (13)
Service aces: Marie-Alex Belanger, Katie Forcier (3)
Player of the match: Marie-Alex Belanger
Trinity Western
Kills: Sophie Carpentier (19)
Points: Sophie Carpentier (27.5)
Blocks: Ashytn McKenzie (3)
Digs: Eli Wendel (10)
Service aces: Sophie Carpentier (7)
Player of the match: Sophie Carpentier
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-12)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-15)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western 1-3 (17-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-27)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: . No.8 Ryerson vs No.5 Dalhousie 1-3 (19-25, 21-25, 25-12, 19-25)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC 0-3 (23-25, 21-25, 23-25)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: No.1 Alberta vs. No.4 Montreal 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-16)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place No.6 Western vs. No.5 Dalhousie 0-3 (22-25, 20-25, 24-26)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.4 Montreal 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-11)
4:00 p.m. Championship final No.3 UBC vs. No.1 Alberta (USPORTS.LIVE)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
Gold Medal: 2017 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Presented by Jason Rinaldi
Thunderbirds claim 11th championship in program history with 3-1 triumph over rival Pandas
U SPORTS – TORONTO (U SPORTS) – The UBC Thunderbirds earned their 11th national title in program history on Sunday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, defeating their Canada West rivals from Alberta by a score of 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 13-25, 25-20) in the U SPORTS championship final.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/index
The Thunderbirds, who earned their first national banner since 2013, were led by Championship MVP Danielle Brisebois, who recorded 20 kills and worked at a .356 hitting efficiency while adding eight digs in the final post-secondary match of her career. Fellow tournament all-star Maggie Li added 11 kills, while Alessandra Gentile chipped in with 37 set assists and two kills. Gentile was also named a tournament all-star.
“Today and yesterday I was just really impressed in our consistency of play, especially in our first two sets,” said Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer. “Then we had a hiccup in the third set and start of the fourth. Our ability to battle back and there were tons of turning points in there. One of the great things about our sports is that you can make a lot of errors and still win. Maggie Li (was struggling on serve) before she went on a run that turned the fourth set around. Like she served absolute rockets. That’s very cool for her and us, and generally for the team and sport it’s just impossible to predict.”
“Alberta had a really good tournament,” said Championship MVP Brisebois. “I felt they dominated the first two games (of the tournament) and they definitely brought that same attitude (today). We knew we had to stay point for point with them if we wanted a chance in the end. The third set they adjusted better, and I think we slipped there but (in) the fourth set we were just so motivated I think. We knew it would be back and forth and we’d have to weather their good plays.”
Championship all-stars Meg Casault and Kacey Otto led Alberta with 14 kills and 10 kills respectively. Otto tallied four aces and a team-high 16 digs in a losing cause for the Pandas, who were vying for their eighth national title. Alberta’s last championship came in 2007, and they remain tied with Manitoba and Winnipeg at seven national banners.
After going down 6-2 in the opening set, the Thunderbirds battled back to take over the lead before the technical. Li (North Saanich, B.C.) picked up a pair of kills and added a block, sparking UBC on a 7-2 streak. The senior middle polished off the run with a clever tip in the open court to give her team a 16-14 lead at the break.
Nanaimo, B.C., native Victoria Behie capped off four straight points from UBC coming out of the technical to give the Thunderbirds a 20-15 lead. The Pandas then committed two service errors late in the set, the first by Otto (Calgary, Alta.) to give their Canada West rivals a set point. After the Pandas saved two set points, Mariah Walsh (Calgary) sent her serve long, allowing UBC to draw first blood in the championship.
The Canada West titans traded points in the early going of the second before back-to-back kills by Li and Laura MacTaggart (Lacombe, Alta.) were followed by consecutive aces by Ciara Hanley (Calgary), catalyzing a six-point run by the Thunderbirds. They held a 16-9 lead at the technical.
Four more consecutive points, capped off with another MacTaggart strike, pushed the lead up to eight. Shauny Hogg (Calgary) tried to stem the Thunderbird momentum, picking up a kill and block on consecutive plays to bring Alberta within five. Juliana Kaufmanis (Richmond, B.C.) responded with two straight kills of her own to pull UBC within one set of the national banner.
Brisebois (Bolton, Ont.) picked up two quick kills to start the third, but a cross-court hit from the right-side by Vanessa Jarman (Edmonton, Alta.) put the Pandas up by one early. Consecutive blocks by the Thunderbirds evened the game at 9-9, but Otto responded with a pair of aces to help Alberta stay in front. Casault (Edmonton) tallied consecutive kills, helping her team to a 16-11 advantage.
The Pandas continued to remain hot, picking up seven of the next eight points to give themselves a commanding lead. Two kills from Otto sent the teams into the fourth set with UBC up 2-1.
Li caught fire from behind the service line in the fourth, picking up a formidable four aces that jumpstarted the Thunderbirds on an 8-0 run to take a five-point lead. Otto answered for Alberta with two aces, and a tip by Casault brought the Pandas within one. Hogg evened the game with a put-back off a long serve-receive, and Alberta moved in front by one at the technical.
A left-side attack down the line by Brisebois was followed by an ace from Gentile, and UBC went up by three late in the fourth. After an Alberta attack went long, Brisebois pounded another ball for a point, bringing her team within two points of the championship.
Jarman responded with an ace, but the Thunderbirds earned a match-point soon on the next sequence. MacTaggart made no mistake after a Panda serve-receive went long, clinching the national title with a strike from the middle.
Reimer spoke of the rivalry between Alberta and UBC, who have together dominated the championship tournament over the last two decades.
“It’s a very friendly rivalry. Laurie is a tremendous coach, nobody works harder and does more,” he said. “One thing I have said… is sometimes there are championship teams and they don’t necessarily win. There are years where there are many teams playing at such a high level, and I would put Alberta in that category this year. Last weekend they beat us in the Canada West Championship and they deserved it.”
Sunday’s championship final was the fourth time in the past two decades that UBC and Alberta have met for the gold medal. The Pandas took home the banner in 1997 and 1999, with UBC winning the last three between the squads, including titles in 2012, 2013, and now 2017.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://en.usports.ca/championships/wvball/2017/championship
Alberta
Kills: Meg Casault (14)
Points: Meg Casault (15)
Blocks: Shauny Hogg (2.0)
Digs: Kacey Ott (16)
Service aces: Kacey Otto (4)
Player of the match: Kacey Otto
UBC
Kills: Danielle Brisebois (20)
Points: Danielle Brisebois (22)
Blocks: Maggie Li (2.5)
Digs: Samantha Patko, Alessandra Gentile (16)
Service aces: Maggie Li (4)
Player of the match: Danielle Brisebois
CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS
Championship MVP
Danielle Brisebois (UBC)
All-Stars
Danielle Brisebois (UBC)
Maggie Li (UBC)
Alessandra Gentile (UBC)
Meg Casault (Alberta)
Kacey Otto (Alberta)
Sophie Carpentier (Trinity Western)
Marie-Alex Belanger (Montreal)
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award
Abby Czenze (Dalhousie)
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ET)
Friday, March 17
12:00 p.m. Quarter-final #1: No.2 McMaster vs. No.7 Trinity Western 0-3 (16-25, 10-25, 17-25)
2:00 p.m. Quarter-final #2: No.3 UBC vs No.6 Western 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-20)
6:00 p.m. Quarter-final #3: No.1 Alberta vs. No.8 Ryerson 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-12)
8:00 p.m. Quarter-final #4: No.4 Montreal vs. No.5 Dalhousie 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-15)
Saturday, March 18
12:00 p.m. Consolation #1: No. 2 McMaster vs. No.6 Western 1-3 (17-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-27)
2:00 p.m. Consolation #2: . No.8 Ryerson vs No.5 Dalhousie 1-3 (19-25, 21-25, 25-12, 19-25)
6:00 p.m. Semifinal #1: No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.3 UBC 0-3 (23-25, 21-25, 23-25)
8:00 p.m. Semifinal #2: No.1 Alberta vs. No.4 Montreal 3-0 (25-9, 25-18, 25-16)
Sunday, March 19
10:00 a.m. 5th place No.6 Western vs. No.5 Dalhousie 0-3 (22-25, 20-25, 24-26)
1:00 p.m. Bronze medal No. 7 Trinity Western vs. No.4 Montreal 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-11)
4:00 p.m. Championship final No.3 UBC vs. No.1 Alberta 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 13-25, 25-20)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for University Sports in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 500 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit usports.ca or follow us on:
Twitter: @USPORTSca
Facebook: @USPORTSCanada
YouTube: @USPORTSca
Instagram: @USPORTSca
Snapchat: @USPORTSca
For further information, please contact:
Ken Saint-Eloy
Manager, Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
ksainteloy@usports.ca
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
ahudes@usports.ca
Andrea Elliott
Ryerson University
Off: 416-979-5000 Ext. 3042
Cell: 647-621-6495
andrea.elliott@ryerson.ca