Hamilton, ON- As the top U SPORTS women’s volleyball teams descend upon Hamilton for the national championships, we will find out whether the trend of Canada West dominance will continue.
The conference that has produced 13 of the past 15 national champions – the only exceptions being Toronto in 2016 and Toronto Metropolitan University in 2018. The conference that usually sends at least three teams to each tournament – if not four. Last season, the UBC Thunderbirds defeated their conference rival Trinity Western Spartans in the finals after coming in as a seventh seed.
UBC is back this year as all three Canada West teams are seeded in the top four (thanks to their high ELO ratings). However, they’ll have to get through the field – and each other. Speaking of the field…
The Brock Badgers have won three straight OUA titles. The Acadia Axewomen are coming off their first AUS title. Meanwhile, the Montreal Carabins have reclaimed the RSEQ crown. Then there’s the AUS finalist Saint Mary’s University (SMU) Huskies and the OUA finalist and hosts McMaster Marauders who are lurking with the chance to pull off an upset or more.
Here’s a team-by-team breakdown as the action starts Mar. 15 in the Burridge Gym.
1. Manitoba Bisons (Canada West Champion)
Record: 24-4
Can you believe that this past weekend’s Canada West championship was their first in program history? It’s hard to imagine given how storied of a program Manitoba is but that was the case as the Bisons went into UBC and defeated the Thunderbirds in five sets.
Manitoba has been building towards this moment though. They lost in the first round of the Canada West playoffs in 2022 before winning bronze in their conference playoffs last season. They then lost to the Thunderbirds in the national semi-finals. The Bisons got Canada West Player of the Year Raya Surinx back from injury just in time for the conference title game last Saturday. The outside hitter had 15 kills in the win.
Surinx isn’t alone though. The second year is joined by fellow outside hitters Ella Gray and Light Uchechukwu on the attack as well as fellow Canada West All-Stars setter Katreena Bentey and libero Julia Arnold. Together, the Bisons will attempt to finish off the season with the U SPORTS national crown as well.
2. UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West Finalist)
Record: 31-4
What a difference from a year ago. The Thunderbirds were the underdogs heading into the national tournaments as hosts, pulling off upset after upset on their way to winning the school’s 13th national title. This year, they were the favourites for most of the year – in the standings and national rankings.
How will UBC respond to losing the Canada West final at home? That will depend on their players. The good news is they have plenty of experience – including championship experience. Six of them are in their fourth or fifth year, including Canada West Libero of the Year Kacey Jost and All-Star middle Clair Cossarini. Lucy Borowski and Akash Grewal also earned All-Star nods.
With UBC and Manitoba on opposite sides of the bracket, this could set up for a potential rematch. The Bisons have a 2-1 lead on the season series as the Thunderbirds seek to repeat as U SPORTS national champions.
3. Brock Badgers (OUA Champion)
Record: 21-2
Year after year the Brock Badgers have gotten better. Ever since head coach Steve Delaney took the job six years ago, the Badgers have continued to reach new heights. First reaching the OUA finals, then winning the OUA and reaching nationals. Now doing so three times in a row.
It hasn’t been straightforward. The Badgers were behind two sets to the Queen’s Gaels in last year’s OUA title game. They were down two sets to TMU in this year’s semi-finals – with their nationals berth at stake. They rallied from losing the first set to the McMaster Marauders in the finals to win in four sets.
Brock has a core of experienced players – including OUA Co-Player of the Year setter Sara Rohr as well as All-Stars Emily Foest, Gigi Markotic and Sadie Dick. Middle Emma Baruchelli has made an immediate impact, earning a spot on the OUA All-Rookie team. The team has also examined and shifted their culture as well. Will their experience and culture lead to them take an even bigger step forward – winning a U SPORTS nationals medal?
4. Alberta Pandas (Canada West Bronze)
Record: 30-9
It can’t be easy replacing a legend but that’s the situation first-year head coach Carolyn O’Dwyer finds herself in. The former Mount Royal star and assistant coach is taking over for Laurie Eisler after the long-time coach moved into a general manager role. She took over a program that has won seven national titles. A program only two years removed from losing to Trinity Western in the Canada West finals and winning bronze at nationals.
Fifth-year conference All-Star Lauryn Tremblay, fourth-year libero Kalysta Knappett and third-year setter Justine Kolody were part of that 2022 team. However, the Pandas success has also been fuelled by a pair of first-years. Middle Ronnie Dickson earned a spot on the Canada West All-Rookie team while outside hitter Abby Guezen took home Canada West Rookie of the Year. She led all rookies in kills per set while being only second on her own team to Tremblay.
With the rookies and veterans, Alberta has won 12 more games than last season. They lost to UBC in the conference semi-finals before defeating the UFV Cascades for bronze and a ticket to nationals. O’Dwyer, Guezen and Dickson will have a chance to make their mark at their first U SPORTS nationals. A chance to mark a new era of Pandas volleyball.
5. Montreal Carabins (RSEQ Champion)
Record: 17-4
Head coach Olivier Trudel has almost done it all in his 20-plus years with the Carabins. The team has won the conference crown nine times. They’ve finished third at nationals twice and second once. He’s won the RSEQ Coach of the Year 11 times and the U SPORTS Coach of the Year once in 2009. The only thing missing is that elusive national title – which would the first in school history.
Montreal will likely have to get through some Canada West opponents to get there, starting with their quarter-final matchup versus the Alberta Pandas. They return to nationals after losing to the McGill Martlets in the RSEQ semis last year. They return with RSEQ Player of the Year Olympe Desmedt as well as All-Stars middle Milica Djordjevic and libero Brittany McGlashan.
The Carabins come into U SPORTS nationals having won three games in a row and eight of their last nine. Can Montreal carry their momentum into Hamilton? Can they finally win the only medal Trudel and his team have been missing?
6. Acadia Axewomen (AUS Champion)
Record: 15-5
The Axewomen are coming off their first-ever conference title and they had to earn it the hard way. They defeated the UNB Reds two games to one in the AUS semi-finals before edging the SMU Huskies in three games as well in the finals. They broke the Dalhousie Tigers’ recent dominance after losing to Dalhousie in three games in the AUS finals last year.
Head coach Michelle Wood has just earned her fourth AUS Coach of the Year award. Acadia has two AUS All-Star middles in Alexia Lemay-Evans and Erica Fisher. Libero Rebecca Dorsey is also a second-team All-Star and one of three fourth-year players (along with Wesley Ann-Bailey and Charlotte Dean).
While Acadia has plenty of AUS playoff experience, how will they fare on the national stage? They face OUA champion Brock in the quarter-finals. Can they continue to make history for their program?
7. McMaster Marauders (OUA Finalist/Host)
Record: 17-6
The Marauders went on the road to defeat the Queen’s Gaels in the OUA semi-finals after losing to Queen’s twice in the regular season. This came after they defeated the Guelph Gryphons in the quarter-finals to avenge their defeat from a year ago. Could this year’s experience help them?
It sure can. McMaster has plenty of depth and veterans to lean on. Transfers Jenna Woock (Toronto) and Lauryn Colpitts (Queen’s) have played in big moments on their previous schools. Fifth-year seniors Ellie Hatashita and Christina Stratford have continued to take on big roles with their play and their leadership. Third-year outside hitter Sullie Sundara earned her third straight OUA First-Team All-Star nod, leading the conference in service aces per set and was sixth in kills per set. The Marauders also have OUA Rookie of the Year Olivia Julien, who made her impact throughout the season as an outside hitter.
First-year head coach Nathan Janzen has talked to his team about learning from adversity. They’ve faced their fair share of it – including losing the OUA finals to Brock. Now comes another opportunity to show what they’ve learned and how much they’ve grown as they take on defending champion UBC in the quarter-finals.
8. SMU Huskies (AUS Finalist)
Record: 14-6
The Huskies may be the lowest seed at U SPORTS nationals but they have accomplished a lot to get here. SMU lost to Acadia in the AUS semi-finals last year before knocking off two-time defending champion Dalhousie in the semis this year. They took Acadia to three games, falling short of capturing their first AUS title since 2012.
Now, they will have a shot at national glory. The Huskies feature a good amount of experience with nine players in at least their third year. This includes AUS MVP Olivia Bell and fellow outside hitter and AUS All-Star Megan Bruhm. Their offence also features All-Star outside hitter Emilia Mikanovich.
SMU goes into this tournament with some experience against the field as well. They lost to Manitoba and Montreal in the preseason while beating McMaster. They went 4-1 against Acadia in the regular season. Nearly six months have passed since they last played the Bisons in late September. The Huskies will have their chance to change the result this time around and pull off arguably the biggest upset of the tournament.
Featured Image: Jacob Mallari/Manitoba Bisons Athletics/UBC Athletics