Hamilton, ON- When Alberta Pandas middle Allie Moore thought what prepared her team for their nationals quarter-final win over the Montreal Carabins, she thought about her conference.

“I think Canada West has the best teams in the country,” Moore said. Her Pandas team has played against the Manitoba Bisons and UBC Thunderbirds multipe times this season. They’ve played in long four or five set matches. They were prepared to do so – and play well – against the Carabins.

As the Pandas won, so did their fellow Canada West teams. The Bisons beat the SMU Huskies in four sets while the Thunderbirds defeated the host McMaster Marauders in four sets as well.

Here’s how each team got there.

Bisons Find Trust in Each Other

Ella Gray remembers when her team’s trust really started to build. Outside hitter and eventual U SPORTS Player of the Year Raya Surinx had just gotten injured in the middle of the season. The Manitoba Bisons had to regroup and come together without her.

The Bisons did just that, winning their way to their first-ever Canada Way championship in school history, knocking off the defending national champion UBC Thunderbirds in the championship game.

Surinx returned for the Canada West finals but didn’t play in Manitoba’s quarter-final win over the SMU Huskies. Bisons head coach Ken Bentley didn’t think she had three matches in her due to injury. “We’d like to squeeze one good match without her this weekend,” he said. “And try to put ourselves in a position where we can do that.”

They did so by beating the Huskies. As Gray and her teammates scored their points against Saint Mary’s, she could look around and see the trust between them.

They’ve built it from all those games. All those trial and tribulations. They kept regrouping. They kept coming back.

“Knowing that no matter who’s on the court and no matter what’s going on around us, we are stronger together,” Gray said.

The outside hitter could feel the calmness from her teammates. She could see them grounding each other. She could see her teammates’ eyes as they talked with each other.

Gray felt secure and at peace when she felt the trust. She knew they were all together. She knew they had each other’s backs. “We’re all doing it for each other,” she said.

Perhaps she could feel the trust between fellow outside hitter Light Uchechukwu and setter Katreena Bentley.

The two of them have been playing together for the past three years. They’re so close that Bentley feels she’ll never have to play without her. She set Uchechukwu up time and again as the fourth-year outside hitter had a game-high 19 kills.

She knows this is their final games together with Uchechukwu leaving after this season. She teared up thinking about it. “It doesn’t really feel real that there’s going to come a day where I don’t play with Light,” she noted.

They’ve built up so much trust over all the practices, games and seasons. “That relationship is something I’ll cherish forever,” she said.

Pandas remember who they are

When Alberta Pandas outside hitter Laila Johnston finds herself in those pressure-filled situations, she and her teammates try to remember who they are – instead of who they’re not.

The Pandas have been in their fair share of those pressure-packed moments recently. Their Canada West semi-final defeat to the UBC Thunderbirds. Their bronze medal win over the UFV Cascades. Now their national quarter-finals against the Montreal Carabins.

“Have a good calm intensity,” Johnston remembers them saying before they played. Setter Justine Kolody remembers them talking about doing the little things. Doing their job. Not doing too much.

Alberta did that as the game went along. They showed their defence and offence against Montreal. They remembered who they are.

What is their identity? Playing into each other’s personalities, according to Johnston. The outside hitter knows what one teammate needs is different than the other.

The players discovered that through many off-the-court conversations. Through talking with sports psychologists.

Through physical support as well. Johnstone likes to shake her teammates after they doing something good. “I’m going to shake you real hard,” she told Kolody before the match.

Second-year middle Allie Moore knows she needs to take a deep breath sometimes and smack teammates Abby Guezen’s hand really hard.

As they talked, Moore saw their dedication to each other. They’re all working towards the same goal. They all want to be on the same page. They all need to be dialed in.

“If someone’s not having a [good] day, we need to bring them up so we can all achieve the goals together,” Moore said.

They are now two wins away from their ultimate goal. The Pandas showed their grittiness against Montreal. After the Canada West playoffs they learned how hard winning really is, Moore pointed out.

They learned how they were doing too much during some losses during the season, Kolody pointed out. They’ve had those conversations. They understand what each person needs. They recognize those situations and how to talk to each other.

They know to keep it simple and remember who they are.

Thunderbirds embrace atmosphere with composure

UBC Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer knows the atmosphere his team was in for. They were the two seed and the favourite in their national quarter-final against the host and seven seed McMaster Marauders. Against the pro-McMaster crowd at the Burridge Gym as well.

How could he not? After all, he and his team were on the other side of it last year when they were the seventh seed team who upset the two seed Brock Badgers on their way to a national title at home.

When they were the home side in the Canada West championships just a week ago. They lost to Manitoba in five sets.

So when they lined up to play McMaster, they were prepared for the atmosphere. Reimer remembers the gym being as loud – if not louder – the previous weekend. He remembers all the noise. He remembers them losing their way and losing their execution at times.

Outside hitter Lucy Borowski pointed out how playing in front of such a loud crowd was one of their toughest challenges. They couldn’t really even hear each other on the court.

Amid all the noise in the Burridge Gym, the Thunderbirds executed and persevered. They won the first set. They rallied from being down 10 points in the second set to nearly win it. They came back in the third set. They won the fourth one 25-18.

Amid all the noise, Reimer saw his team play good, efficient and balanced volleyball. He saw them stay composed in tough situations.

Borowski knows how easy it can be to get tense and tight in those moments. However, she also saw the composure from her teammates – including libero Kacey Jost and outside hitter Erika Vermette. She saw different teammates stepping up at different times.

One of those was outside hitter Akash Grewal, a powerful server who had a few service errors early. She kept attacking though – finishing with 13 kills – and eventually notched an ace as well.

Grewal looked to her teammates for the energy she needed. “My teammates are really great at bringing me back and making sure I was still there, even though I was getting in my head a little bit,” she said.

Grewal also remembered take a breath at times. When she would enter a huddle, she found that connection. She found her composure. She would remember they’re there for each other. It’s not always about the game. It’s about each other. That helps her and her teammates focus on where they need to be and what they have to do.

Featured Image: Laurel Jarvis/U SPORTS